Readers Questions.
IF01942
Q.
My Internet Connection Fails for no Reason?
I am using
XP home with a cable modem connection, and quite often using while online, I get
the error of can't find the server. I just lose my internet connection, and it
says my
TCP/IP needs resetting. How do I do that and what causes the internet
dropout?
A.
There are several possible reasons why your Internet connection might suddenly
stop working. If you were on dialup, the most likely scenario would be noise on
the phone line, but since you have a high-speed cable connection, we can rule
that out the majority of the time.
I have a
cable modem as well, and have found that sometimes a slow or dropped Internet
connection is restored simply by unplugging the cable modem, waiting 30 seconds
and powering it back on. Not pretty, but it works. If the problem is happening
every day, though, it might be better to replace the modem.
There could
also be a software-related issue which is causing your Internet connection to
fail. If you have other computers on a home network, and they have no trouble
getting online, then I'd cast a wary glance in the direction of your firewall.
Firewalls are designed to block certain Internet connections, so it's entirely
possible that a bug in the firewall software is erroneously shutting down ALL
network connections. You may even have told the firewall to do this without
meaning to.
Open your
firewall's configuration screen and check to see what programs are being blocked
from connecting to the Internet. If nothing obvious appears to be erroneously
blocked, try shutting down or uninstalling the firewall software, then reboot
and see if the problem persists. If that fixes the problem, consider ditching
the software-based firewall, especially if you have a router between your
computer and the cable modem. Routers have hardware-based firewalls built in,
which makes firewall software superfluous for most users.
To
uninstall the firewall software, click on the
Start button, open
Control Panel,
then Add/Remove Programs. Find the firewall in the list and click the Remove
button. Note that your firewall may be bundled with an anti-virus of internet
security package. If that's the case, click on that package (ex: eTrust EZ-Armor
or Norton Internet Security), and make sure you select ONLY the firewall for
removal, leaving the anti-virus protection in place.
Now myself I use a Linksys Router
which has a hardware-based firewall and I still use ZoneAlarm Pro on my XP PC's.
If none of
those things helps, report the problem to your Internet provider. If the problem
has something to do with your modem or the cabling in your neighborhood, it
might be affecting your neighbors as well.
It is
important to note that there is never one fix for a question.
What may work for one person might not for the next. Depending on the problem
and the way it is described by the Computer Owner there may be Six different
approaches to a positive outcome. If the first answer I give you to your
question doesn’t work let me know and I will send you another.
Just give me details.
Let me know if you need anything else.
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