Strange network issue

Ecthelion · 09-25-2007, 05:37 PM

I've had various home network setups over the past few years, and I've never had any problems until I moved to my current apartment. I'm fairly network savvy, but I've gotten to the point with this problem that I welcome outside help.

My current setup (which I've kept since shortly after I moved here) is a D-Link DI-604, which is pulling a dynamic IP from my Comcast modem. From there my router is connected to my primary computer and my "media server" (which mainly stores videos and music, but it's a normal Windows XP desktop - just without a monitor). About 6 months ago, I added a laptop to my network. At first it was connected directly to my router, but I decided to go wireless and wired a Linksys BEFW11S4 to my D-Link router to give me a wireless signal. It's only acting as a hub, so the laptop is getting an IP from the D-Link. The laptop is usually also connected via ethernet to the Linksys, so that it will have a connection even if the wireless drops out. All of the computers run Windows XP SP2, and they're all running the Professional version (except the laptop, which has Media Center).

Okay, here's the problem. Ever since I started using the D-Link, I've had an occasional problem with either the media server or the laptop (the problem first showed itself before I even bought the laptop, so it's happened even with just two computers connected to the D-Link). Every month or so, one of them will just stop working (it's never been both so far). The affected computer will show an IP address and be accessible from the other computers on the network, but the internet will not work. It won't be able to ping the D-Link router, or ping external IP addresses (so I've concluded that it's not just a DNS problem). No matter what I do, it doesn't help. Switching which port the computer uses on the router, renewing the IP address, configuring the router to make the affected computer use "Static DHCP" (where the router assigns a computer a specific internal address), restarting, etc. Nothing helps. After a while (I've never kept track how long, or if it's the same each time), it will start working again. I'm never sure what caused it to work again, because by that point I've usually given up and can't remember everything I did to try to fix the problem. By the way, my primary computer has never had this problem - it's always the media server or laptop. Occasionally the main computer will stop working, but it's always been when the internet is down or some other easily diagnosed problem has occurred.

I guess it's possible that this has nothing to do with my router, and that possibly Comcast doesn't like multiple computers being connected at once. But it's weird that it didn't start happening until I switched to the D-Link, and that it is not consistent (for the most part, all three computers work). Tonight I might try to configure the Linksys wireless router to have the same settings as the D-Link, and replacing the D-Link with it temporarily to see if all 3 computers work then. I'll be sure to report the results (if I find time to do the test).

Does anyone have any ideas for this? Let me know if I need to provide additional information.

johnwill · 09-26-2007, 08:57 AM

Until I read the last paragraph, I was going to suggest exactly what you are doing, simply eliminate the D-Link and use the Linksys alone. I can't imagine a good reason for having both anyway.

Ecthelion · 09-26-2007, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnwill

I can't imagine a good reason for having both anyway.

The whole reason I bought the D-Link is because it has a lot of features that the Linksys doesn't. One thing I remember off the top of my head (I'm not sure if I'm using any of the other features) is the ability to have a large number of ports set up for port forwarding. The Linksys router only supports 10 or so.

Anyway, a further wrinkle in this is that today the laptop started working again, so now I can't test out the router replacement.

Do you think it's possible that Comcast might see multiple MAC addresses and keep some of them from working? The only problem there is this: why can't the malfunctioning computer ping the router? It should be able to do that even without being connected to Comcast. It's just weird.

09-25-2007, 05:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ecthelion Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP Professional SP2	Strange network issue I've had various home network setups over the past few years, and I've never had any problems until I moved to my current apartment. I'm fairly network savvy, but I've gotten to the point with this problem that I welcome outside help. My current setup (which I've kept since shortly after I moved here) is a D-Link DI-604, which is pulling a dynamic IP from my Comcast modem. From there my router is connected to my primary computer and my "media server" (which mainly stores videos and music, but it's a normal Windows XP desktop - just without a monitor). About 6 months ago, I added a laptop to my network. At first it was connected directly to my router, but I decided to go wireless and wired a Linksys BEFW11S4 to my D-Link router to give me a wireless signal. It's only acting as a hub, so the laptop is getting an IP from the D-Link. The laptop is usually also connected via ethernet to the Linksys, so that it will have a connection even if the wireless drops out. All of the computers run Windows XP SP2, and they're all running the Professional version (except the laptop, which has Media Center). Okay, here's the problem. Ever since I started using the D-Link, I've had an occasional problem with either the media server or the laptop (the problem first showed itself before I even bought the laptop, so it's happened even with just two computers connected to the D-Link). Every month or so, one of them will just stop working (it's never been both so far). The affected computer will show an IP address and be accessible from the other computers on the network, but the internet will not work. It won't be able to ping the D-Link router, or ping external IP addresses (so I've concluded that it's not just a DNS problem). No matter what I do, it doesn't help. Switching which port the computer uses on the router, renewing the IP address, configuring the router to make the affected computer use "Static DHCP" (where the router assigns a computer a specific internal address), restarting, etc. Nothing helps. After a while (I've never kept track how long, or if it's the same each time), it will start working again. I'm never sure what caused it to work again, because by that point I've usually given up and can't remember everything I did to try to fix the problem. By the way, my primary computer has never had this problem - it's always the media server or laptop. Occasionally the main computer will stop working, but it's always been when the internet is down or some other easily diagnosed problem has occurred. I guess it's possible that this has nothing to do with my router, and that possibly Comcast doesn't like multiple computers being connected at once. But it's weird that it didn't start happening until I switched to the D-Link, and that it is not consistent (for the most part, all three computers work). Tonight I might try to configure the Linksys wireless router to have the same settings as the D-Link, and replacing the D-Link with it temporarily to see if all 3 computers work then. I'll be sure to report the results (if I find time to do the test). Does anyone have any ideas for this? Let me know if I need to provide additional information.

09-26-2007, 08:57 AM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 32,581 OS: XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Strange network issue Until I read the last paragraph, I was going to suggest exactly what you are doing, simply eliminate the D-Link and use the Linksys alone. I can't imagine a good reason for having both anyway. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience