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Unsolveable network issues?


Unclean

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Help! Ever since I got back to my apartment 2 weeks ago, the internet has been unbearably slow. Pings to websites are literally hit or miss -- about 50% of the time there's a normal ping, but the other 50% is a timeout. Going to websites takes forever (3-5 minutes to load up a site like fastmail.net). Just for kicks I attempted to connect to our COD4 server, but I get an in-game message saying "this server is for low ping players only" or something to that effect. The same thing is happening on two computers.

 

Also, I've monitored the network activity through Windows Vista's utility, and see network activity like clockwork once every 5 seconds or so. It makes the graph look like this:

 

____/\____/\____/\____/\____/\____/\_____

 

 

 

Here's what I've tried:

1. Restarting the computer

2. Restarting the cable modem

3. Restarting the wireless router

4. Closed all unnecessary processes

5. Connecting the computer directly to the cable modem

6. Waiting a few days to see if the issue would resolve itself

7. Having a Comcast tech come out to visit -- the lines are clean, the cable tv is working, and they can ping comcast's website. Plus no one else in the building has complained. So now they want to charge me because there's "nothing wrong with the internet connection".

 

I'm at a loss for what else to try. Anyone have any other ideas?

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you're 100% sure the problem still exists when you're directly to the modem?

is there a 2nd computer that you can replicate the problem on?

if you can't eliminate your computer as the problem, i'd say get a mac, but that's just me. i can't help on vista-issues, because imo, vista is the inherent problem :D

 

if you've eliminated your computer as the problem, flash the modem firmware and/or ask for a new modem. the fact that they can ping the comcast website isn't a miracle. your spikes don't indicate disconnects, so a ping wouldn't be any sort of great diagnostic method. if you can't reasonably replicate the same problem just into the modem, go to page 3.

 

 

if you haven't already (on your router):

- turn off ssid broadcast

- turn on wpa2, wpa, or wep (in that order, if available)

- unless you have frequent guests that use your wireless, turn on mac filtering

 

1. is anyone using any upnp apps (mostly p2p)?

2. what type of router?

if you answered yes to 1, and linksys wrt54xxx to 2, install dd-wrt (here and here)

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you're 100% sure the problem still exists when you're directly to the modem?

is there a 2nd computer that you can replicate the problem on?

if you can't eliminate your computer as the problem, i'd say get a mac, but that's just me. i can't help on vista-issues, because imo, vista is the inherent problem :D

 

if you've eliminated your computer as the problem, flash the modem firmware and/or ask for a new modem. the fact that they can ping the comcast website isn't a miracle. your spikes don't indicate disconnects, so a ping wouldn't be any sort of great diagnostic method. if you can't reasonably replicate the same problem just into the modem, go to page 3.

 

 

if you haven't already (on your router):

- turn off ssid broadcast

- turn on wpa2, wpa, or wep (in that order, if available)

- unless you have frequent guests that use your wireless, turn on mac filtering

 

1. is anyone using any upnp apps (mostly p2p)?

2. what type of router?

if you answered yes to 1, and linksys wrt54xxx to 2, install dd-wrt (here and here)

Yep, the same problem is happening on 2 computers. One has Vista, another has XP Pro. Neither has any p2p software running... and if it did, wouldn't there be constantly high network activity?

 

The wireless router is running wpa, not sure about ssid broadcast, and not sure about mac filtering. It's a DLINK, and I'll check the model number when I get home.

 

Haven't tried swapping out the modem yet, I'll call up Comcast and ask. Then it's modem flashing time. Thanks for the suggestion!

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maybe try flashing the modem first, then getting a new modem.

 

btw, excessive upnp mapping won't cause high network activity, it will timeout your dns lookups (in my experience) after about 15 minutes. doesn't sound like that's what's happening with you, though. it might be worth disabling on your dlink, though.

 

just for fun, disconnect the other computers, restart the modem (with nothing plugged in), then plug in one computer directly to the modem. see if it happens again.

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hooked straight into the modem, have you ran just a regular bandwidth test that can be found on google?

 

If that is slow, try a new ethernet cable. If that doesn't work, make the techie fix it.

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Turn off all of the computers except one and then try that one. If it is still slow, turn it off and try one of the other computers. It could be a rogue application on one of the computer making it seem the internet is slow. (virus, malware, spyware, etc). If the problem percists on multiple computers when that is the only computer on, then it is network related whether it be your router, modem, or lines.

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Sounds like your cable company is having issues man, this is more likely the problem with the network rather than a PC. If you have tried running the PCs with the other ones off then call comcast or whoever your cable company is and have them deal with it.

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I had a similar problem with my brothers network, we thought it was the outdoor ethernet wiring from his room to the basement, we ran another couple cat5 and just ran the phone to his room so the dsl modem and everything is up there now. Fast forward a few months, and I needed to move the 16 port switch in the basement to his room, because his little 5port switch was too small for the pc, linux router and three xbox 360's we had going. Well the problems returned, turned out the basement switch was the problem all along and my sister just never bothered to complain too much about her crappy connection.

 

I would verify the ethernet from the cable to the router is also not damaged, I have had some problems before where a kinked cord broke some copper inside, and it just barely made connection, causing some packet loss. Good luck.

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They'll be sending a tech out on Saturday with another cable modem, we'll see what happens. I'm reading online that Comcast uses nothing but refurbed/recycled cable modems, so I could just get somebody else's problem again.

 

And Cujo - the tech said something about how it could be the wiring in the apartment building, which is the responsibility of the landlord. I doubt they're gonna rewire the place for us, but we'll see how this all pans out.

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DNA
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(edited)
They'll be sending a tech out on Saturday with another cable modem, we'll see what happens. I'm reading online that Comcast uses nothing but refurbed/recycled cable modems, so I could just get somebody else's problem again.

 

And Cujo - the tech said something about how it could be the wiring in the apartment building, which is the responsibility of the landlord. I doubt they're gonna rewire the place for us, but we'll see how this all pans out.

 

 

 

That is a bunch of crap....unless your building was built in WW2 the cable wiring should not be an issue for the internet. If your t.v signal is fine then no worries on the internet. How many tv's do you have hooked up to the cable (i.e splitters). Each connection and splitter will reduce the line signal by almost 10% and after so much loss everything goes to crap. Get your own linksys modem and have them reg the MAC address and dont use no radio shack cable (get good stuff from the COmCastic dips) and see if that is good to go.

 

BUT DO NOT GO WITH THE WIRING IN THE BUILDING CRAP. They would have tested the signal line when the hooked u up (req w/ the hook up).

Edited by DNA
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Ran a tracert to Google, it poops out at different hops on different runs. I wish I could copy/paste it here, but that would involve saving the file onto my roommate's clunky huge external hard drive and bringing it here to work. Plus I'm not sure what kind of value that'd add.

 

The tech on Saturday brought out a new cable modem, and we're seeing the same behavior. He said he needs to send out some kind of level 2 tech (I think he called it a "CT2" or something along those lines). We'll see what he finds today.

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And upgraded Counter-Terrorist? :) ...

 

 

Hopefully he finds what's wrong Unclean. I recently had some very bad network issues and it turned out that the coaxial cable outside of my house had eroded a little bit and so I was getting some connection but it was brief and I often had to restart my router. The first tech came and apparently searched outside of the house but did not find anything, however the second did find it and put in a new wire.

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Help! Ever since I got back to my apartment 2 weeks ago, the internet has been unbearably slow. Pings to websites are literally hit or miss -- about 50% of the time there's a normal ping, but the other 50% is a timeout. Going to websites takes forever (3-5 minutes to load up a site like fastmail.net). Just for kicks I attempted to connect to our COD4 server, but I get an in-game message saying "this server is for low ping players only" or something to that effect. The same thing is happening on two computers.

 

Also, I've monitored the network activity through Windows Vista's utility, and see network activity like clockwork once every 5 seconds or so. It makes the graph look like this:

 

____/\____/\____/\____/\____/\____/\_____

 

 

 

Here's what I've tried:

1. Restarting the computer

2. Restarting the cable modem

3. Restarting the wireless router

4. Closed all unnecessary processes

5. Connecting the computer directly to the cable modem

6. Waiting a few days to see if the issue would resolve itself

7. Having a Comcast tech come out to visit -- the lines are clean, the cable tv is working, and they can ping comcast's website. Plus no one else in the building has complained. So now they want to charge me because there's "nothing wrong with the internet connection".

 

I'm at a loss for what else to try. Anyone have any other ideas?

Did you run adaware or spybot???

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The tech cut and re-made the coax connections to the splitter, and that seems to have resolved the issue. All this time, and it was a bad connection coming into the apt...

It happens

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