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User profile for user: kaiotea
kaiotea Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

Internet connection drops randomly

This has been going on fairly regularly for about 6 weeks now. The internet connection can drop randomly, sometimes at start-up, sometimes after being in sleep mode, sometimes in the middle of a surfing session. I have tried many of the fixes suggested by BDAqua, think I have the problem resolved, but then it starts up again.

I have a cable modem and an Airport Extreme. Both the modem and the iMac connect to the Airport. For the iMac I have Airport turned off and am connected by Built-in ethernet. On my laptop I have Airport turned on.

Shutting down usually resolves the problem for a time.

Today while surfing, it dropped the connection. I went to System Preferences/Network/Built-in ethernet/Assist me/Diagnostics. Built-in ethernet, Network settings, and ISP were all green. Internet and server were yellow then red. Basically it told me I had an internet connection but it was not able to recognize the url. Then a drop down box appeared that said my network configuration had changed, do I want to continue. I said yes and now the internet and server buttons were also green.

So as far as I can tell there is no problem with my cable modem or connection to my ISP. I don't think there is a problem with my Airport. It just seems like there is something randomly telling my network that it can't read urls, but it can change and come back up in an instant.

Any guidance would be most welcome.

Mac OSX 10.4.11/Safari 4.1.2/Airport firmware 7.4.2

iMac Intel, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Sep 13, 2010 1:31 PM

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14 replies
User profile for user: kaiotea
kaiotea Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

Sep 13, 2010 2:04 PM in response to kaiotea

I also should add this to the equation:

Also connected to my Airport are:
1) a DVR, which is in the same room so the cable goes directly from the DVR to the Airport.
2) a TII Network Technologies Turbo 85 Ethernetlink. This box plugs into the wall and communicates with a similar box in another room which is hooked up to the DVR in that room.

The DVRs are hooked up this way to utilize online ordering of VOD (Video on Demand) services.

I noticed that one of these boxes had the power light on and the ethernet link light off. The other one had the power light on and the ethernet link light was constantly blinking at a rapid pace. I unplugged the one blinking box to reset it. Now both lights are on steady on both boxes, which is how they are supposed to be.

I don't know for how long they have been in this state, but I guess we will see if that makes any difference with my random drop outs, as perhaps this could have been a cause.
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User profile for user: kaiotea
kaiotea Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

Sep 13, 2010 2:51 PM in response to BDAqua

If by other devices you are referring to the TII ethernet links, I honestly have to admit that I wouldn't know where to look on the computer to find anything out about them. And I rarely use the VOD service (not as great a feature as I originally thought), so I haven't paid much attention to these boxes since the satellite tech hooked them up in January of 2009. I have been contemplating just disconnecting them altogether.

If you are referring to something else, please point me in the right direction.

Thanks for the troubleshooting efforts, by the way! :>)
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User profile for user: BDAqua
BDAqua
User level: Level 10
239,183 points

Sep 13, 2010 3:00 PM in response to kaiotea

I'm not sure where to look on them either, I think I'd try disconnecting them to see if you still lose the connection, or you could set the Mac to DHCP with Manual IP and set the 4th number much higher than the number of devices you have.

Make a New Location, Using network locations in Mac OS X ...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2712

Oh, have we turned off IPv6:
System Preferences » Network » AirPort » TCP/IP tab » Configure IPv6
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User profile for user: kaiotea
kaiotea Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

Sep 13, 2010 3:52 PM in response to BDAqua

I think I'm going to leave the disconnecting of the TII Ethernet links as a last option if nothing else works.

I did not have IPv6 turned off so I took care of that.

If I understand you correctly, you would like me to set up a new location using DHCP with manual IP. Under the current location, the fourth number of the IP address is .200 (does that mean 2 devices?), and in the new location I should set it to something higher than that (.800?). What about any other settings in the TCP/IP dialog box? Should they be the same as under the current location?

By the way (knock on wood) I haven't had a drop out since I started this thread.
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User profile for user: BDAqua
BDAqua
User level: Level 10
239,183 points

Sep 13, 2010 4:14 PM in response to kaiotea

Under the current location, the fourth number of the IP address is .200 (does that mean 2 devices?), and in the new location I should set it to something higher than that (.800?).


Depends what the Router is setup to hand out, could be up or even down, but say you have 5 devices and a Router with IP of 192.168.1.1

Then if you had computers & such with IPs of...

192.168.1.200
192.168.1.201
192.168.1.202
192.168.1.203

You could set the 5th one to...

192.168.1.210

And be assured that that IP wouldn't get handed out by the Router, (unless somebody outside your network was trying to get in).

Should they be the same as under the current location?


Yes, same Router IP, same Subnet Mask.

By the way (knock on wood) I haven't had a drop out since I started this thread.


We may not need any of that then. 🙂
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User profile for user: kaiotea
kaiotea Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

Sep 13, 2010 5:02 PM in response to BDAqua

OK, I think I'll sit on this for a few days and see how things play out, then report back on results later.

On a somewhat related topic, on my iMac and Macbook, should the AppleTalk be active or not?

The Macbook connected by Airport needs to utilize the printer that is plugged in to the Airport. I'm not sharing any external drives.
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User profile for user: kaiotea
kaiotea Author
User level: Level 1
13 points

Oct 4, 2010 8:54 AM in response to kaiotea

Just wanted to update this thread. First, my thanks to BDaqua for his many useful tips. I know they have improved my browsing experience.

It appears that in this instance the problem was the TII Ethernetlink boxes (used for satellite TV VOD). By unplugging and thus resetting both boxes to a solid green light display, I have had zero dropouts and everything clips along just fine.

Lesson learned? Make sure that everything you have hooked up to your mac or your Airport Extreme is working properly.
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Internet connection drops randomly

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