Network Intermittently Stops Working

I have this intermittent fault on my Vista Ultimate laptop with an Intel
Pro/Wireless 3945ABG Connection.

About once per day, with seemingly no trigger, my network connection will
stop working. To be more precise, the network still registers as connected
but i can access no network traffic, either internet or router settings.
Vista reports that my connection is now "Local Only". This can only be
corrected by a system restart. Attempting to view available networks to
connect to fails (Windows can find none, even though right now (as I type
this) I am in range of 15 networks. Attempting to 'Diagnose and Repair', or
trying to disable and re-enable the adapter causes the Network Center to
hang. If I reboot, it works again for another period, usually around 9 to 12
hours. If I've started the Diagnose and Repair, Windows cannot reboot on its
own, and I must push the power button and reboot cold.

I have tried
-different networks

-(re)installing the latest drivers from Intel and my manufacturer (same
version available from both parties)

-different power settings (I'm currently back to the "high performance" mode)

-Complete destructive system restoration by booting to the restore DVD and
destroying the partition and reinstalling Windows completely.

Is this only Vista? If yes, it may be the DHCP is not compatible with the
Vista. For a test, try to setup static IP instead of DHCP. Or this link may
help too.

Vista Local OnlyVista Local Only. Vista: Local only - no Internet issues
Vista - Local Connection Only Vista: Wireless local only. Post your
questions, comments, ...

http://bobmsmvp.googlepages.com/

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com


"SKeene" <SKeene@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2EE247F4-7CE3-405A-9FDA-F0E6607E7D30@microsoft.com...

>I have this intermittent fault on my Vista Ultimate laptop with an Intel
> Pro/Wireless 3945ABG Connection.
>
> About once per day, with seemingly no trigger, my network connection will
> stop working. To be more precise, the network still registers as connected
> but i can access no network traffic, either internet or router settings.
> Vista reports that my connection is now "Local Only". This can only be
> corrected by a system restart. Attempting to view available networks to
> connect to fails (Windows can find none, even though right now (as I type
> this) I am in range of 15 networks. Attempting to 'Diagnose and Repair',
> or
> trying to disable and re-enable the adapter causes the Network Center to
> hang. If I reboot, it works again for another period, usually around 9 to
> 12
> hours. If I've started the Diagnose and Repair, Windows cannot reboot on
> its
> own, and I must push the power button and reboot cold.
>
> I have tried
> -different networks
>
> -(re)installing the latest drivers from Intel and my manufacturer (same
> version available from both parties)
>
> -different power settings (I'm currently back to the "high performance"
> mode)
>
> -Complete destructive system restoration by booting to the restore DVD and
> destroying the partition and reinstalling Windows completely.

I think you may be on to something. Something I haven't checked (although I
should have, shame on me) is if I have a valid IP address when this
disconnect happens. I bet it's likely that this happens at these intervals
because that's when my DHCP lease expires. Right now my lease time is set to
1 day. It's work experimenting with. Maybe, for some reason, Vista cannot
renegotiate when the lease expires.

I'm going to try adjusting the lease time to try to reproduce the issue, as
well as using a static IP, and I will post back my results.

Thanks for the advise and link, Robert L!




"Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote:

> Is this only Vista? If yes, it may be the DHCP is not compatible with the
> Vista. For a test, try to setup static IP instead of DHCP. Or this link may
> help too.
>
> Vista Local OnlyVista Local Only. Vista: Local only - no Internet issues
> Vista - Local Connection Only Vista: Wireless local only. Post your
> questions, comments, ...
>
> http://bobmsmvp.googlepages.com/
>
> --
> Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
> Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
> http://www.ChicagoTech.net
> How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
> http://www.HowToNetworking.com
>
>
> "SKeene" <SKeene@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2EE247F4-7CE3-405A-9FDA-F0E6607E7D30@microsoft.com...

>

Update:
Setting a static IP4 IP address, and disabling IP6, still resulted in the
loss of connectivity and requiring a restart (i.e. -- no change).

Also tried disabling the "Broadcast Flag" via registry edit, no effect (so I
put it back the way it was).

Great link and suggestions, but no avail yet. Any other ideas?


"SKeene" wrote:

> I think you may be on to something. Something I haven't checked (although I
> should have, shame on me) is if I have a valid IP address when this
> disconnect happens. I bet it's likely that this happens at these intervals
> because that's when my DHCP lease expires. Right now my lease time is set to
> 1 day. It's work experimenting with. Maybe, for some reason, Vista cannot
> renegotiate when the lease expires.
>
> I'm going to try adjusting the lease time to try to reproduce the issue, as
> well as using a static IP, and I will post back my results.
>
> Thanks for the advise and link, Robert L!
>
>
>
>
> "Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote:
>

Try these tools. Please post back with the result.

Internet Connectivity Evaluation ToolThe Internet Connectivity Evaluation
Tool checks your Internet router to see if it ...
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/usi...d/default.mspx ...
http://www.chicagotech.net/netforums...pic.php?p=3548

How to verify device compatibility
http://www.howtonetworking.com/vista/vistafaqs.htm


--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com


"SKeene" <SKeene@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E9AD6E18-BCD2-474E-B164-C94F9BF7EF76@microsoft.com...

> Update:
> Setting a static IP4 IP address, and disabling IP6, still resulted in the
> loss of connectivity and requiring a restart (i.e. -- no change).
>
> Also tried disabling the "Broadcast Flag" via registry edit, no effect (so
> I
> put it back the way it was).
>
> Great link and suggestions, but no avail yet. Any other ideas?
>
>
> "SKeene" wrote:
>

On the Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool, here are the results...

Basic Connectivity... Supported (of course)
\Network Address Translater Type... Not Supported
Traffic Congestion Test... Supported
TCP High Performance Test...Supported
UPnP Support Test... Not Supported
Multiple Simultaneous Connections... Supported

I looked throughout my router settings (Linksys WRT64GS) and UPnP is
enabled, so I'm not sure why the test failed for that. The other 'not
supported' feature, NAT, has no options to configure in my router. However,
per my xbox (on the same wireless network), I have an 'open' NAT.





"Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote:

> Try these tools. Please post back with the result.
>
> Internet Connectivity Evaluation ToolThe Internet Connectivity Evaluation
> Tool checks your Internet router to see if it ...
> http://www.microsoft.com/windows/usi...d/default.mspx ...
> http://www.chicagotech.net/netforums...pic.php?p=3548
>
> How to verify device compatibility
> http://www.howtonetworking.com/vista/vistafaqs.htm
>
>
> --
> Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
> Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
> http://www.ChicagoTech.net
> How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
> http://www.HowToNetworking.com
>
>
> "SKeene" <SKeene@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:E9AD6E18-BCD2-474E-B164-C94F9BF7EF76@microsoft.com...

>

Did you do How to verify device compatibility?
http://www.howtonetworking.com/vista/vistafaqs.htm

--
Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
http://www.ChicagoTech.net
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
http://www.HowToNetworking.com


"SKeene" <SKeene@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7DA2E0BB-CCF6-4282-89AE-A26D8C9A980D@microsoft.com...

> On the Internet Connectivity Evaluation Tool, here are the results...
>
> Basic Connectivity... Supported (of course)
> \Network Address Translater Type... Not Supported
> Traffic Congestion Test... Supported
> TCP High Performance Test...Supported
> UPnP Support Test... Not Supported
> Multiple Simultaneous Connections... Supported
>
> I looked throughout my router settings (Linksys WRT64GS) and UPnP is
> enabled, so I'm not sure why the test failed for that. The other 'not
> supported' feature, NAT, has no options to configure in my router.
> However,
> per my xbox (on the same wireless network), I have an 'open' NAT.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote:
>

I forgot to post that. My router (Linksys WRT54GS) is litsed as
"Compatible", but not "Certified for Vista".






"Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote:

> Did you do How to verify device compatibility?
> http://www.howtonetworking.com/vista/vistafaqs.htm
>
> --
> Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
> Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on
> http://www.ChicagoTech.net
> How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on
> http://www.HowToNetworking.com
>
>
> "SKeene" <SKeene@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:7DA2E0BB-CCF6-4282-89AE-A26D8C9A980D@microsoft.com...

>

Hi SKeene,

When you loose connectivity does your Default Gateway also disappear?

Tarran

"SKeene" wrote:

> I forgot to post that. My router (Linksys WRT54GS) is litsed as
> "Compatible", but not "Certified for Vista".
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Robert L. (MS-MVP)" wrote:
>

Nope, according to IPCONFIG (or the connection proprieties), I still have an
IP and a gateway, but I cannot ping the gateway, etc.





"EvilTarran" wrote:

> Hi SKeene,
>
> When you loose connectivity does your Default Gateway also disappear?
>
> Tarran
>
> "SKeene" wrote:
>