cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
Thanks: 1
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

I have been using windows 7 since launch & have always had a problem whereby my internet connection (wired) drops out periodicaly. I get the yellow triangle in the connection status box even though the router still shows that im sync'd to the exchange. The only way to re-connect is by re-starting the router. If I run the troubleshooter it sometimes mentions the default gateway is not available. I know its a windows 7 issue as my old laptop with XP never ever drops connection whereas I can lose it on Win 7 half a dozen times in an evening (its a daytime problem as well). When you 'google' the problem there seems to be many people with similar issues, some suggest a power management problem but ive never seen a satisfactory solution posted - any fresh ideas anyone?
Rich
42 REPLIES 42
Steve
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 6,853
Thanks: 336
Registered: ‎13-07-2009

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Whats the make and model of the router your using?
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Quote from: rja66
..... I know its a windows 7 issue as my old laptop with XP never ever drops connection whereas I can lose it on Win 7 half a dozen times in an evening...

Are you absolutely sure about this?  I don't see that there is any problem with Windows 7 (or any other operating system for that matter) that could not be cured by restarting the computer.  If you have to restart the router then it seems to me to be a router problem.  Can your laptop with XP still connect to the internet whilst your Windows 7 computer is telling you it cannot?  If you normally connect the laptop wirelessly try using the same cable as the Windows 7 computer normally uses in case it is a cable/connector problem rather than the router itself. 
rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
Thanks: 1
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

I normaly connect my xp laptop wirelessly but dont seem to experience the disconnections as I do with the wired connection of my desktop (which I know sounds unusual). You may be correct about the router, im using a Belkin F5D9630-4 router however my wife and daughter both use laptops (wirelessly) with Win 7 and experience the disconnections shortly after the desktop pc drops. Thats why I was convinced it was a WIn 7 issue.
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

I have got this happen on Windows 7, occasionally.
The only cure is to reboot the router - reboots of any PC's are not necessary.
I know it's W7, because Linux PC's will happily continue with full wireless internet access.
W7 can see the router - but not the internet.
Luckily the offending machine has gone to university. Cheesy
I have a Netgear DG834G v5 (Connexant chipset) router.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
Thanks: 1
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

I have thought that may be the router momentarily drops connection and XP is able to reistablish connection straight away so that I dont even notice it has dropped whereas Win 7 for whatever reason is unable to do this, still there must be a solution somewhere.... Sad
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

I repeat:
If the only solution is to restart the computer then it is a computer problem.
If the only solution is to restart the router then it is a router problem.
It's possible that the Windows 7 PC does something to cause the router to hang but if the router cannot recover (even after the computer is switched off) then fundamentally it's a router problem.  It should not be possible to cause a properly engineered router to hang, no matter what garbage you throw at it.  Jeremy's problem is not the same and I bet he can clear it by rebooting the PC.
gadfly
Grafter
Posts: 39
Registered: ‎02-09-2010

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

I take it that you are using a wireless connection for both computers.
Have you got HomeGroup in Win7 enabled? - If so switch to using a standard wireless workgroup.
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Quote from: ReedRichards
It's possible that the Windows 7 PC does something to cause the router to hang but if the router cannot recover (even after the computer is switched off) then fundamentally it's a router problem.  It should not be possible to cause a properly engineered router to hang, no matter what garbage you throw at it.  Jeremy's problem is not the same and I bet he can clear it by rebooting the PC.

You would lose your bet.  Grin
Rebooting the PC (a laptop) does not help.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Quote from: A
Rebooting the PC (a laptop) does not help.

That's very strange but interesting.  What happens if you try to connect one of your beloved Linux computer via cable after this has happened?  Have all the wired router ports hung or just the one formerly connected to the Win 7 PC?  Could it be (and I know you'll find this difficult) that it's not the wondrous Linux that keeps going but the wireless facility on the router?
pnf
Grafter
Posts: 269
Registered: ‎07-11-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

@rja66
It might be worth manually configuring your network adapter (see pdf attached).  I have done this in Windows 7 as I found that on a number of occasions a 169.254.x.x address had been allocated to my network adapter which obviously would never work with the router. 
Also, if I remember correctly, I deinstalled and reinstalled the network adapter from within 'Device Manager' just to ensure that the latest drivers were being used.

VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Quote from: ReedRichards
Quote from: A
Rebooting the PC (a laptop) does not help.

What happens if you try to connect one of your beloved Linux computer via cable after this has happened?  Have all the wired router ports hung or just the one formerly connected to the Win 7 PC?  Could it be (and I know you'll find this difficult) that it's not the wondrous Linux that keeps going but the wireless facility on the router?

I've never tried wired - but all desktops are Linux (and work). Unfortunately, they are all on wireless.
I don't have long enough cables to reach the router.
So W7 wifi fails at the same time as Linux is working, over the same wifi.
The W7 PC is a laptop - so it could be connected to a wired port - but this machine will not be back on site before Christmas.
I forget how I did it, but I managed a DNS cache clear on the W7 machine - didn't help though. Grin
Might have been using a net command on the W7 command entry screen. Smiley

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."

rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
Thanks: 1
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Quote from: ReedRichards
If the only solution is to restart the router then it is a router problem.

Ok, i'll go with the assumption its a router problem but I still dont understand why the wireless XP laptop doesnt drop.
Quote from: gadfly
I take it that you are using a wireless connection for both computers.
Have you got HomeGroup in Win7 enabled? - If so switch to using a standard wireless workgroup.

I have 1 wired desktop on Win 7, 2 wireless laptops on Win 7 & the old wireless XP laptop.
Yes, homegroup is enabled.
Quote from: pnf
It might be worth manually configuring your network adapter (see pdf attached).

Sounds like a plan, will try that.
I have checked for the latest drivers.
rja66
Rising Star
Posts: 403
Thanks: 1
Fixes: 1
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Quote from: pnf
It might be worth manually configuring your network adapter (see pdf attached). 

Ok, I confess I know very little about these settings - I checked my router and inputted the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway and preferred DNS server info. (Not sure quite what you mean about setting the IP address outside the DCHP range - do you mean making it 101 for example where my IP address ends in a 1?
Anyway, did the above & got the message "Warning - The default gateway is not on the same network segment (subnet) that is defined by the IP address and subnet mask. Do you want to save this configuration?" - ive said no for the moment, perhaps you could clarify the above for the inexperienced !
Thanks
VileReynard
Hero
Posts: 12,616
Thanks: 582
Fixes: 20
Registered: ‎01-09-2007

Re: Windows 7 & dropping internet connection

Your gateway and ip addresses must be on the same subnet, else networking won't work.
Provided the mask is 255.255.255.0 and all your ip addresses are the same in the first 3 sections (corresponding to the 255 segments) - e.g. 192.168.2.xxx
then everything will be ok.
The last segment should be different for each physical device.

"In The Beginning Was The Word, And The Word Was Aardvark."