Strange Broadband Modem Issue

[Prof.Wizard]

A good mate of mine has a strange problem with his DSL connection in Britain. He asked for expert help. I guess there's no better place than SF's Tech Support forums.

He connects with his USB modem to the 'Net and, apart that the connection is really sluggish, it disconnects by itself after a 5-to-30 minute (totally random!) interval never to find the modem plugged in again, if he tries to reconnect. If he goes on to unplug and replug the modem- tada- it appears again normally.
This isn't a modem issue since he plugged it on his old PC and the modem behaves impeccably. He says that all his drivers/BIOS are the latest and no other issue appears from his current hardware/software configuration. (I kinda believe his in this last point cause he's a geek too... :wink

Any suggestions?

 

[Clocker]

I used to have a problem similar to that with the D-Link router I had connected to my Webstar cable modem. It would take a while to synch up and then just lose connectivity at random. It never happened with the model attached directly to the PC NIC. I updated the firmware and that help but the problem was still happened occasionally. I never did figure it out.

If your friend's modem has an ethernet port in addition to the USB, I would suggest he get a nice brand-name NIC and give it a try.

If he is stuck with USB, he should unplug the modem for a few minutes and then re-start it while attached to the USB (which I'm sure he has already tried).

What is the difference in USB controllers between the two systems? Are there any differences in network settings? Does he need to send any type of 'keep-alive' signal to keep the connection up? Just some random ideas to think about....

C

 

[blakerwry]

I would tend to believe in the keep-alive thought...

My recomendation for internet conenctions is to always choose a 10/100 NIC over USB unless absolutely unavoidable.

It is possible that there is something finicky about your friends USB controllers... what kind of controller/mobo is your friend running on the problem PC?

What about the working PC?

If the problem PC is a VIA based mobo have you tried installing the USB patches?


If you have to stick with USB, you might just want to invest in a USB 2.0 add in controller.... or not... It's possible that your friend's ISP will have another brand of cable modem available that will work better with his computer.



*I worked for an ISP for 2 years... I personally never liked using the USB connection on some cable modems because of the various problems people tended to have that simply vanished once they used the Ethernet port.

 

[Urik]

Umm, hi, i'm the guy with the problem...i don't know what's wrong...i've tried everything. I've got a us robotics 9000 model it worked fine with my old pc (p3 550 with a BX gigabyte mobo) but since i installed it in the new machine everything's gone wrong. My new configuration is an asus KT400 (A7V8X) with onboard lan,firewire,serial ATA and usb 2.0. Then an Abit geforce4 Ti4200 128mb, Athlon XP 2200+, Kingston 256mb cl 2.5 ddr 333, one audigy platinum and one creative 128 pci. And then of course a couple of HD's and DVD/CDR.
all drivers and bios are the latest as my friend Prof. Wizard said above (except a new version of 4in1 from viawhich i just downloaded, but i don't thing they will change anything because no usb drivers are included)
Any thoughts?

 

[blakerwry]

the kt400 should have perfect USB ports (AFAIK).... the VIA usb problems were with a much older version....

you're new setup seems fine... nice computer.

What I would suggest to you is to call your ISP and ask for a new DSL modem, one which supports Ethernet.


Barring that, you may find that your USB modem goes into a kind of suspend state if you haven't been sending/recieving any data for awhile... you might want to run Kazaa or something and see if you still have a problem.

 

[jtr1962]

The USB connector is a POS so it might be something that simple. USB connectors are known to come loose by themselves quite easily. Perhaps a small vibration causes a momentarily break in the signal line. Since replugging it in solves that problem, you might want to see if anything is physically wrong with the connectors(corrosion, bent contacts, etc.) I've had similar problems with bad HDD Molex connectors.

 

[Urik]

I'll check for the connections and cables although i don't think anything is wrong with them since the modem is a month's old and also works fine with my other pc. The thing is that i bought the modem myself and cant ask my provider to change it....so i either find the solution or buy an ethernet one
I was thinking if there may be any problems with the usb 1.1 and 2.0 compatibility.Maybe because the modem is 1.1 andthemobo 2.0 some conflict arises.
Blakewry i get disconnected even while downloading so it's not to do with idle state or something like that
thanks for the replies guys

 

[Tea]

I've had unresolved issues plugging a USB 2.0 external IDE box into USB 1.x machines, so I wouldn't discount that theory.

 

[blakerwry]

oh... i was under the impression that you were getting disconencted when idle....

I've got a us robotics 9000 model it worked fine with my old pc (p3 550 with a BX gigabyte mobo) but since i installed it in the new machine everything's gone wrong.

I'm wondering.... did you go from the old PC to the new pc and only then see problems?

Did you try re-hooking the DSL up to the old pc for a day or so AFTER you noticed the problems?

I just want to rule out coincidence.....



It's too bad that the Mobo doesn't offer USB 1.1 as well as the 2.0.... however, buying a USB 1 add-in card is reletively inexpensive... although a terrible investment.

 

[Urik]

Yep. I had it on my old pc and everyhting was smooth.The new machine arrives and i plugged it there using my old HD (without formating,or reinstalling windows) and i had this problem. Then i say something must be wriong with the configuration or drivers or something (you know windows...) so i buy a new drive install everything from the start and the modem continues to behave the same. So i say lets try it on the old one. I use another HD installing xp from the start and everything works fine...I have made a network at the moment using the old one as a server,that's how i' m here but i can't keep it this way, too much noise and husle. I'll try and call us robotics although i'm almost sure they won't be of any help

 

[blakerwry]

That would be a wise decision. USR... maybe even tech supp for your ISP.

They might be aware of any problems with the modem on newer computers... or your ISP might be able to make a deal with you for trading or replacing your modem... dunno, but you can try.

 

[time]

Replace the motherboard, preferably with a different model or brand.

I'm prepared to wager a 4MB stick of EDO DRAM that this is the problem.

 

[blakerwry]

I'll see your 4mb EDO and raise you an 8MB stick of fast page.

However, for the average person in the UK I wonder how likely it is that they can get an entirely different mobo. Especially one with SATA, Firewire, 6 channel sound, AGP 3.0, USB2, gigabit ethernet.....


Sticking with the VIA kt400, A close match is the GIGABYTE GA-7VAXP
It has AGP 8x, firewire, 6 channel sound, USB2, supports the DDR 166mhz FSB CPU's and DDR 400 RAM... You only get 10/100 and not gigabit LAN, and only ATA 133 instead of the SATA...

It's going for for $110 U.S. from my favorite retailer...

Soyo's offering, the SY-KT400 DRAGON Ultra seems to run about the same price, although you lose the firewire... but you get half the usually optional accesories... for $30 or so more you can get the platinum edition that comes with all the options (including combination smart media/Compact flash reader and front USB ports).


However, I believe both of these options are going to use the same USB controller as your current board... and that may just be the problem.

If you don't need the KT400's features, you could goto a kt333 or N'force2 board.

 

[Urik]

guys please stop! i just gave 110 quid for this thing!!
i need someone to cheer me up!
aaahhh when are the days when the worst think that could happen was to have an irq conflict and just had to change some jumpers...good ol' days....

 

[blakerwry]

heh.... right... good ol days... .IRQ conflict even after carefully picking out hardware.... endlessly switching cards from ISA to ISA slot.... only being able to put 4 expansion cards in a computer at a time.... endless conflicts...

OEM programs to determine the best IRQ for each piece of hardware...

Oh, and not to mention you ahd to pay twice as much for a good piece of hardware that supported a range of IRQ's vs. a cheaper piece that only supported 2 or 3 different IRQ's