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General discussion

It forgets I'm connected. . .

Jul 26, 2004 12:50AM PDT

My system, Shuttle main board, AMD 2600+ XP processor, 512 Meg RAM, on-board LAN, XP Home.

Using all D-link network: Cable modem, 4 port wireless router connected to my PC (wired), wife's mirror PC (wired), wireless laptop, IBM Netvista (wired).

Since day one my PC will not connect. At TIMES. It mostly happens if the PC is on but idle for a while. While I'm surfing it works perfectly. But if I leave it on line and not use it I have to reboot to get back on line. By this I mean I click on IE, it opens, and then I get the "Page cannot be displayed" message such as "site cannot be found". In OE it opens, I see the "Connecting" message, then the error message "Mail server cannot be found". Thinking it was the on-board LAN I disabled it and installed a D-link NIC. No joy. I have all updates for XP, all updates for D-link.

Here's the kicker. All the other PCs can get on line in the time mine can't. So this kind'a narrows it down to my PC.

When this happens, I click the task bar network icon and click Repair. XP says it did, but again, no joy, reboot time.

Any ideas?

Discussion is locked

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Re: It forgets I'm connected. . .
Jul 26, 2004 1:03AM PDT

I'll be short.

1. Motherboard drivers. Microsoft doesn't do these. Try latest from MB maker.

2. LAN "NIC" drive. MS doesn't do that either. Find and install.

3. Latest BIOS. I'm running into more and more out-of-date BIOS issues. Maybe it's that the newer users (consumers) are not aware it makes a difference. We update and retest.

4. Get another NIC. Just had one do something odd at the office, it was onboard, so disable it, pop in a spare NIC and it's solid.

Bob

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Re: It forgets I'm connected. . .
Jul 26, 2004 1:16AM PDT

Four-d-roger Bob,

1. Done that already from Shuttle.

2. Also updated LAN drivers from Shuttle.

3. Disabled the onboard LAN in the BIOS installed a D-link NIC. Since the problem is exactly the same, I'm leaning away from the NIC issue.

Come back, good buddy?

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Control Panel, Power.
Jul 26, 2004 1:23AM PDT

I wonder if it tried to sleep. Today, the pressure is still on the driver writers to kick the driver out, even if sleep or hibernate doesn't work.

Try the Control Panel, Power settings to Never, Never, Never and Always On.

If you use Olexp, make sure the hangup checkbox is proper.

And read http://www.doxdesk.com/parasite/

Bob

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Re: Control Panel, Power.
Jul 26, 2004 2:03AM PDT

Thanks, I'll try the power settings. Don't see Olexp.

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OLEXP
Jul 26, 2004 2:24AM PDT

Hopefully, it's this.

To configure Outlook Express to work offline, follow these steps:

1. On the Tool menu, click Options.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Click to clear the "Send and receive messages at startup" check box.
4. Click the Connection tab.
5. Click to clear the "Hang up after send and receive" check box.
6. Click OK.

You can set it as you wish, but item 5 is inappropriate for a LAN.

Bob

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Re: OLEXP
Jul 26, 2004 3:44AM PDT

Oh yeah, that's what I have, thanks.

It's been working perfectly this morning, but I have changed the power settings. I guess I'll just sit on it and see what happens.

Just sitting here (off today) playing with the laptop, updating the wireless PCMCIA drivers. D-link makes it too easy.

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"D-link makes it too easy."
Jul 26, 2004 3:56AM PDT

We can fix that too.

Wink

Bob

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Re: OLEXP
Jul 26, 2004 4:37AM PDT

"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any other invention in human history, with the possible exception of handguns and tequila."
-- Mitch Radcliffe

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Re: It forgets I'm connected. . .
Jul 26, 2004 4:30AM PDT

Hi, Coryphaeus, Bob
Just got online to post. I was drawn to Bob's reply to this post, listed in recent posts. I couldn't believe my luck. This is exactly the problem that I have. I will apply the bandaid.
Thanks again.

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Re: It forgets I'm connected. . .
Jul 26, 2004 4:38AM PDT

Let me know how you come out.

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Re: It forgets I'm connected. . .
Jul 26, 2004 7:32AM PDT

This machine is Dell Dim. 2100, Intel Cayman 810, 1.1ghz celeron, Win XP Pro, 256 mb pc133 sdram. Programs: NAV Corporate, Zone Alarm, Mozilla browser.
ADSL Phone line connection, Westel modem, hard wired with D-link router to D-Link switch, all connected with Cat 5e patch cabling.
I applied the recommended fixes, left the machine idle for 45 minutes (off-line). Returned to launch Mozilla, with the same song, same verse. (Page cannot be displayed)
The machine didn't go into sleep mode, only the screen saver was running.
Since the common denominator here seems to be the D-Link products, could the idle time somehow affect the router or settings. That's the only thought that comes to my mind. Possibly someone else has a different perspective.
As you mentioned, re-booting solves the problem, temporarily.
Any suggestions welcomed.

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Try no screen saver.
Jul 26, 2004 7:36AM PDT

I've had the issue with screen savers taking all CPU time and when some "are you there" request arrives, then it's too busy to answer.

Try "blank" or for me, I use NONE and just have the monitor power down.

Bob

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Re: Try no screen saver.
Jul 26, 2004 7:38AM PDT

Thanks Bob:
Will try it.

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Re: Try no screen saver.
Jul 26, 2004 7:57AM PDT

Bob: I ran this short test.

Set the screen saver to start after 1 minute.
Set the monitor to power down after 2 minutes.
Waited for it to go through the steps.
After 3 minutes launched Mozilla.
Connected without a problem.
It seems that the length of idle time must be a factor.
Any thoughts?

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Re: P.S.
Jul 26, 2004 7:36AM PDT

I neglected to mention that this computer is networked with 5 other computers.
This machine appears to be the only one with this problem.

Still Stumped

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Re: Try This.
Jul 27, 2004 2:51AM PDT

Hello Coryphaeus:
In Device Manager, open the properties card of your Network card. Click on the power management tab.
Clear the check box, Allow Windows to turn off this device to save power.
Not sure if this will work yet, but it seems logical.
Hope this will help.

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(NT) (NT) Re: It Works!
Jul 27, 2004 3:51AM PDT
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Hey, excellent thought. . .
Jul 27, 2004 5:03AM PDT

I had already changed my power management to always on, but this should fix it.

Thanks!!

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Re: Hey, excellent thought. . .
Jul 27, 2004 7:45AM PDT

As with most solutions, there are no guarantees, but I have managed to keep my connection available for 2.5 hrs. today.
Good Luck

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Re: Hey, excellent thought. . .
Jul 28, 2004 9:11AM PDT

Looks like it worked!! I changed it on my other three PCs too.

Thanks.

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Update
Jul 28, 2004 3:44PM PDT

Great! Happy to hear that it worked for you.

One other thought that may be of interest.
I noticed that the NIC card on this machine, 3Com C905B-TX has a small 3-pin power cord plugged into the MB. Another machine with the same NIC card, wasn't connected. This computer didn't have the problem.
I suspect that the power source must somehow enable the turn-off feature. Just to be sure, I have unplugged the power cord. All seems to be working well for now.

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Re: Yet another possibility.
Aug 1, 2004 6:09AM PDT

I have since had a very similar problem with a different machine. I would lose access after approximately 20 minutes. This on a cable connection, pc hooked directly to the modem.
Got an error message at boot that some dll file in Zone Alarm could not load.
I reinstalled ZA, then set everything to default and the problem magically disappeared.

I Hope this helps.