Keep getting disconnected

Hi

I hope someone can help.  We have a new desktop pc (Packard Bell) with Windows7 and Norton 360.  We use it mainly for Outlook and surfing the web (Internet explorer) via google.  It is hard wired to a router so not wireless,  and we generally visit the same sites.  The problem is that we keep getting disconnected from the internet - sometimes two or three times repeatedly.  Each time we have to unplug the router, and reconnect twice before it will re-connect.  I believe it might be a problem with Norton but have no idea how to fix it.  I tried our PC provider (we have a contract for repair) and they have tried removing add ons etc, but they suggested uninstalling Norton and reinstalling which I haven't done yet as am not sure how that would help?   Can anyone offer any ideas please before my husband throws the pc out of the window....!

Thanks

Hi DVW,

 

Do you have any other security software installed, such as Microsoft Security Essentials?

Hi, thanks for your reply :smileyhappy:. Yes I've spoken to Talk Talk and they say there is  nothing wrong with the broadband service (albeit our link is very slow, but that has always been the case).  We connect via a D link wireless router - but it is hard wired, as wireless kept dropping out when we were setting it up a few years ago (we had an IT guy try without success).   I have a work laptop that I plug into the router regularly and I don't have the same problem with that.

Hi

I hope someone can help.  We have a new desktop pc (Packard Bell) with Windows7 and Norton 360.  We use it mainly for Outlook and surfing the web (Internet explorer) via google.  It is hard wired to a router so not wireless,  and we generally visit the same sites.  The problem is that we keep getting disconnected from the internet - sometimes two or three times repeatedly.  Each time we have to unplug the router, and reconnect twice before it will re-connect.  I believe it might be a problem with Norton but have no idea how to fix it.  I tried our PC provider (we have a contract for repair) and they have tried removing add ons etc, but they suggested uninstalling Norton and reinstalling which I haven't done yet as am not sure how that would help?   Can anyone offer any ideas please before my husband throws the pc out of the window....!

Thanks

Hi, thanks for your help :smileyhappy:no other security software that I'm aware of.

The next time your connection drops out, please connect the PC that you say does not exhibit the problem to see if it has connectivity.  If it does, then the problem is in the other PC.  If not, then it is your router or internet connection.

Hi again,

Have just tried what you suggested.  The laptop could connect to the internet through the router when the desktop pc had been disconnected.  To get the desktop pc to reconnect I had to unplug the cable twice.  Looks like it is the pc then, but is it likely to be Norton 360 throwing us out for some reason?  Are there some settings I could change?

Thanks

 

If physically disconnecting and reconnecting the cable solves the issue, it is highly unlikely that Norton is causing the problem.  If Norton had blocked the connection it would have been a software block and hardware reconfigurations shouldn't have any effect.  Have you tried using the laptop with that cable to see if the cable might be the problem?

Peanut gallery here:

One other possibility. The easy one is to confirm that you have the latest drivers for your NIC installed. The second is a bit more of a problem. If the card is older the heat may be causing some issues as you continue to use your system. If the software is current I'd recommend a new NIC.

Hope this helps

Re the cable, thanks I'll try that.

 

Hi Dick, thanks for thoughts.  Sorry, but what is an NIC?


DVW wrote:

Hi Dick, thanks for thoughts.  Sorry, but what is an NIC?


Hi DVW,

 

I believe Dick referred to a Network Interface Controller.  -  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_interface_controller.

 

Dave.

Hi, I've tried using the laptop cable on the desktop pc and it still disconnected, so now it seems it's not the isp, the router or the cable so it must be either the pc or Norton?  How do I test whether we have the latest drivers for the NIC please - though the pc was only bought in August last year?

Type Device Manager into your start menu search box and when the program appears at the top of the list open it.

 Find Network Adapters and expand by clicking the arrow in front.

 Right click the adapter and select Update drivers then allow windows to search online.

 

 Also did your computer come with a trial version of another Norton product?


DVW wrote:

Hi, I've tried using the laptop cable on the desktop pc and it still disconnected, so now it seems it's not the isp, the router or the cable so it must be either the pc or Norton?  How do I test whether we have the latest drivers for the NIC please - though the pc was only bought in August last year?


Hi,

Have you gone to the laptop manufacturer's site and compared the version numberes of your drivers with those available from them? If you know who made your card you might try their site as well.

For future reference a driver check every month or so is not a bad thing. Technology changes enough on a daily basis that August of last year is almost too old to be in the history books :smileylol: - just kidding. But I've found that during the first six months or so that a new product is on the market there are usually updates to fix things that didn't appear to be wrong/broken during testing. I'm on the thrid version of drivers for my video card and the fourth for the network card.

Hope this helps

Stay well and surf safe

Hi all,

Well I updated the drivers and that didn't help - it still keeps disconnecting.  My husband looks at a lot of pages with car photos on and he's noticed it seems to disconnect when jumping between pages.  I also noticed it doing it when downloading google maps.

We don't have any trial Norton products, just the Norton 360.

Any more ideas anyone???  New PC??

Really appreciate everyone's help.

 

Try power cycling the modem and router.  When your PC is shutdown, disconnect the power cords for the modem and router for a few minutes.  Then power up the modem.  Wait until it has a connection and then power up the router.  Finally, start the computer.

There are some D- Link routers that are not compatible with Windows 7 64 bit.  Can you give us the model # of your router?

 SendofJive povides this link if you want to look for your router here. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/windows-7/en-us/Search.aspx?l=en-us&type=Hardware&s=dlink&page=1 There are 18 pages if I recall.

 

 

Hi again,

Turned on pc this morning and  not connected straight away - took ages to get it to connect, had to switch off pc.

 

Our router is a D link DSL G604T and I've checked the website and it's compatible.  Strangely though, in our Device Manager, the router is listed as a Realtek RTL8191SU? Why would that be?   We did  try a Realtek device a few years ago with the other computer but couldn't get it to work so ended up with a D link one. Should I uninstall and re-install to see if the Dlink name comes up?  I'm not sure now if the updated drivers I downloaded were for the Dlink or the Realtek??

 

Also, re power cycling, where would the modem be?  I think it must be built into the computer as the only external piece of equipment we have is the router.

 

 

Hi DVW

 

The device listed in device manager is the NIC installed inside your computer, not the Dlink router which is connected externally to the computer with a cable.

 

Hence I don't think you need to make any changes in the device manager, viz. Uninstalling or Reinstalling drivers.

 

As regards powercycling the modem is concerned,  I think TalkTalk has given you a device with the modem router combined. Hence to power cycle the router, you can turn it off, wait 20 seconds, power it on and then wait another 20 seconds for the lights to light up. Thats it.

 

Also you mentioned that you are using Outlook on your computer, sometimes Outlook is configured to hangup on the internet connection after sending/receiving emails leading to a disconnection. Perhaps that could be the cause of the issue as well.

 

You can make use of this link for the settings to check for the same.

 

http://www.worldstart.com/outlook-express-can-be-set-to-hang-up-after-it-sends-or-receives-email/