Home networking can kiss my ass.

[McLaughlin]

I still haven't figured out why, on some days, my connection is fine, and on other days I can't go thirty seconds with disconnecting from whatever game I'm playing on Xbox Live. I don't get booted off Xbox Live, just off the game I was playing.

I called my ISP, my speeds are (better than) what I'm paying for (10 mb down, 1mb up), so that isn't the problem.

Tried playing on my brother's 360, and had the same problems, so it isn't my console.

Tried playing right through the modem, and that didn't seem to help.

If something is wrong, I have to fix it. There is something wrong with my network, and I don't know how to fix it. This is literally driving me insane.

Either both consoles are dying, my router is fucking with me, or my ISP magically starting having problems with Xbox Live.

kl;bghiksbghwipubgqpidur. ARRRRRRGHGHGHGHDFGAGR!

[Darkly]

Does your internet somedays go really slow? like a youtube video not buffering half as fast or whatever? that may determine if its your isp maybe?

i was going to say those pesky NAT settings too but if its dodgy even plugged into the modem it sounds more like some ISP problem i guess.

[Kylie]

Everyone's been having connection issues lately (apocalypse?)... My connection has been fine, but I'm no stranger to connection issues (ha), so I can empathize with you on that level.

[MetaZedlen]

I would have to say that your ISP just plain sucks ass, I would know this because I have a broadband connection, but it usually goes out during the day, probably because it is too hot outside.

The irony is: I live not 100 feet away from one of their offices...

[HUnewearl_Meira]

i was going to say those pesky NAT settings too but if its dodgy even plugged into the modem it sounds more like some ISP problem i guess.

That means the closest point to him the problem can be occurring is at his modem. Just the same, it could be his ISP, Xbox Live!, or a cumulative effect between Xbox Live!, his ISP, all networks between the two, and his modem.

[McLaughlin]

Everyone's been having connection issues lately (apocalypse?)... My connection has been fine, but I'm no stranger to connection issues (ha), so I can empathize with you on that level.

It's not just PSU. Halo3, CoD4, ect. Games I don't usually have problems on.

I'm leaning away from it being my ISP, because the problem just popped up out of the blue, and I've been with them for three years with no other issues.

[amtalx]

If its a recent problem, check the tech news around you. There could be a backbone that's having issues around you.

[KodiaX987]

As soon as the problem fires up, go to your computer and access your router's configuration panel. Check the timer. Check the log. If the thing reads the time as midnight/noon or there's a log saying "system started", then you know your router crashed and rebooted itself.

I had the same problem with a previous router of mine. Eventually threw it away after I got banned for join-flooding a chatroom at 2:00 AM while I was asleep.

[McLaughlin]

Hmm, I'll have to do that next time the problem arises. Thanks.

[Powder Keg]

I bet the ACTA treaty secretly went into effect and people are spying on our ISP's for illegal activity.

But really, if it's on and off and not consistent it's hard to tell. I would get a really weak signal at times and I found out it was just a bad/old cable wire.

[McLaughlin]

I've already tried every ethernet cable I could find, and it didn't seem to change anything. :/

[amtalx]

As the recent victim of internet problems, you may want to check out your modem. I was having speed trouble with mine last night. Turns out the modem was actually dying. I picked up a new one today and my speeds are back to normal. I never would have thought it was failing. One would think that a modem failure would result in a dead connection, not slow speeds...

[Blitzkommando]

Modem is a distinct possibility. But, as silly as it sounds, check the cabling leading to the modem. Ours became somewhat loose about a year ago and we had similar connection issues. We reseated the connections and it disappeared. Something else to consider if you are using DSL is the age of your home. Old phone lines are rather notorious for connection stability issues. Again though this can become even more noticable if the local (town) networking is older and getting more heavily used. Luckily many places are switching to fiber backbones so it's (slowly) becoming less of an issue.

[Powder Keg]

I've already tried every ethernet cable I could find, and it didn't seem to change anything. :/

I meant the actual cable line itself, not the ethernet cables. I had one in my home that was giving off a really weak signal and had my cable company replace it...then it worked like a charm.

[McLaughlin]

I meant the actual cable line itself, not the ethernet cables. I had one in my home that was giving off a really weak signal and had my cable company replace it...then it worked like a charm.

Oh. That might be something to look into. Thanks. I'll try reseating the cables too, thanks Blitz.

[Indica]

Since you ruled out bypassing your router and hooking it up directly to your modem.

What are the settings on the Xbox?

Is duplex set to auto, Full Duplex, 1/2 Duplex? Try messing around with those settings.

Also setup Port Forwarding in your router.

http://portforward.com/routers.htm

Find your router then add PSU and Xbox settings listed on the site



How old is your Modem? List the Company name and model.

If it's a DOCSIS 1.0 type modem you should defiantly get a new one.

[McLaughlin]

It's a Webstar modem, DPC2100 series. I've had it for...two years now? Two and a half I think.

[Blitzkommando]

That appears to be a rather old modem as the manual was last updated in September, 2003. Still, check the modem itself. Check that the lights are not displaying anything out of the ordinary according to the manual (http://www.scientificatlanta.com/products/consumers/userguidepdfs/webstar_userguides/4005527.pdf). (PDF)

Based on the age of the modem model though, it certainly couldn't hurt to take it in to trade up for a newer model. We did so with one of our old modems and we saw increased connection stability as well as an overall speed improvement in both bandwidth and latency.

[McLaughlin]

Hmm. I'll have to see if I can get them to replace it.

[McLaughlin]

Well, it's getting worse. It's now extended to the point of almost constant lagging while doing anything. It's also reached a point where I can notice the slowdown on my PC. Any site that has any number of pictures or other bandwidth-consuming things on it takes forever and a day to load.

I'm calling my ISP tomorrow, which will probably warrant a rant of its own.

[leblancdiaz]

Since you ruled out bypassing your router and hooking it up directly to your modem.

What are the settings on the Xbox?

Is duplex set to auto, Full Duplex, 1/2 Duplex? Try messing around with those settings.

Also setup Port Forwarding in your router.

http://portforward.com/routers.htm

Find your router then add PSU and Xbox settings listed on the site



How old is your Modem? List the Company name and model.

If it's a DOCSIS 1.0 type modem you should defiantly get a new one.

Actually I do have Port Forward and for the $20 bucks you spend for a lifetime subscription is worth it. If your an average computer level person one level below IT Tech then this is the program for you. You get a vast variety of applications including PSU that Port Forward can allow / bypass so that you can run programs simultaneously without interruption providing you know what brand of router you have and if you have access to your IP configurations. It's worth a check in my opinion and you won't regret it.

On the side note one of the programs it doesn't have is the Playstation Network so you can't log on a computer and have messenger open and your Playstation Network open via online game there's a conflict Playstation and Microsoft in general.

[McLaughlin]

For shits and giggles (and because they're going to make me do it tomorrow anyway, and I wanted a reference), I did a speed test at speedtest.net.

Now, I'm paying for 10mb down and 1mb up. Last time I ran this, I had 9800kb down and 900kb up (approximated). Now, I'm at:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/308906163.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

No wonder Xbox Live lags.

[Indica]

Your DPC2100 Modem is fine and it's DOCSIS 2.0 compatible. My ISP - COX lists it as a compatible Modem and supported so your ISP should have same.

Only thing is to have your ISP send a tech to the house. I would try bypassing any Coax Splitters and make sure your Modem is connected directly to the wall. Maybe you have a Splitter sharing the signal with a TV...etc.

[McLaughlin]

Well, the problem is getting worse by the day, so I called on Friday and there's a technician coming on Tuesday, so hopefully it's fixed then. Most of the time I can't even connect now, and when I do it's dial-up speed.

I've checked for splitters and the like but didn't find any attached to the modem (there's one splitting my phone modem's cable so I could get a cable to my TV, but I switched that around just now because I had another cable jack put in down here. tl:dr no splitters). Even if there were, I don't see why the problem would only show up seven months after installation.

Now, the PC light doesn't come on sometimes, or the Cable light flashes. Both result in no intarwebz.

I'll report back on Tuesday with a status report, but as of right now, I think the culprit is the modem.

Ah, I forgot. When I was on the phone on Friday, the guy was noticing packet loss when I had the modem hooked up to my router, but none when I unhooked the router (so nothing was connected to the modem). When he asked my to just connect my PC directly, the modem wouldn't come back online.

[Indica]

It's probably a neighborhood issue and they have to do some work out in the street. Cable companies have a tendency of overloading a lot of people on the same Node.

There can be like 200 people on the same node and if a majority are all using Cable at the same time, 15 people will have degraded services..etc , and you are one of those people.

[McLaughlin]

Eh, I doubt that's the problem. There are only four houses built in my neighborhood right now.

[leblancdiaz]

One of the problems I have is were my house located is the old part of the city meaning house are 30 - 40 years old. At the time there was no internet and my internet cuts out all the time it's worse then an AOL user on a 56k modem. More ironic it's usually when your in the middle of something important. When this does occur the connection can go offline for a couple of hours to a couple of weeks. One of the problem is the city is to cheap to put in DSL cables were I live and the company we use can only fix so much and we still get the same problem. Even if we switched companies we still would get the same problem. I don't own the internet connection were I live so I don't get a say in the matter, yet I willing to pay for a faster connection but my parents refuse and they won't let me put my own internet line in. Yeah I will admit my parents control my life a little more than most parents do but nothing is going to change as long as I live rent free with parents.

[Indica]

It's pretty fucked up how Cities/Towns spend their money and are too cheap with other things..

I live in Las Vegas and my moms house is in a very good neighborhood. The city spent tons of money to re-pave the street and it didnt even need it done. It was a new neighborhood.

5 Blocks away there are sections where the streets are very bad, - all cracks and even a dirt road 0.o

Our government system is all screwed up in Nevada. They did the same with this Highway 266 near the California border near Death Valley. They re-paved like 50 miles of road that didnt even need it.

[McLaughlin]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/311184187.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

It would appear that the modem was the culprit. I'm just glad I don't have to occupy myself for an hour every time I load a page.

[amtalx]

I knew it!

[Indica]

Nice, I figured it was either the Modem or something out in the street.

There is a great chance your modem was perfectly fine, but the technician wanted you to believe replacing the modem fixed the issue while the real problem was out in the street.

My Cable company did that to me 3 times replacing my Digital TV box when the real problem was just the Trap/Filter in the street was causing the problem.

[afterthoughtz]

Nice, I figured it was either the Modem or something out in the street.

There is a great chance your modem was perfectly fine, but the technician wanted you to believe replacing the modem fixed the issue while the real problem was out in the street.

My Cable company did that to me 3 times replacing my Digital TV box when the real problem was just the Trap/Filter in the street was causing the problem.
Companies seem to do that a lot, my air conditioner went bad so i called some air condition company and the told me i needed a new unit and that it was around $1,100 so i called another company and they came and sound all i needed was some kinda circuit thing and that it would be around $150 for the part and another $50 for the service. And it runs fine now!

[McLaughlin]

It didn't cost anything to have the modem replaced, so it's no big deal.

He was calling around trying to figure out why our lawn was dug up (by the green electrical thing near the street curb) but couldn't get any answers, so he put some notices on our service report to get that cleared up. The wire's been exposed like that for a couple weeks now. Though, my problem began before that happened.