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Problems with DSL Connection....

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by diplomat1 3 views

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Situation:

My home network has 3 computers attached to a D-Link hub with my DSL modem uplinked to the hub. One computer is running Windows 2000 and the others Windows ME. One of the Windows ME unit consistently times out when I try to login using my Access Manager.

This unit has been formatted twice, Win ME freshly reinstalled, NIC changed three times, moved card to different PCI slots, cables changed, yet it continues to be a hit and miss with connection only happening perhaps 1 out of 10, 20 tries. I tried using a network analyzer and it said the packets were too large (whatever that is), yet the home LAN works flawlessly. Go figure!

I have been trying to get connected on this PC for the past 48 hours and no dice. I can have no problem getting connected with the other PCs. Any ideas anyone???????

18 replies

by leo.valmores

Are you using a simple hub or one of those D-Link type of DSL Gateway/Switch ports?

If a simple hub-only, then you can use one of the PC i.e. WIN2K and use the Internet Sharing feature and install two NIC on that PC. Connect the DSL model to the first NIC and configure the TCP/IP parameters given from your ISP. Connect the hub to the second hub. WIN2K defaults the internal net to 198.168.0.x

If you are using one of those D-Link SOHO Gateway/Switch appliance/device, there is a big change that it TCP/IP settings are screwed-up. Recheck it.

by diplomat1

Thanks for the imput but I do not want to use ICS. The current setup has worked fine for over a year now and the problem in question came up only just over a week ago.

by diplomat1

Thanks for the imput but I do not want to use ICS. The current setup has worked fine for over a year now and the problem in question came up only just over a week ago.

by uber geek

Try taking the offending PC off the network and getting on line w/ either your DSL or a dial up in stand alone, if you can't get on line w/ DSL but can w/ dial up, you may need to reinstall TCP/IP or you might be able to get away with changing your MTU (Max Transfer Unit) size. If you can get on line go to www.dslreports.com/tweaks and run their tweak tester to check your MTU size.

by diplomat1

Good thinking but I have not been able to connect in "standalone" mode either. I have plugged the DSL modem directly into the offending PC and it is still timing out. The modem lights do flash when Access Manager is trying to connect so there is some sort of communication going on between both devices. I just think the modem signal is not being picked up and I am at a loss as to the reason why.

by macgyver.hicks

Hi Diplomat 1
It sounds like your system is having a problem with the MTU(Maximum Transmission Unit). There is a good article at the URL that I have included that discusses this aspect and provides some links some share/freeware that can help in adjusting the MTU without having to directly tweaking the Registry. The site is:
http://www.pcworld.com/hereshow/article/0,aid,15977,00.asp.
This should take care of your timeout problem.

by diplomat1

Interesting articles but my MTU is 1496. Interestingly, I removed the third and last PC I added to my network (a day before the problem started) and the offending PC is now connecting without a problem. Now that IS weird.

by mphoffar

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is wha happens when you pung an address from a dos prompt (say ftp.microsoft.com). At least there you should be able to deciminate whether this is browswer related or winsock related.

I might be suspecting a bad cable here. You said you plugged the offending computer directly into the modem...but I'm not sure how you may have done that. Thought that would be worth mentioning. Spend to many hours banging my head with something as simple as a bad cable.

Good luck to you

Mark

by diplomat1

I also said I changed the cables and that I plugged the DSL modem directly into the PC instead of uplinking to the hub. Interestingly, I removed the third and last PC I added to my network (a day before the problem started) and the offending PC is now connecting without a problem. Now that IS weird.

by ahdick

OK...here is my idea...if you try powering down the DSL Device ( I don't like to refer to it as a modem becuase it isn't one) and the offending PC...wait at least 1 minute. Then bring the DSL back online. Wait until you have full connectivity with the DSL then bring up the PC. I have had this problem with my Cable service. Maybe it will help you out. You may also want to try releasing the IP and renewing it for the NIC.
Good luck!!

by diplomat1

Been there, done that, got the T-shirts :-) That didn't do the trick. See comments above.

by sparky4

Don't know if this will help or not, but since your problems started when you added the 3rd PC, how many dynamic IP addresses does your DSL provider include in your account? If it's only 2, then you'll run into problems when there are 3 PCs trying to use 2 addresses. Solutions: replace the hub with a router (recommended: 3com 3c510 home ethernet gateway); use ICS; pay for additional IP address.

by diplomat1

I can use two dynamic IP addresses and am not trying use the 3 PCs on the 'net simultaneously. I however need the three PCs on the home LAN.

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