You want to isolate which ?Layer? this problem is located. Let?s do something things to see if we can?t find the problem.
From your description I am not 100% sure what the layout looks like. Are both machines using your wireless net gear router to get out? Is the machine in the basement connected to the router via Ethernet and the computer upstairs connected to the router via wireless? Do I have this right so far?
Next, are either computers going down, or just the wireless computer?
I am guessing that you are using DHCP from your Netgear router. Do a check to make sure that your computers do in fact have the same IP settings with different IP addresses. (Same Mask, Default Gateway, etc?)
Start>Run>cmd
ipconfig
You may want to do this. When you get a connection, try hitting your default gateway and the next hop to your ISP provider at the same time.
Start>Run>cmd
Tracert www.yahoo.com (or whatever you want)
Take the first IP address to your ISP and open a window to consistently ping.
Start>Run>cmd
ping x.x.x.x ?t (will continue until control^c)
**Note, some ISPs deny ICMP packets, PING, and you might want to just find a reachable one in the internet somewhere?we are just making sure you are leaving your house***
Now, open another window and do the SAME test but to your netgear router, also you default gateway.
Keep these running until the problem occurs once again. Did both die or just the Internet IP?
If you have now isolated that you are able to ping local but not to the internet the next step is to check your routing table. Try this:
Start>Run>cmd
route print
Look for your 0.0.0.0 routes. There ?should? only be one to your Netgear router. I have seen in the past where someone actually has two where one was good and the other bad; causing intermittent outages to remote broadcast networks.
Let me know, we can always go deeper.
Good Luck!
Jim
