This happened to me about 4 months ago. I called Time Warner, they had me run a traceroute and all, told me that it was my computer, my modem was working fine.

The next day, it started working again.

Now over the weekend, its happening again.

I am connected at 12 MBps, but my browsers won't let me online. I can't figure it out.

I have Road Runner with a wireless modem/router, but the router is connected to my PC via usb.

My system specs:
Proc : AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3000+* (1.8GHz) 939pin
Mobo : EVGA 133-K8-NF41 NF4SLI 939
Video : One VGA EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256-P2-N553-AX
Ram : 2 GB (512X4) Corsair DDR400
DVD burner: Pioneer DVDRW DVR-111D 16x8x8x6 IDE ATAPI 2MB 130ms Dual Layer Black
Hard drive : Seagate Barracuda 160GB 7200 RPM
Case & PS : Antec Sonata2 ATX QUIET Mid 450W
Sound Card : CREATIVE|AUDIGY 2
CPU Cooling : Thermaltake Copper XP-90C with EXTREMELY LOUD 92mm Tornado fan
Monitor: Westinghouse 37” 1080p LCD LVM 37W3

Dani AI

Generated

described being “connected” while browsers fail to load pages, and notes the problem went away when wireless was removed. That pattern usually narrows the fault to a handful of network-layer issues: DNS resolution, the gateway/router (USB-mode routers and their drivers can be flaky), a corrupted TCP/IP/Winsock stack, mis-set proxy/firewall rules, or ISP-side routing. If multiple browsers fail, browser bugs are unlikely and attention should focus on the network stack and gateway.

Useful diagnostic checklist (run from an elevated command prompt and capture the output for reference):

ipconfig /all
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns
ping 8.8.8.8
ping google.com
tracert 8.8.8.8
tracert google.com
netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip reset

Interpretation notes: a successful ping to 8.8.8.8 but failure to ping google.com = DNS problem. Failure to reach numeric IPs but a reachable gateway = router/gateway issue. netsh resets require administrative rights and a reboot. Keep the command outputs — they’re the most useful evidence if the ISP is asked to escalate.

Practical next steps that complement the forum replies: test with a direct Ethernet connection or temporarily bypass the router to isolate whether the modem/router is the culprit (USB-mode routing drivers are a common single-machine failure point). Check browser proxy settings (IE: Internet Options → Connections → LAN Settings; Firefox: Options → Network Settings) and inspect the hosts file for rogue entries. Update or reinstall the router’s driver/firmware, review router logs, and run a thorough malware scan since some infections intercept HTTP/HTTPS or alter proxy settings.

If local tests point to upstream routing, provide the ISP the ipconfig /all, traceroute outputs and router logs and request escalation. Swapping to an Ethernet-only router (or using another device to reproduce the issue) quickly proves whether the modem/router is the root cause.

To clarify, I am running Windows XP home and trying with the latest versions of firefox as well as internet explorer.

just to add to your dilemma, I too was suffering this problem, to overcome this I removed all wireless networking including the router and everything was fine but I share the connection from the main source so I have to suffer the wireless problem of routing. I have to keep clearing my connection to the network, reboot and away I go again, sometimes for hours and even days. Some serious issues have cropped up lately with routers and browsers in the last year as we have discovered at Brunel University in London. The internet and protocols are changing and more and more people are suffering this problem world-wide. PS. We also refuse to use explorer 7 as it is so full of bugs its not worth the problems it causes. Microsoft again rolling out something and letting the world report its faults. All the Macs we use are full steam ahead and never go down, and i'm not a great lover of mac's

Not sure if the issues are the same, as my modem is both a normal modem as well as a wireless router, but my PC is connected via USB cable, not wirelessly.

Thanks for the reply.

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