Member Avatar for sag969

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, but it seemed to be the most suitable.

Okay, this is my problem - and its been going on for about two straight months now. Nothing I do seems to fix it. I'm not sure what caused it to start at first, but it just seemed to happen overnight.

Once a day (it seems within less then 24 hours), I lose my internet connection. What I mean by that is that when I try to navigate to a webpage, it will say "Unable to connect" (I use Firefox). The thing that really annoys me is that everything will still seem to be connected. On the bottom righthand of my screen, it still says I am connected to the network. My chat still works - I can still IM people on MSN/AIM. However, if I try to stream from the internet, go to a webpage (on any browser - I tried opera/safari/firefox/explorer) I cannot connect. I have Windows Vista, so I tried using their tools. They agree that I cannot access the internet, but it still shows me as being connected to my network.

A little background:

- I have Windows Vista Ultimate
- Its a Gateway desktop
- However, it happens on my parent's computer at home too (they have Windows XP). So I don't feel its a Vista issue.
- I am at college, so I am using my college's ISP, and it never happens to anyone else - no roommates or friends have that problem - and we are all connected straight to ports in the wall. I have also tried plugging into different ports, that doesn't seem to work
- I have used every single virus protection program to scour my system. I have never found anything.
- I have tried enabling/disabling/resetting/ my internet connection. Nothing seems to work. It always says I am still connected, but I can't access the internet.
- I have a wireless card, I have tried disabling my ethernet connection and only using my wireless connection - that does not work either

Oh. I almost forgot. The ONLY, ONLY, ONLY way to get that fixed is to reboot the computer or go away for a few hours. Then it randomly fixes itself and I can browse the web again. Now, if it was once a week, I wouldn't mind rebooting the computer. But its become less then 24 hours every single day. Rebooting every single day has become a reallllll pain in the butt for two straight months.

I have tried contacting my college's IT department, but they can never reproduce the problem. Simply because you have to be in front of the computer, using the internet to see when it happens.

I have tried googling for a solution for this problem, but I've never found a solution. I HAVE found other people with the same problem as me, but nobody has fixed it yet. If anyone could help me, I would be very, very, very, very thankful.

  • 4 Contributors
  • 8 Replies
  • 231 Views
  • 3 Weeks Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Thinka

Dani AI

Generated

Good catch by — disabling the Vista Sharing option on the connection fixed the symptom in this thread. That outcome fits a pattern where a host acting as a sharer/router (or a stray virtual adapter) alters routing/DNS behavior so existing long-lived connections (IM, widgets, radio) keep working while new HTTP/HTTPS requests fail. Credit to and for the earlier diagnostic ideas that helped narrow this down.

When the failure happens, capture a short set of diagnostics to prove whether it’s DNS, routing, or a local service interference:

nslookup www.google.com
ping 8.8.8.8 -n 6
tracert 8.8.8.8
netstat -an
route print
arp -a

Quick interpretation hints: if the IP ping succeeds but name lookups fail, the problem is DNS-related; if IP ping/traceroute fail, routing or interface problems are likely; if established sockets exist (netstat) but new TCP connections fail, a local firewall/ICS/driver may be interfering.

Additional checks and preventive steps not already detailed in the thread:

  • Confirm the Windows service "Internet Connection Sharing (SharedAccess)" is stopped/disabled via Services (services.msc) if sharing isn’t intended.
  • Inspect Network Connections for virtual adapters (Hamachi, TAP-Windows, VMware, VirtualBox) and temporarily disable them.
  • Update or reinstall the NIC drivers and disable NIC power‑saving in Device Manager.
  • Check for third‑party VPNs/firewalls that might toggle sharing or route tables; uninstall/disable to test.
  • If sharing is required, prefer a small hardware NAT/router rather than ICS for stability.

If the issue appears on multiple networks, machine-level causes are very likely; collect the diagnostics above plus an Event Viewer System log snapshot (timestamped) to hand to support. This combination will separate DNS, routing, service, and driver causes quickly and make the ICS-related fix reproducible for others.

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

Member Avatar for Thinka

So you can chat... therefore you ARE connected. But you can't browse straightaway so it seems like you are NOT connected.

Is there any way that there is something wrong with the initial connection settings for the browsers, and that's why you have to restart for it to be reset? Have you ever tweaked proxy settings or such?

Also, presumably if someone plugs their computer in to the port that you use, their still alright?

Try going Start > Run > command > ipconfig /all and then checking that the settings shown are what they should be, with the Network adminstrators of your college.

Also when you say your parent's computer has the same problem, do they have it AT HOME, or if you use it at college?

Member Avatar for ithelp

Try ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew and ipconfig /flushdns
run some spyware remover as well.

Member Avatar for ebarrera

what kind of router do you have?

Member Avatar for sag969

Sorry for the long delay in reply. Last week was the last week before spring break and I had a ton of work to do. Now I'm at home and I can focus more on the problem. Also, yes, I am still having the same problem at home (in a completely different STATE) so I really doubt it has anything to do with the router/network provider/whatever.

So you can chat... therefore you ARE connected. But you can't browse straightaway so it seems like you are NOT connected.

Is there any way that there is something wrong with the initial connection settings for the browsers, and that's why you have to restart for it to be reset? Have you ever tweaked proxy settings or such?

Also, presumably if someone plugs their computer in to the port that you use, their still alright?

Try going Start > Run > command > ipconfig /all and then checking that the settings shown are what they should be, with the Network adminstrators of your college.

Also when you say your parent's computer has the same problem, do they have it AT HOME, or if you use it at college?

1) Yes. I have messed with my proxy settings. Its not that. In addition to chat, I am also still connected to widgets (like the Sidebar widgets on Vista) and online radio.

2) Yes, I have switched ports with my rooommate and nothing happens. He can still connect through my port but I cannot connect through my own. At home, I use a wireless USB card to connect to the internet. Changing what USB port I plug the card into doesn't affect the issue.

3) I have done that. I've gone through ipconfig and done nearly everything possible...and talked to several people. ONE time, I did manage to get my connection back through doing a ipconfig /flushdns then ipconfig /registerdns and it came back. That was the first time I tried it, and after that my internet was normal. Ever since then, I have not been able to reproduce that solution.

Member Avatar for sag969

Try ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew and ipconfig /flushdns
run some spyware remover as well.

I've done all of that...several times. Also, I've run all sorts of antivirus/spyware software many, many times. Never with any results.

Member Avatar for Thinka

I've done all of that...several times. Also, I've run all sorts of antivirus/spyware software many, many times. Never with any results.

Wow sag, that sounds like a real bummer. The only other thing that I can think of, is to connect your computer to a network physically (i.e. use an ethernet cable) at home. Try that and see if the problems still occur. It's a possibility that we're looking at a faulty adapter, or network drivers of some sort. I know I dealt with a similar problem not long ago and the desktop worked fine when it was hardwired to the network.

Member Avatar for sag969

I figured it out!

After a LOT of googling, it became pretty apparent that I was incorrect on my assumption that it was NOT a Vista only issue. In fact, it IS.

The solution is very, very, very simple. All you have to do is go to Network & Sharing Center, click on manage network connections, right click on your connection, go to the sharing tab, and uncheck any boxes that allow others to use your computer to connect to the internet.

I'm not sure why that setting would cause you to lose your internet, but I'm assuming its a Vista bug that hasn't been made a high priority (or maybe they just don't realize it) for a bugfix.

But yeah, I read that somewhere on another forum, did it the next time I was kicked off the 'net, and presto! Back in action.

commented: It's a great thing to share knowledge, that way we're all much the better for it. +4
Member Avatar for Thinka

Well done sag, it's one of the catch 22's of our generation, using the 'net to solve problems with connecting TO the 'net!

But yeah thanks for posting that, will add that to thinks to look out for when PCs go bad! Cheers.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.