Internet connection problems

[hiphopclown]

Hello,

I'm having problems with my internet connection.
I have 2 desktops and 2 laptops, all windows 7 except one desktop, which is running XP. All are "hooked up" to a modem/router.

One particular laptop seems to make the internet connection very unstable. Whenever it is turned on with either wired or wireless connection, all the computers in the house becomes unstable and will randomly lose internet for about 3-5 minutes, comes back on, then loses internet again randomly ranging from 10 minutes to 2 hours. It just randomly loses internet for a few minutes then comes back on. It continues to do so while that particular laptop is connected to the internet.

Any ideas why and how this can be fixed? Any help would be welcome. I've been searching for answers for weeks but found nothing. I'm fairly knowledgeable with computers but I'm not an expert.

Thank you in advance!

 

[rgd1101]

Run anti-spyware, anti-malware, anti-virus software on that PC.

 

[rdc85]

the laptop is running at win 7?

could u check at resource manager (netowrk) see if there a particular apps that eating the bandwith... (it could be malware/virus/spyware as rgd1101 says)

also usually modem/router had log ability/feature..
u can try analyze the log (but it's complicated and time consuming )

 

[jemm]

Is your internet connection bandwidth enough for all the systems?

 

[boju]

if everything comes back clean of infections and you have enough bandwidth, it could be the router itself having issues. How old is the router?

 

[hiphopclown]

Thanks for the replies!
All computers are clean and virus free. Bandwidth isn't a problem because no matter how many users are connected, even just 2 computers, the laptop still messes up the internet. Yes, laptop is windows 7. The router is about 3 years old.
I read something about windows 7 having issues with this but I'm not sure what to do.

 

[goodguy713]

with wireless it depends on how many networks are in your area .. if you live in an apartment complex or every one in your immediate vacinity has a wireless network set up you can get a lot of wireless interference and while most internet providers wont tell you this this genereally is the case for poor wireless reception unless you use wireless N on a 5Ghz channel you will get a lot of signal intereference as far as the wired connections dropping it has to do with packet overflow you might try purchasing a seperate router to use other then your modem at&t is notorious for this .. they push that wireless tv box now and stuff everything on wireless b/g and exspect it to work fine when in places like apartment complexes it the signal gets degridated and you end up with freezing images and blocky pictures.. another thing to look at is wireless signal channels overlapping the most common cause of wireless intereference because 2 modems are broadcasting on the same wireless channel typcially 1 through 11 .. but the channels each overlap by 1 so say you have your channel set to 2 it will over lap to 1 and 3 but whoever is on those channels will then get intereference from your signal .. it also has to do with usage .. as well if some one is constantly say streaming video or something then you have more intereference .. thats why i detest the concept of wireless recivers

 

[goodguy713]

there are programs out there that will tell you what channel modems are broadcasting on and there signal strength as well as the aproximate distance from your router.. this is helpful when your looking for an alternate channel to switch your router too.

 

[hiphopclown]

Thanks, goodguy713. That was very informative.
I live in a house, not apartment complex or anything of that sort. Just a normal house
But the problem still persists even with wired connection.
It's just this one laptop who messes up the connection, wired or wireless, no matter how many or few connects to the internet.

 

[rgd1101]

can you give up a screenshot of what running(task manager) on the laptop?

 

[hiphopclown]

Here's the screenshot of the task manager as requested by rgd1101. Thanks you.

 

[boju]

Routers, if your lucky can last for many years since there aren’t any moving parts albeit power surges/heat/buggy firmware may compromise longevity so typically 2-3years on average before being replaced, can be much sooner if unlucky.

Making a decision of buying new can be tricky especially if it may not help at all and in your case seems to be isolated to this particular laptop which confuses things.

Have you tried turning off wireless on the problem laptop and also in router's settings? Network cable should take priority over wireless when connected but just in case there maybe something wrong with the router.

Other troubleshooting ideas however limited could be of relocating computers around the house isolating any network cabling issues. Or can try updating firmware for your router if available.

 

[rgd1101]

Is the task manager - networking tab, does it using a lot of bandwidth?
Did the laptop come with diagnostic tool for the wireless/network card?

 

[boju]

i see mcafee security center in the taskmanager screenshot, just wondering if that could be the problem, what do you think rgd1101?

 

[hiphopclown]

@boju: yes, I have tried turning off wireless and I'm always using wired anyway. and I'll try disable mcafee and see what happens.

@rgd1101: bandwidth isn't a problem and yes, it came with diagnostic tools. I tried that already but it said nothing is wrong.

Thank you once again guys. Not really sure how to resolve this issue but your replies are appreciated.

 

[boju]

If disabling doesn’t help, try uninstalling, just in case. I've read quite a bit about the hassles mcafee can cause. Microsoft security essentials is a good choice; free, frequently updated and no problems.

Do the other computers run mcafee? or any other additional security programs?

 

[hiphopclown]

I uninstalled mcafee from the laptop. I'm testing it now and see if it's going to work.
All other computers don't have it. One use Avast and another uses AVG for antivirus.

I hope everything goes well...

 

[boju]

ok good luck.

Those other anti viruses are pretty good, i don’t expect any dramas from them.

Hoping uninstalling mcafee did the trick otherwise possible reinstall of windows or borrowing a router before buying new might be worth looking into as your next step.