For a few months now, I've had this intermittent connectivity issue with my Win7 machine, which seems to be related to the idnet ADSL2+ connection, but I can't be sure.
The symptoms: sudden loss of internet connectivity. Router still claims to be connected, but router diagnostics cannot ping the gateway (100% packet loss). Instructing the router to disconnect and reconnect the ADSL link resolves the issue, until it next re-occurs, which can be anywhere from 30 serconds to weeks later. Can still contact the router from the win7 box, and router is still performing its LAN duties OK.
This seems to suggest the fault lies somewhere with the router.
I've contacted idnet support about this, and they see now unusual behaviour, other than my manual reconnects.
Setup: Windows 7, Netgear DG834Gv4 with firmware V5.01.14, ADSL2+ connection (Willesden exchange), wired ethernet.
Can anyone either suggest a likewly cause, or suggest additional diagnostics I can carry out to further isolate the problem?
Is it wired or a wireless connection?
Wired. Updated original post accordingly.
Have you tried updating the network drivers from the manufacturers site?
There is a later firmware v5.0.16 and have you tried a different router? I am assuming sync is maintained.
If the ethernet side is ok than personally I'd try a factory defaults reset which can be achieved by pressing the restore factoriy defaults button on the back panel with a pin until the power indicator flashes red.
You'll then need to navigate to the router's default IP of 192.168.0.1 and enter the username admin and default password which is password.
The router will then lead you through the automatic set up process, make sure you have your IDNet user ID and password to hand and that you change the router's default password.
If you find this does not work it may indicate the router is dying.
Glenn: If you mean the windows ethernet drivers, no I haven't, but there's no evidence yet of any problem there. I can stream video from PC to media player via the router's LAN even when the connectivity issue is present, and connectivity from windows to router sems entirely unaffected.
Steve: So there is... I'll upload that and see if it makes a difference, thanks. I don't have a spare ADSL2+ router, though, so I can't use that to narrow it down.
PCTech: It may well come to that, yes. Always an option, I suppose.
The frustration here is that it's hard to tell if the problem's fixed, since it occurs in a very unpredictable fashion, sometimes with longs gaps between occurrances.
Take a look at this (http://windows7forums.com/windows-7-networking/24142-randomly-disconnecting-home-network-no-internet-access.html) it may help. There are a lot of instances of no dls connection but Lan still works fine.
I had a weird issue where my router was blocking sites at random (and no content filtering was in force)
My ISP tested my profile, looked at their network and could not pin point the problem.
Before junking the router and heading down to PC world for a new one (nearest retailer near me) I tried that and it worked