I have had a wireless network for some time now. over the last couple
of weeks, my online experiences have been slow. I use it for a week and
all of asudden it is very slow. I surmised it might be my router. But
when I took the router out of the equation, it didnt go as slow but
there seeemed to be dropped connections. The inidicator in the system
tray was indicating that it is "unavailable" and then would say it "is
now connected". "Page not displayed errors" and other weird behavior
such as getting to a page sometimes and for no reason, not getting to
the same page.
It seems to be the cable modem is the problem. I didnt think they can
"go bad". Is there something I can do or diagnose if it is the cable
modem? thanks for your help.

fvbruno@optonline.net

"brute force" <fvbruno@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:1103991353.554119.212120@f14g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
Well unfortunately, you didn't say what type of cable modem. Some of them
have a maintenance menu built in where you can see signal strength
(up/down), S/N level, etc. If you post your specific model number and the
up/down signal strength and noise levels, we can easier narrow the problem
down. -Dave

brute force <fvbruno@optonline.net> wrote:

Do you mean this still happens when you are connected directly to the
cable modem via Ethernet? Dropped connections on a wireless network are
often the result of radio interference. If this is what is happening,
you should use NetStumbler <http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/> to
check your own network's signal strength and noise and to discover any
other wireless networks using the same channel in your neighborhood.

Further questions about wireless networking should be posted to
alt.internet.wireless.

brute force wrote:
Assuming you eliminated not just the router, but went to an Ethernet
connection, the most likely source of your problem is somewhere in the
RF part of the situation. That is, it's someplace between where the coax
comes out the back of the modem, and where it gets to the CMTS. And to
narrow it down even further, there's a slightly better chance that the
problem is closer to your house than it is to the headend. The modem
itself is very far down on the list of likely candidates.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Spend your Amazon Gift Certificates at my site:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/

Warren wrote:

What is cmts? also....this has been working great for years. Do you
think there would all of a sudden be a problem with the cable line
coming in? Yes i directly connected the modem to the computer viua
ethernet. how do you explain the constant "disconnected" and
"connected" messages i get in the systray. right now i connected it
back thru the router and I am working normal. this is very perplexing.
give it a little time and i might be having trouble any time soon.
thanks

i can get to my config screen via 192.168.100.1. i have no idea of what
any of this screen means. how do i send the stats here? print it out ?
i can try to paste, but I dont know if it will come out ok. I will try
to see if I can post the stats here. I can post the modem info. thanks

Modem 3Com Corp. External 2-Way Cable Modem
Serial Number J0DH723F40
Boot Code Version 01.00.009a
Main Image Version 1.12
Hardware Version 2.00
Cable Modem Static IP Address 192.168.100.1
Web Based Configuration Pages Version 604

thanks but the issue is not the wireless as I had the cable modem
directly connected to the computer via ethernet.

brute force wrote:
Cable Modem Terminal System. It's essentially where the RF signal that's
distributed to your neighborhood meets the fiber-optic part of the
network.

Well, let's see. There are miles of cable, some exposed to the elements,
some decomposing underground. Numerous connectors and splitters to come
loose or corode, amplifiers to fail, and other miscellaneous stuff
related to the distribution of the signal. Anywhere from a few hundred
houses to a few thousand houses are passed, any one of which could
connect something to the cable that could cause problems. New drops may
be created as new customers sign-up. Old drops may be terminated
incorrectly when customers drop their service.

Now let's compare that to your cablemodem. It's been sitting on your
desk, gathering dust, and occasionally power-cycled. It's inside, so
it's not exposed to any weather, and only people you've invited into
your house have had access to it. Perhaps it's been jostled a few times
as you've moved things around, but there's been no wind storms, no rain,
no ground water, no freeze-thaw cycles, and it's probably not in direct
sunlight.

Which part do you think is more prone to a problem after "working great
for years"?

Sure, it *could* be the cablemodem, but the odds are very much against
it. And without any troubleshooting, those odds are all we have to go
on.

That actually would point towards a loose connector or bad Ehternet
cable as the most likely cause.

Might you be using the same cable between the computer and the
cablemodem as you were using between the cablemodem and the wireless
router? Replacing that cable would be a prudent next step.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Spend your Amazon Gift Certificates at my site:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/

"brute force" <fvbruno@optonline.net> wrote in message
news:1104003314.316724.75790@z14g2000cwz.googlegro ups.com...
OK, now somewhere in there should be signal levels and signal/noise ratio.
While it's possible that your cable modem is bad, it's more possible that
the signal TO the modem is bad. But you can use the cable modem to check
that. Post the signal strength here. -Dave