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Intermittant Comcast...any theories?


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#1
antmanbee

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Comcast was down for long periods from this past Wednesday until Saturday when it finally stayed on for 60 hours. At about 7 this evening it went down and stayed down for next few hours

I went through the shut down computer and remove power form modem drill
no joy
so i just ignored it after that ...waiting to see how long before internet came back...
could be a few minutes or 12 hours

the only thing going on was internet light blinking

then

pc link/cable link lit briefly
message and cable activity light lit briefly
then back to internet light only blinking
then all the lights started blinking briefly
then cable link/pc link blinking but internet light off

this is occurring in a period of five minutes

finally....pc link and cable link are lit....everyhting else is off...
pc link light is somewhat intermittant...blinks off briefly ....
I sit and watch to see what happens next

nothing happens so I hit the on/off button in front of modem

Internet back up
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#2
ChevyManUSA

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How old is your Cable Modem?
It is recommend by most ISPs to replace your modem every 5 years.
If you are unsure of age, your ISP should be able to tell you.

Hope this helps.
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#3
antmanbee

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Hi ChevyManUSA....Thanks for reply. Modem is a few years old. Every once in a while I would lose internet but last week was beginning to aggravate me. On one occasion my internet came back up about 30 seconds after talking with Comcast on phone about internet being down. I was beginning to wonder about accuracy of information because when I first got internet the first Tech kept gaffing me off when I told him about mystery disk(ethernet). He left...I went on internet...accessed one site then Kapoot....no internet. Another tech had to come out next day. He seemed displeased to be there so late in day. He should be cranky with his co worker cause I sure didn't screw up the install...
thanks again
antmanbee in Seattle
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#4
ChevyManUSA

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Do you have router in place? or is this cable modem directly attached to your PC?

I would suggest purchasing a modem (they can be found for around $60 online and $60-80 in stores).
Installation of (most) new modems is rather simple. Disconnect the old one, connect the new one, and call your ISP to give them the serial numbers off the new modem.

Also, update your network card if there is one.

Are you really running Windows 98? I remember having a constant issues with my cable modem and windows 98. I would have to go into windows ipconfig a dozen times in a week and manually release/renew the ip. My issues stopped after installation of a router. Not sure if that is prudent to your issue.

Hope this helps.
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#5
antmanbee

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Hi ChevyManUSA....Windows 98 alright. Old Dell that I bought about four years ago at RE-PC here in Seattle for about 275 bucks.
I wear clothes and shoes until they fall to tatters...won't let them go:)
likewise with this computer

the bright side is W98 not a target for Conficker Worm....at least from what I have read.

Coax cable from wall to modem and ethernet cable to computer.
I was eyeballing that winipcfg and the release/renew things.
Read another post on this forum concerning connectivity problems. Post suggested clicking release then renew. I did that and noticed that the time between lease obtained and lease expires was only a matter of something like thirty seconds.

Just checked it and lease obtained on the 18 and expires the 22

Purchasing modem is something I had thought about.
I think I am renting this one from Comcast.
what is it ? Five buck a month?

thanks
antmanbee in Seattle
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#6
isimaster

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pc link/cable link lit briefly
message and cable activity light lit briefly
then back to internet light only blinking
then all the lights started blinking briefly
then cable link/pc link blinking but internet light off

this is occurring in a period of five minutes

finally....pc link and cable link are lit....everyhting else is off...
pc link light is somewhat intermittant...blinks off briefly ....


This is Comcast trying to reset your modem.
(Which for whatever reason doesn't seem to work very well)
I've seen, all OK at shutdown. Startup system, all lights lit on modem, no access to the net.
At least you have a power button on the front of yours..
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#7
antmanbee

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Hi isimaster...I knew it...I knew it!
I was watching those lights and trying to write down what was going on in order to post accurately....it was moving too fast.....
One night I gave up and went to sleep hoping to have Comcast back when I woke up.
In the wee hours of morning I could see those light lighting up but I was too groggy to get up and check it out.
I LIVE on my computer...
when I ain't doing yardwork or pressure washing or digging French drain
Computer to the left and TV to the right.....about two feet apart.
I'm an old USCG Radioman...used to copy Morse Code....on Adak that is all I did for two years.
no more radioman...rating badge retired...obsolete
And it just occured to me that I am sitting at what resembles an operators position.
Still remember Morse...

dah dahdidah dididit
antmanbee in Seattle

Edited by antmanbee, 20 March 2009 - 09:57 PM.

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#8
ChevyManUSA

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Thanks for the info isimaster.
Makes some sense, I have no experience with ComCast, living out in the west.

Btw, does your cable modem get hot at all?
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#9
antmanbee

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Hi Chevyman....Been out in West Seattle taking care of a house and a couple of puddy tats.
Got home yesterday eve about 7....no internet...internet light blinking.
Went through the drill..
tried release renew in winipcfg
the lease obtained/lease expires times differ by only 21 seconds...
modem has been on for days....not hot....
Internet came back up at about 0540...
on it's own...all the lights started blinking ....then the pc link and connectivity lights just sat there blinking for a while...then all lights got normal .....
bout ten minutes ago.
I will probably try new modem when I get break and am able to shlep to Comcast office all the way out on Aurora North.....
in the interim I just prowling internet looking for info
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#10
ChevyManUSA

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Man...
If you weren't using Windows 98, I would be 95% sure that it was your modem and the other 5% would be your internet provider stinks.
Seeing as you are using 98 (SE?) it is kinda of a toss up between Windows 98 support (or lack there of renewing DCHP) and your modem.
I would suggest replacing your modem for now, with the modems age I would suggest replacing it anyways.

You can purchase one from your local best buy or an online retailer for less.
Newegg.com has the Motorola SB101 priced @ $40.99 free shipping. Which is a good deal, they are normally on for $51-56.
Setup and activation, is rather simple, you will only need comcast at the end to activate the new modem. Not only will you get satisfaction out of doing it yourself but you will also save a few dollars on install.

Let us know how it goes.

Newegg link to above mentioned Motorola SB5101 Cable modem:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16825122003
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#11
antmanbee

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Hi Chevyman....Comcast went down about 11 last night and just came back about five minutes ago...around 5 A.M PST

I made another post about Modem lights cause I saw change in activity on Modem last night....PC link and connectivity lights started going slower...more dark periods.
Saw it coming so did a couple of e mails before I lost connection

Pages started loading more slowly..then KAPOOT.
It was a gradual process

Tried the power cycling thing last night...no joy...so went to sleep.
Up this morning and did it again....
tried connecting to internet and got "server not found"...and left it there while I watched news....
noticed some hard drive activity....
internet/pc link/cable link started blinking then stopped
then cable link/connectivity/message came on briefly then stopped
then all four internet/pc link/cable link/connectivity started....
back to normal

Running Windows 98

Taking care of cats(the Girls :) )at friends in West Seattle for the rest of this week....let them play in the yard.
Try to get some yard work done.
Probably won't be until next week until I can get to Comcast and do modem swap.

thanks for advice
antmanbee

Edited by antmanbee, 24 March 2009 - 06:41 AM.

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