Annoying Internet ProblemFollow

I have been having this annoying problem occur randomly. Ill be playing WoW or just on the internet (what i am doing does not seem to matter, sometimes ill wake up or come home from school and it will have happened on its own) when the connection will drop randomly. The "Local Network" light on my DSL moden will drop, and the only thing connected to it is my computer, no router or other computers or anything. The only way i have found to fix it (temporarily) is to restart my computer.

Any help would be much appreciated, this is getting really annoying. It seems to happen at the worst times, too.

USB

I had thought of switching to Ethernet but appearantly i took the card out... i gotta go dig it up now.

I would rather not have to switch if possible though.

I guess just out of laziness. I used to have my PS2 hooked up to the modem with the ethernet cable and the comp to with the USB. Now that i think about it i dont remember putting the card in at all (or perhaps it was in my old comp). I guess ill just go dig it up.

Thanks for the help

ROFLMAO, someone has no clue what they are talking about. the DSL modem is designed to work WITH either USB or Ethernet (could be 10baseT or 10/100, doubt it is 10/100/1000)

Also for the statement above about USB being slower then Ethernet, that is true, but for standard DSL connections it does not matter. most DSL connections are 1500/256 or some other slower upload speeds, but with 1500 being the max, USB 1.0 will handle that just fine and if he has USB2.0 he is golden.

now the real questions:

1. are you PPPoE?
2. are you PPPoA?
3. are you Bridged ATM?

depending on what type of DSL connection you have (does not matter aDSL, sDSL, or other in this case) will depend on what type of router to get, and why you are dropping so often.

both PPPoE and PPPoA are just as they look, point to point protocol... that means they act like your old 56k connection as for how they hand shake between your computer, and your ISP.

bridged ATM on the other hand acts more like a standard cable connection type. it is always on and is BOUND to your MAC address of either the modem, or the NIC/USB device. odds are if you are bridged ATM it is bound to the modem, and you need a new modem. the modem is bad if your are dropping that much or your copper is bad someplace between you and the LEC.

with PPPoE, any modern router will work as even the cheapest router on the market can handle PPPoE connections. they should also have an option for persistant connection. this will PREVENT the ISP from detecting downtime (no use of the line) and should reduce your # of drops.

PPPoA on the other hand is a bit more tricky. most routers DO NOT SUPPORT this type of connection.

(side note: PPPoE = point to point protocol over Ethernet, PPPoA = point to point protocol over ATM, yes there is a HUGE differance between them)

PPPoA is a much better setup for the customer, but more of a headache for the ISP unless the ISP is a Telco. if they are a reseller like Earthlink, or AOL, or any local ISP other then your Phone company, then PPPoA is a royal PITA for them to manage and setup, thus most resellers offer either bridged ATM or PPPoE. bridged ATM is the most expensive for the reseller, but the easiest to use for both customer and reseller. PPPoE is the most hassle for the user, but the cheapest option and easiest option for the reseller.

there is a much smaller amount of routers for PPPoA, my personal favorite brand for PPPoA support = Zyxel. only issue with them is their PRICE TAG. you can spend between $150 - $600 for one of their routers. they are worth it as they are very powerful, fully configurable, etc... but are much more power then the average home user will need.

you might be able to find a good quality used one on e-bay or something like that for much less then $100.

so first you need to know why type of DSL connection you have, moving away from USB to Ethernet is a much better option to try FIRST as Ethernet is much more stable then USB ever has been under windows.

Also if you have bridged ATM or PPPoE, go buy a cheap d-link, or linksys, or SMC, or what ever standard SoHo (small office home office) xDSL Router that offers FULL NAT and NOT dNAT. avoid anything that does not have full NAT and only offers dNAT as you will be fubar when it comes to mapping ports for games and what not.