Random disconnects and massive lag spikes

[newg]

I have been having this problem with my
virgin media XL service for the past few
days.

We are experiencing frequent huge lag spikes
and random disconnects. the service will
return to normal after a minute or two, and
remain so for another few minutes before
lagging or disconnecting again.

this makes web browsing extrememy tedious,
and streaming media, online gaming
impossible.

I have followed the instructios in the how
to post topic and will post my results as
follows:

1)see above

2) i do not have cable tv

3) i have contacted customer support, they
advised numerous things i had already tried,
as well as telling me to turn my RJ45 cable
around, so the modem emd was in the pc, and
vice versa... (i think this is ludicrous,
but if there is a genuine reason for this
that i cannot see, please enlighten me) they
say they will send an engineer to look at my
modem 2 weeks from now, which is a very long
time!

4) i have restarted the modem, my pc several
times, i have removed the router and plugged
my pc directly to the modem (all on the
network were having this problem)
I have performed a full wipe and windows
reinstall on my pc

5)a) i am in Scotland (UK)
b) Windows xp pro
c) at the moment the modem runs directly to
my NIC, wired.
d) the problem was occurring on all pcs on
the network.
e) i was running zonealarm, but the problem
persists even after it is shut down
f)I do not know how to copy the text from the command box, so i have taken a screenshot of the tracert, and uploaded it here:

http://img107.imageshack.us/img107/8481/bbcdn4.jpg

I hope this is acceptable.

6) unfortunately i do not have the means to pay the $10 that site requires to allow you to do the test.


if anyone can shed any light on the issue i would appreciate it very much.

[homealone]

hi :welcome:

can you browse to the following address

http://192.168.100.1/

if you can, it is your modem's configuration pages - user & pass are root

click on the upstream & downstream links & let us know the 'upstream power level' and the 'downstream power level' and 'signal to noise ratio'

:)

[newg]

Upstream transmit Power Level : 57.0 dBmV



Downstream Receive Power Level : 5.5 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 40.0 dB

is this everything you need?


Edit: i should add, at the moment it seems to be working ok, but it does that sometimes, it even worked for an hour once before stopping again.

[fatassmichael]

Your upstream power level is high and probably the cause for your disconnections, tech support should book a tech to lower it for you.

[homealone]

Upstream transmit Power Level : 57.0 dBmV



Downstream Receive Power Level : 5.5 dBmV
Downstream SNR : 40.0 dB

is this everything you need?


Edit: i should add, at the moment it seems to be working ok, but it does that sometimes, it even worked for an hour once before stopping again.

The upstream power is a bit high, your modem is having to 'shout' to be heard.

this post has a bit more detail regarding recommended power levels

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/430166-post1.html

As stated by 'Ignition', a marginal power level won't always give connection problems, per se, but it is a good bet for the cause of your symptoms.

The bad news is that you will need an engineer to call & reset your levels, so you will need to contact technical support.

<edit> must type faster :D

[newg]

thanks for your input guys. it seems i must wait the two weeks for the engineer to come...


any reason why this would suddenly happen when the internet has been working for over a year with no problems?

[homealone]

thanks for your input guys. it seems i must wait the two weeks for the engineer to come...


any reason why this would suddenly happen when the internet has been working for over a year with no problems?

There may have been some work done in the 'street cab', i.e. the box to which your house & the properties adjacent to yours, are connected to Virgin Media network, which has inadvertently affected your connection.

- purely speculative, of course, there may be several other possible causes, also :)

[susan]

My modem has had a little fall out with it's self lately,but i do have 3 house's connected up to it,i just give it a little boot and away it goes happy as larry.

[Cerberus]

My modem has had a little fall out with it's self lately,but i do have 3 house's connected up to it,i just give it a little boot and away it goes happy as larry.


Is this the same magic modem you have when using your DEDICATED SERVER?

(Apologies for the slight o/t)

Hope you get it sorted newq!

[newg]

The upstream power is a bit high, your modem is having to 'shout' to be heard.

this post has a bit more detail regarding recommended power levels

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/430166-post1.html

As stated by 'Ignition', a marginal power level won't always give connection problems, per se, but it is a good bet for the cause of your symptoms.

The bad news is that you will need an engineer to call & reset your levels, so you will need to contact technical support.

<edit> must type faster :D


ok, as i understand it, this works in a similar way to ADSL's 'line noise' (or exactly the same)

the higher the line noise, the more power my modem has to push out, and pushing out that much power is degrading my internet service, correct?

i got to thinking, where could the line noise be coming from? i have already made sure all my connections on the modem were secure.

out comes my trusty toolbox, and i unhooked the coax from the wall-box (where it comes in from outside) a quick clean of the connections, and a good tightening back into the box seems to have stabilised my connection for now.

Upstream transmit Power Level : 55.5 dBmV

it's been at 55.5 for about an hour now, and the internet has been relatively slow, but reliable.

lets hope it stays that way.

[newg]

hmmm.

the power level has stabilised at 53dBmV, however, the disconnects are still occurring.

is there anything else that could be causing this problem?

Edit: now it's at 56... it seems to be fluctuating, and only when it stabilises do we get connectivity. :( 2 weeks is far away without reliable internet.

[homealone]

ok, as i understand it, this works in a similar way to ADSL's 'line noise' (or exactly the same)

the higher the line noise, the more power my modem has to push out, and pushing out that much power is degrading my internet service, correct?

i got to thinking, where could the line noise be coming from? i have already made sure all my connections on the modem were secure.

out comes my trusty toolbox, and i unhooked the coax from the wall-box (where it comes in from outside) a quick clean of the connections, and a good tightening back into the box seems to have stabilised my connection for now.

Upstream transmit Power Level : 55.5 dBmV

it's been at 55.5 for about an hour now, and the internet has been relatively slow, but reliable.

lets hope it stays that way.

As far as I know, it is about balancing the power levels depending on the variables such as the length of the cable run from the street cab & how many splitters are used in the installation. I think this is a separate issue to the signal to noise ratio, which seems to be ok..

It does seem to be the variation in that upstream power which is causing your problems.

[Tijer]

Im having similar problems, this has only been happening since i got a new router though, just had a look at my modems config pages and i have the following

Upstream transmit Power Level : 55.0 dBmV

I am on the ex-ntl side of the network? is that too high for me too? I only seem to lose connection for seconds if that, always connects back.