Constant drop of signal

[paulwatson1982]

Hi guys, first post on here so bear with me.
Been with telewest/virgin media for 2 years next month now and had no problems until the last month.
I have a upto date pc with all mod cons etc and im connected to the net using a Virgin Media cable modem (Motorola SB5100 SURFbroad modem)
The modem goes into the back of my wireless router (Netgear wgr614 v6) that telewest gave me for having XL broadband about last october.
I'm not using the wireless function on the router for security reasons, the router it then hard wired into the back of my pc via a network cable.
I'm using windows vista also.
Anyway, about a month ago i realised that my signal kept going off and the only way to get it back on is if unplugged the modem and router then powered them back up again.
Every time i turn the pc on i have to do this and also if im on the net for a few hours this also happens.
I phoned the 25p per minute helpline and they advised me to remove the router and plug the modem direct into my pc to see if this was the problem.
For a few hours after it was working fine.
They said that the router was no Vista compatible (later i visited the netgear website and it IS vista compaitble)
After a while my signal kept on dropping etc and i had to do the usual stuff, unplug the modem and power it back up again, its the only way i can get online.
To save me some time, money and to save me from speaking to a complete idiot again, can anyone please help me on this?
Ohh, Virgin media also said that as i signed up for the router 13 months ago, its now not covered and refused to replace/repair it.

Any help would be very much appreciated!!

Thanks Guys!

[paulwatson1982]

anyone got any ideas at all?
I'm not back on windows xp and it seems to be working for now.
I dont hold out much hope that it will stay on though.
I'm also going to buy a new network card tomorrow just incase.

[Nedkelly]

What do the lights do on the modem when the internet goes off ?:)

[paulwatson1982]

the lights stay exactly the same, as do the ones on the router when i have it plugged in.
I know a fair bit about pc's but this has baffeled me!

[Sirpingalot]

Hmm..I had a loss of signal when I was on the ex-telewest network too - I would have to wait 20 or so minutes before it finally connected - the strange thing was that there was never any issue with the signal strength reports in the modem info page. I have no idea how to fix it though, so I'm sorry I can't be of more help. :)

[paulwatson1982]

how do i check my signal strength and speed etc?

[Axegrinder]

Browse to http://root:root@192.168.100.1/ , the username and password is "root"

[paulwatson1982]

and what am i looking at when i get in there?

---------- Post added at 15:49 ---------- Previous post was at 15:49 ----------

Downstream Value
Frequency 331000000 Hz Locked
Signal to Noise Ratio 38 dB
Power Level 7 dB The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading



Upstream Value
Channel ID 2
Frequency 22200000 Hz Ranged

Power Level 50 dBmV

[Sirpingalot]

Your noise ratios look very similar to mine, and I was dropping my signal all day a few days back...

If someone could clarify that these levels are ok though..?

[ECW_Original]

Your noise ratios look very similar to mine, and I was dropping my signal all day a few days back...

If someone could clarify that these levels are ok though..?

well Im no expert, but the downstream power level is a wee bit high..

I always thought that anything between -2 & +2 was ok, anything outside these figures and its trouble, but I might be wrong.

[paulwatson1982]

well it drops out every hour or so.

[norcorjon]

well it drops out every hour or so.

Oh boy - you are having exactly the same problems as me and that is why I have come on this site. It has to be something to do with modem because whilst at present using Windows Vista my laptop is also affected via router and I am using XP on that. Problem only started about 4 weeks ago and was fine before that time.

[paulwatson1982]

so does anyone know what i can do? is there a fault with my pc or is it the VM connection?

[homealone]

so does anyone know what i can do? is there a fault with my pc or is it the VM connection?

if your power levels are wrong you will need to call in & arrange an engineer visit, or alternatively, I believe posting in the

virginmedia.support.cable.broadband

newsgroup, can achieve the same as a phonecall, but avoids going through the offshore route, although I haven't had to try it, myself :)

[paulwatson1982]

and where would i find that forum please?
Thanks