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[Blargityblarg]

I'm on a wireless home network, four computers on it, two laptops, my desktop, and the desktop that's actually plugged into the 'Net. Over the past couple of weeks, everyone on the network has had:

-Much slower connection
-MUCH higher ping
-Semi-frequent complete loss of connectivity to the Internet, for all of us.(E: I'd like to clarify that we still had connectivity between our computers, just not to the 'Net.)

My PC, also, has had connection (albeit slow and high ping) whilst claiming it had no wireless connection (the icon in the taskbar had a blank screen and red x, which usually signifies no connection, and failed completely to do anything when clicked on) until I disabled the connection and tried to re-enable it, at which point it failed entirely to even set up the wireless connection centre, let alone look for networks or connect to one. (I rebooted, which fixed it.)

Three of the computers on the network are in XP, and one of the laptops has 7. Anyone have any ideas, or specific information they need to help out?

[Frajic]

Sounds like a problem with the router/provider. You could call for tech support.

[Muz]

-Semi-frequent complete loss of connectivity to the Internet, for all of us.(E: I'd like to clarify that we still had connectivity between our computers, just not to the 'Net.)

This sounds like the main problem. Fix this and the slow connection would possibly go away. Though, you might want to take a look at the ping. Is it simply a higher overall ping or are there some fast pings and some really slow ones?

Might want to check that one of the people isn't using it excessively, or that someone isn't leeching on your connection. Try checking the traffic if you can, see if it's spiked or anything recently.

Oh, and maybe reset the router, or try and only allow access to two or so people, and see if you have the same problem.

[Blargityblarg]

-Semi-frequent complete loss of connectivity to the Internet, for all of us.(E: I'd like to clarify that we still had connectivity between our computers, just not to the 'Net.)

This sounds like the main problem. Fix this and the slow connection would possibly go away. Though, you might want to take a look at the ping. Is it simply a higher overall ping or are there some fast pings and some really slow ones?

Might want to check that one of the people isn't using it excessively, or that someone isn't leeching on your connection. Try checking the traffic if you can, see if it's spiked or anything recently.

Oh, and maybe reset the router, or try and only allow access to two or so people, and see if you have the same problem.

I'm thinking it's actually a really variable ping, as I think I'm getting tonnes of micro-dropouts (i.e. pages with flash or whatever stop loading partway and stay there.) I went to speedtest.net and got a ping of 2286 ms and upload and download speeds of 0.03-0.04 mbps.

Nobody's using the connection overmuch, unless we've got a leecher (we have a password, albeit a simple one) How would I check the traffic? Talk to my ISP? The 'net traffic on my own computer is much more consistent that usual and only utilising about 2% of my connection (according to Task Manager, though I don't think it ever uses very much of my connection whenever I've looked at it before)

I'll see what I can do about resetting the router, and I also thought there might be a problem with the cable that runs from the other PC to the wall; there might be some kind of fault in it, though as I think about it, it seems that for such a flickery connection it'd have to be in constant motion, which it isn't.

[SolarShado]

Do you have an actual router, or a Windows PC set up with Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)? A proper router (I've never seen a home router that didn't include a wireless AP) should have a web interface for configuring it, which you should also be able to monitor stuff through.

If you're using ICS... you should probably look into getting a router, they're fairly cheap, and much more reliable than using a windows machine.

If you're really adventurous and have an extra desktop sitting around, you could drop Linux on it and set it up as a router. Quite fun if that's your thing.

[Blargityblarg]

I believe we have a router; in any case, there's a little blue box on the other PC's desk with two aerials and four ethernet ports, so I'll take a wild guess and say that's it. There was software that came with it, at least on the recieving end for my computer (probably for the wireless receiver aerial/card thing) which doesn't let me connect, so I have to use XP's built in wireless networking software. I'll find out what kind of software my uncle's using to administrate the connection, though I doubt he's doing any administration at all, given his computing skill >.>

Whilst there is an extra desktop sitting around, it's even lower spec than my current one, and it's broken (I haven't bothered formatting to find out if it's software or hardware.) I don't think I'll dabble in Linux anytime soon, I might just cannibalise that desktop for parts, if it has any.

[SolarShado]

Spoiler: this? (click to show/hide)

try aiming your browser at "http://192.168.1.1"

[Astramancer]

I recently had my router do something similar -- namely the connection got really slow.  First, it was just one computer, but then the problem spread.  I bought a new router, and the problem was fixed.  Upon reflection, I guess it's not so surprising that a piece of electronics that has seen a decade of continuous use finally failed.

[Blargityblarg]

Yes, Solar, that's the one, and that IP needs a username and password. Looks like admin admin worked, but it's taking ages to load.

[SolarShado]

Yes, Solar, that's the one, and that IP needs a username and password. Looks like admin admin worked, but it's taking ages to load.

when (if) you get in, look for a "client list" it could be either DHCP or wireless

[G-Flex]

Yes, Solar, that's the one, and that IP needs a username and password. Looks like admin admin worked, but it's taking ages to load.

That's kind of a bad sign right there. Just for curiosity's sake, post the brand and model of the router (should be on the case somewhere, probably on a label).

[Blargityblarg]

It's a Linksys WRT54G.

I'm taking a few consecutive speedtest.net tests, to see how stable my latency is:




Looks like my ping's much more stable today, though my download speed is still the pits.

[SolarShado]

How much bandwidth are you paying for?

Something to try: connect a computer directly to the cable/DSL modem. Find the WAN port on the router, pull the cable connected to that and connect it to your computer. If your connection improves, there's either something off with the router, or something on your local network eating bandwidth.

[Blargityblarg]

I'm unsure how much bandwidth we're supposed to be getting; the cable-connected PC's connection properties say 100mbps, but I suspect that's just the capacity of the ethernet cable or something. I checked some bills and they said nothing about bandwidth, only download cap. Google tells me that my particular package goes at 'adsl2+' speeds, but I have no idea what that's supposed to translate into in terms of kbps. I have a speedtest.net result from a while ago (before crappification of bandwidth), however, I believe we have also changed Internet plans since then:

I tried connecting the modem straight to the tower, it completely shut off the connection (limited or no connectivity), so I still have no idea if it's something on the network, the router, or something on Optus' end.

[G-Flex]

What kind of service DO you have? Cable or DSL?

Judging by your speedtest results, I'm guessing probably ADSL

the "100mbps" thing is just the speed of the local network connection, not your internet connection, by the way. Two different things.

Connecting your computer directly to the jack on the modem that the router normally plugs into should work, and I don't know why it wouldn't. Maybe try unplugging and re-plugging-in the damn thing when you do it (like Windows 95, the default answer is "reboot").