phil6666 <phil6666@adelphia.net> wrote:
> Took your advice and first time I lost my internet connection, I
> connected directly from the cable modem to my PC. NO IMPROVEMENT, so
> I'll assume the router isn't the problem. (After 2 minutes,
> everything was back to normal.)

Connecting your PC directly to the cable modem may or may not work. Some
cable modems, and the cable ISP, allow one MAC address to communicate. If
you change from a router to a PC, the cable modem might not let you connect
to the internet. You should try that swap when PC-router-cable is working,
so you know if it is a valid test.

In my case I did a "clone" of the MAC address of one PC to the router, so
either one can be connected to the cable modem, and the cable modem sees
the same MAC.

Another way this might work is to turn off the cable modem for about five
minutes before connecting the other device. But power cycling the modem
might defeat part of the test.

> I'll have to check into the diagnostics for my cable modem, plus I'll
> run Ping Plotter on an on-going basis to chart my down times.

http://192.168.100.1 should show something from the modem, although some
modems aren't very forthcoming with their logs, which are accessible on
hidden pages, but not from a link on the main page.

Look at the signal levels from time to time, to get a feel for what it
looks like when it's good.

I had an SMC router that didn't work well with WinXP, but was perfectly
consistent. I had several SMC of an earlier vintage that were unreliable
junk. I have had Linksys, DLink, and Netgear routers that just work for
months. I have more power failures in the house than unexplained outages
in the router.

The cable connections are dicey. I had some connector problems at a
grounding block on the roof, but MCHSI was able to tell me that the modem
was rebooting several times a day, and they eventually sorted that out.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5