SG Broadband Community

I think this is the correct section, but if not, please just move it instead of deleting it, so I don't have to explain it all again.

Okay, this started about three days ago after using the exact same network setup for two years with no problems. Every twenty minutes or so, the internet connection on the two computers (so it's not a problem with my network card or the cable between the router and my computer) on my home network dies. However, the downtime is instantaneous - maybe one or two seconds. Because of this, any application using the internet continuously (gaming, downloads, Trillian, internet radio) is interrupted, so this is quite annoying.

I did a -t ping to my modem and router, and the pings fail to the router when the connection drops, so it seems to be a router issue. Definitely not a problem on my ISP's or Modem's end.

There are no loose wires. I tightened the connections, and the problem continued. The router firmware is at the newest version. There are no objects nearby that would cause interference, and especially no new objects that weren't there before the issue started. No settings (or anything else, physical or digital) were changed at the time the issue started. I did a hard factory reset on the router, but that didn't fix the problem either. There is no malware or viruses of any sort on either computer. Neither computer is using any sort of file-sharing software, or any background connection-eater like BitTorrent DNA.

The router is a D-Link DI-754 using the latest (2.21) firmware update.

I repeat: Nothing, hardware or software, changed at the time the issue started. It just began in the middle of a gaming session where the connection was working just fine for several hours before that. At 8 PM or so that night, it just started dropping every 10-20 minutes on both computers.

UPDATE: I tried turning the router on its end, hoping this would be a ventilation issue and therefore an easy fix. That didn't help either.

UPDATE 2: I'm not 100% certain that this is true, or if it's just coincidence, but... my connection will stay stable for up to 30-45 minutes with little to no activity, but if I enter an online game or start a download from a website, the connection for both computers seems to within 5-10 minutes. I'll continue trying this download to see if it is really accelerating the disconnection.

UPDATE 3: This seems to be true. I tried the download a second and third time, and it made the disconnection come within about 5-10 minutes of the last one. If I stay out of this multiplayer game, or do not download this file, the interval increases to at-least 30 minutes to an hour or more... still testing how long it takes with minimal activity. This still doesn't solve the problem by any measure, though. I'm going to try to do nothing but web-surfing for a while and see if the interval does indeed increase with much less internet activity.

There are several issues that could be causing the problems you describe. But, I'll focus on one clue you provided:

...the pings fail to the router when the connection drops...

Assuming you have the exact same problem with both machines, at the same time, and assuming your router does indeed accept pings under normal circumstances...it sounds as if your router is beginning to fail. Router failures can happen following a power surge, port degradation, PSU problems, etc.

You also mention you are using the D-Link Di-754. Can I assume this is the D-Link AirPro™ DI-754? If so, do you have wireless capabilities enabled? If it is wireless and both your connections are wired, are you checking to see whether you are experiencing bandwidth stealing connections from outside your wired network?

This stopped completely randomly after three days, but it just started again last night and is continuing today.

How do I find out if outside connections are accessing my network? If both computers are wired, should I just turn off wireless altogether - or is that not possible?

And how do I troubleshoot to see if it's a hardware problem inside the router itself?

EDIT: I put wireless access codes onto the router in both A/B bands, and then restarted the router to disconnect anyone using it. The connection loss has continued regardless.