Windows 7 loses Internet connection?

Question

After installing Win7 (clean install), my PC loses all internet connection after a few hours of working just fine.
I can't access any web sites, and the system becomes very sluggish, and I have to restart.
While the connection is down I can't even access my WLAN router (FritzBox) anymore via the browser interface.

I do not have this problem with XP which is still installed on the same machine so a hardware error can be ruled out.

I tried the ipconfig release/renew routine, but it didn't help.
In fact, once the connection is lost ipconfig doesn't show ANY information when invoked... just the "Windows IP Configuration" line but nothing else.
(It works just fine when the connection is up)

I am accessing the net through a Fritz box (WLAN router) but there are no other devices connected to it.
X Netstat logs also show no irregularities...

It might have something to do with Newsgroup access, since every time these crashes occurred, I had Newsbin Pro running. I tried switching to GrabIt to exclude a software error, and the same thing happened.

Also, the problems seem to occur when I am NOT working on the computer; a typical situation is when I just let Newsbin/GrabIt run and then go out for a few hours - when I come back I can see that the connection was lost around 1-2 hours after I left.

I didn't find a way yet to restart the connection without restarting the computer... I tried logging off/on, the ipconfig thing I described above, but nothing helped. A quicker way to do this would already help me save some time...

Any help would be greatly appreciated... I really don't want to go back to XP.

Answer 1

Have you simply tried to unplug the router and plug it back in? I have found that when I am connected to multiple clients when file sharing that my router craps out due to too much info flooding it. Basically, I would get great speeds but eventually so much info was coming in at once that it overloaded the router.



Now I know you are not talking about exactly the same ting here, but in your case the similarity is that you are downloading from multiple sources when this occurs. Perhaps Win7 is simply allowing more simultaneous connections than XP and therefore causing the same problem as I have.



I would try the simple unplug/plug it in routine on the router first to see if the router is going out on your or your IP stack in Windows. I know you posted that you could not access it without restarting the machine, but it still may be the router. One other way to check of course would be if you have a second device on the router. If that continues to get outside access when this happens on your Win7 box, then it definitely is the machine and not the router.



Finally, after rereading your post, it is possible the the driver for you NIC maybe having some issues here. (ipconfig not working). Two things to try here: In devicce manager right-click on the NIC and hit the Update Driver option and see if it grabs a new one from the 'net. Also go out and download the latest driver for it as well.



I have found that even if drivers are found after a clean Win7 install, sometimes they are not the most up-to-date and even sometimes when you get the latest from the manufacturer, Win7 will still suggest an older one (perhaps the newest hasn't passed the hardware compatibility checks yet).



Anyway, I hope some of this helps a bit. Sorry I don't have an extact answeer for you!

Answer 2

I think windows 7 is not properly installed on your PC. Install it again.

Answer 3

Download Window explorer 8 or buy a new computer