Most of the time my PPPOE setup works fine. However, some days I'll
get disconnected and I can't reconnect without first turning off the
DSL modem for a bit.

Occasionally I need to turn off the DSL modem and my PC before it will
reconnect. Sometimes I can just turn off the DSL modem and disable the
ethernet connection and then enable it again.

Unfortunately, I don't have any real conception of why any of these
things fix the problem. So, I would like to know what the actual
problem is, why doing these things fixes the problem, and if there is
a way to automate it so that my system automatically reconnects if it
gets disconnected. Better yet, it would be nice if it never
disconnected at all.

My setup:
  - Pacbell DSL
  - Westell Wirespeed DSL modem (connects to PC using Ethernet patch
cable)
  - RASPPPOE software (I use that instead of the horrific PPPOE
software that came with the initial setup software for Pacbell DSL)
  - Win2k Server

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Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 13 Oct 2003 18:57 PDT

mxnmatch...

It may not be possible to pin this down, especially if the
connection is somehow failing prior to your modem. I've 
had some similar problems, though, and this is what you 
can do:

Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections, and
right click on your connection. Select 'Properties' and 
check the box which says "Show icon in taskbar when 
connected". A pop-up balloon should alert you the next 
time your connection goes south.

If you can see the flashing lights on your DSL modem, you
may notice that one of them (green, perhaps) which glows
steadily when your connection is good, goes out or starts
blinking when it goes bad. Both this and the pop-up balloon
are indications that your incoming signal is down.

In any case, when you realize that your connection is down,
go to Start -> Run, type in 'cmd' (no quotes), and hit 
'Enter'. In the Command window, type in 'ipconfig /all'
and hit enter. This should tell you immediately what the
status of your connection is. If it's good, you'll see
an IP address associated with your ISP, as well as 
similar addresses for your Default Gateway, DNS servers,
and DHCP server, if applicable. If those aren't in 
evidence, your connection is probably down. To familiarize
yourself with what *should* be there, do the above while
your connection is good, so you'll see the difference.

If there's evidence that it's down, the next step is to
try to renew it (which won't work if your incoming signal
is absent). Type in 'ipconfig /release' and hit Enter.
A dialog will tell you when the connection is released,
or that it is already released (or you may get a different
message, so let us know). If the dialog indicates that the
connection is released, type 'ipconfig /renew' to renew it.
A dialog should then confirm the re-connection and provide
you with the IP address, etc.

I even created a batch file to automatically and quickly
run 'ipconfig /release', followed by 'ipconfig /renew',
to speed this up. 

If you can't re-establish the connection by doing this, then
try be-booting and see if that works. When Windows opens, 
use 'ipconfig /all' to see if its good. If it's not, then
it's likely that your provider is flaking out on you, and
the first thing they'll want to know is whether 'ipconfig /all'
is indicating a good connection.

Another good option for testing and tweaking your connection
is DSLreports.com. Use one of their Speed test locations,
and then use their Tweak test. This will give you a good
report on your connection and offer suggestions for making
it better, using a utility called DrTCP to tweak some 
settings in the Windows Registry:
http://www.dslreports.com/tools

Let me know what you discover. It may turn out that your 
provider is flaking out on you, and you'll need to call
Customer Service to work it out. Feel free to come back
with any Request for Clarification you may need.

sublime1-ga

---

Clarification of Question by mxnmatch-ga on 16 Oct 2003 12:53 PDT

It hasn't failed on me recently (some days it gets bad and others it's
just fine. Monday was really bad.), but I've noticed that it usually
fails when I'm using terminal services. When I'm just surfing the web
or downloading stuff it doesn't seem to disconnect. I was thinking
that maybe it was some combination of problems where if the network is
bad where I'm terminal servicing to (or the vpn server is slow or
whatever) then maybe being suddently disconnected somehow affects my
DSL connection?

That doesn't seem too convincing to me, but it seems to almost never
happen except when I'm using terminal services (and I'm always using
vpn in that situation, so maybe vpn is part of the problem).

---

Clarification of Question by mxnmatch-ga on 23 Oct 2003 15:28 PDT

It started flaking out on me again today. I almost never have the
problem except when I'm using terminal services. I've also found that
when I get a phone call on my land line that it sometimes disconnects
me from VPN, but the DSL continues to work for everything else (like
web surfing, etc.)

I tried "ipconfig /release" and it said "All adapters bound to DHCP do
not have DHCP addresses.  The addresses were automatically configured
and can not be released.".

I tried "ipconfig /renew" and it just sat there and never returned.

I am able to continue to web surf, so I know that it's not JUST my
DSL. Clearly it has something to do with my DSL though because there's
no other reason why a land line phone call would cause me to be
disconnected from terminal services.

BTW, I've used dslreports in the past and have found that my
downstream is about 1100M and my upstream is about 128M.

---

Request for Question Clarification by sublime1-ga on 23 Oct 2003 17:10 PDT

mxnmatch...

Well, you didn't tell me the results of running 'ipconfig /all'.

Be that as it may, this part is disturbing:

"I tried "ipconfig /release" and it said 'All adapters bound to DHCP
 do not have DHCP addresses.  The addresses were automatically 
 configured and can not be released'".

Please verify whether your DSL connection uses DHCP:
Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network Connections.
Right-click on your DSL connection (please verify that it's
the only one you have set up) and select Properties. Highlight
Internet Protocol [TCP/IP] and click the Properties button.
Verify that 'Obtain an IP address automatically' is selected.
If it is, you are using DHCP to obtain an address, and you 
should see a DHCP server listed when you run 'ipconfig /all',
assuming your connection is good at the time.

The fact that you're getting a message that implies that there
are other adapters that do not have DHCP addresses throws up
a red flag for me. I got this message recently due to some
spyware which had downloaded & installed itself without my
knowledge or permission, and proceeded to write itself into
the Windows winsock chain (so deeply that, if the program was
uninstalled incorrectly, it broke all connection with the 
internet).

If you find that your connection does use DHCP, do a search
on your hard drive for 'webhancer', and let me know what you
find.

sublime1-ga

I have no idea of the "how" or "why" but I had the same problem. I
called Covad DSL (my company) and the rep put the line into some sort
of "safe mode" that fixed the problem. Make sure you call during the
business day, if possible, so you get the least wait time. I will be
watching this question with interest as I am curious how and why this
problem occurs.