timing out on the net

[dave.m]

1st thing to do is clear out all your temporary files, tool of choice is ATF Cleaner, it is free and you do not have to install it. Download and instructions here (Windows XP, 2K, 2003 & Vista ONLY)
* NOTE : If you would like to keep your saved passwords, click No at the prompt.

-- Click on ATF-Cleaner to run it
-- Where it says Select Files To Delete, Check the Select All Option
-- Click Empty Selected - > OK

If you use Firefox browser, do this also:

* Click Firefox at the top and choose Select All from the list.
* Click the Empty Selected button.

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You could also Boot into Safe Mode with Networking, see if the issues are still present running that way.
As soon as your computer starts up keep tapping the F8 key and, using the arrow keys, select Safe Mode with Networking, then press the 'Enter' key.

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Did you get another antivirus installed?

Also, as you have ZoneAlarm firewall installed, check that the Windows firewall is actually turned off. Start -> Control Panel -> Security Centre -> Windows Firewall, ensure that it is OFF.

dave

 

[Rechar]

Keeping a clean PC helps, but it sounds more like a connection issue. To investigate this further could you provide your ISP and connection speed?

Also download this www.pingplotter.com is a simple monitoring tool. Set it to connect to a basic website (your ISP's homepage is usually a good bet as that keeps it within their network so disregards external hops). Set the time interval to 1 second and the samples to include 100 so its constantly tracking and giving a larger response. Leave it to run in the background.

When you experience a timeout, note the time and check pingplotter. After you've experienced a few of these timeouts compare the results you should start to see a trend.

If the graph at the bottom is covered in red, you're getting some packet loss (the true connection killer and the cause of most problems). If however you are just seeing a large jump in ping (that will be the black line on the graph) it points to a bad "hop" in your connection...poor routing/overloaded servers by your ISP. You can check specific samples by clicking on the graph to identify just which hop is causing the problem.

Hopefully this will help you narrow down the cause of things and find the right solution.

 

[sparkiedave]

but if it was a connection problem, would I still be able to work with e-mail?, cos outlook still works fine after the browser times out

 

[daozen]

Ok so it aint the browser. Now did the scans you did find anything??

Since your email is working its not the connection probably some settings. Download WinSockXPFix and run it see if that fixes things.

 

[Rechar]

Your PC connects to others using a standardized 7 layer system (each layer corresponding to a different section of the connection such as physical which involves cables, application which is your software etc). It could be any one of these causing problems. You need to investigate every single one to find the solution rather than poking around blindly in the dark...and its best to start with the most common problem first.

Monitoring your connection will help identify any issues (packet loss, ping spiking, unreachable destination target) and harvest evidence. You'll be able to rule out certain things, and confirm others.

The fact outlook still works while connections to websites don't still points to packet loss on the line. Connecting with websites involves infinately more data than sending/receiving a few emails. If your destination target is receiving corrupt packets of information from you, and the request to resend are also corrupted by the time they reach you...you won't be able to establish a connection (aka...time out).

It only takes a few minutes, but if you'd rather poke around in the dark for days, feel free.

 

[sparkiedave]

just trying to understand the logic, running pingplotter now, see how it goes, thanks for the help so far, keep ypu posted

 

[sparkiedave]

seems to be running at between 1 and 5% packet loss

 

[Rechar]

Well, ideally you want 0...but generally anything over 2% is a cause for concern and requires investigation.

Is that a baseline result? Or while your internet is timing out?

 

[sparkiedave]

seems to be higher after timing out

 

[daozen]

Your PC connects to others using a standardized 7 layer system (each layer corresponding to a different section of the connection such as physical which involves cables, application which is your software etc). It could be any one of these causing problems. You need to investigate every single one to find the solution rather than poking around blindly in the dark...and its best to start with the most common problem first.

Monitoring your connection will help identify any issues (packet loss, ping spiking, unreachable destination target) and harvest evidence. You'll be able to rule out certain things, and confirm others.

The fact outlook still works while connections to websites don't still points to packet loss on the line. Connecting with websites involves infinately more data than sending/receiving a few emails. If your destination target is receiving corrupt packets of information from you, and the request to resend are also corrupted by the time they reach you...you won't be able to establish a connection (aka...time out).

It only takes a few minutes, but if you'd rather poke around in the dark for days, feel free.

Hardly think we're poking around in the dark, malware is always the first thing you check, then applications, resetting the the the tcp/ip settings on the computer which is what winsockxpfix does eliminates another area.

 

[Rechar]

Bad choice of words perhaps, i'd just woken up, brain no work good without brew!

Just a better idea to start with the narrowest problem, then work towards the quagmire that is "a virus" (which in ten years and hundreds of fixes i've done account for only a handful...connection problems ironically for me seem to always be the connection itself rather than the computer).

But, you like to get stuck in and get dirty, can appreciate that...don't suppose you're any good with roofs Daozen?

Edit: You say packet loss increases at the timeouts, how much? (need actual numbers) You can click on the graph at the bottom to focus the chart above, then select edit > save as image. Then post it here?

Also...do these timeouts happen at regular intervals or completely randomly?

 

[daozen]

Bad choice of words perhaps, i'd just woken up, brain no work good without brew!

Just a better idea to start with the narrowest problem, then work towards the quagmire that is "a virus" (which in ten years and hundreds of fixes i've done account for only a handful...connection problems ironically for me seem to always be the connection itself rather than the computer).

But, you like to get stuck in and get dirty, can appreciate that...don't suppose you're any good with roofs Daozen?

I've come across connection problems like that that were malware caused by either being infected by them of having removed them. After that I always check specific applications which is why I asked about the browser, then resetting the winsock and tcp/ip sack completely rules out the computer.

Once the computers ruled out completely then I'd troubleshoot the connection, or ideally tell the connection provider to sort it out.

 

[sparkiedave]

ok folks, can of worms opening time, just took my laptop round to someone elses place & tried it there, timed out as normal on different ISP & connection, does that point towards a bug on the laptop as opposed to the connection?

 

[daozen]

Did you try winsockxpfix?

Did any of the virus/spyware scan pick up anything?

Oh and are you sure its SP2 of XP you're using, if yes update to SP3.

 

[sparkiedave]

spyware picked up a couple of things, got rid of them, AV didn't find anything, running service pack 3, winsox didn't do anything either