To any IT experts out there, I have a question that I'd like some help on. I know that widespread use of internet technology is still less than 20 years old, but something has always bothered me - the whole idea of losing the connection. Not so much that it's possible - I know that sometimes it just happens, but what I don't get is how powering down or rebooting actually does the trick and makes things work again.

Case in point - I have a Mac 20" with 2GHZ. In my home currently, there is a DSL connection that normally works well, but now and then that connection goes down, and sometimes I have to try everything (relaunch, restart, power down) and the only thing that works is unplugging and then replugging the connection. It always works when it comes to that, but to my knowledge, it's the only electronic appliance that relies upon powering down.

Splain', Lucy?

eaglebear4839 said:

in my experience sometimes the DHCP gateway has a blip and the connection goes down its not you it's your provider. Sometimes it could be too much traffic and bandwidth bottlenecks and you lose connection.

IAintTheOne said:

right, right. but why just unplugging and then plugging back in? why does that work?

ok, let's start at the beginning.

First. Is your laptop plugged in to the wall, and turned on?

I have no clue how DSL works, but I'll ask a couple questions then take a stab at it despite.

Does your DSL line run into some type of modem device?
If it does, that might be where the issue is. You would need to restart your modem, and you can normally do that by just typing the IP addy in your browser and restarting it that way. Most modems have an IP addy of 192.168.100.1 or (if they're like your routers) 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.1.1 (your modem device should list it's IP addy on it). Powering down modems and powering them backup achieves roughly the same thing.

However, why unplugging and replugging it to your computer works, I have no clue. Unplugging it from the wall, I would understand.



However, if the line runs directly into your computer, then you should just be able to renew the DHCP lease (on a MAC) through your system preferences, Network, advance option. Very quick and easy.

Sometimes the DHCP lease expires and you lose your IP addy, especially if your computer is sleeping and you haven't used it for a long time. However, it's very rare that this would happen from inside your own firewall as most manufacurer's modems and routers used in homes don't release their DHCP leases.

And most IP addys assigned by the service provider to the modem/router are fixed and not dynamically allocated.

So, I'm not really sure. I'd have to actually tinker with your box, giggle your hoses, and touch your hardware to get a full assessment.


At least you own a MAC. That's a good start.

Imago said:

Release and renew... and that's that

IAintTheOne said:

But I think what he's saying is that even if he does that (which a reboot effectively does), sometimes he has to unplug his PC and plug it back in?

That's what threw me.

Imago said:

sometimes the whole system needs a complete flushing out.

IAintTheOne said:

You are so hot when you talk like that.

I love you so hard.

Imago said:[quote]I have no clue how DSL works, but I'll ask a couple questions then take a stab at it despite.

Does your DSL line run into some type of modem device?
If it does, that might be where the issue is. You would need to restart your modem, and you can normally do that by just typing the IP addy in your browser and restarting it that way. Most modems have an IP addy of 192.168.100.1 or (if they're like your routers) 192.168.2.1 or 192.168.1.1 (your modem device should list it's IP addy on it). Powering down modems and powering them backup achieves roughly the same thing.

However, why unplugging and replugging it to your computer works, I have no clue. Unplugging it from the wall, I would understand.

unplugging it from a wall is the part I don't understand. please ejamacate me?

My understanding is, the Radius Server holds your UserID & Password for the servers. Hence you have to sever this connection to initalise a new one.

Hence the requirement for the unconnect & re-connect the ADSL Modem Ether connection.