James writes in with a networking question
Q. My computer won't stay online no longer than 10 minutes then cuts off. Then I have to reconnect. What could be wrong?
A. If you are using a dialup connection make sure you don't have call waiting enabled by using *70 before dialing your number. You may also have a problem with your phone line and may need to have the phone company test it. You may also have a faulty modem within your computer. You can get a new one for as little as $15 so if you can install it yourself it may be worth testing.
If you have DSL or Cable check your IP address and its lease time while you are connected and after you get disconnected. Click on Start, then Run and type cmd and click Ok. Then type ipconfig /all and see what your IP address, DNS server and lease time is. Compare the before and after results.
If you are using a router with your DSL/Cable modem try to bypass it and plug directly into the modem and reboot to see if the router is dropping the connection. If you still lose the connection reboot the modem rather than the computer to see if you get back online. If so then it’s most likely a problem with your DSL/Cable modem.
You should always do a spyware scan since spyware can cause all kinds of unwanted problems.
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