hello,

I have problems with my internet connection. It hasworked well for a long time, but sometimes (also under windows xp) the connection stalls.
Under windows this has to do with the fact that I have set the IP address myself, but obtaining the ip address automatically doesn't work for some reason. Some problems with the netsh command. I posted this on another forum, I get errors there.
When I reset the DSL modem to factory settings the connection resumes, until.. it doesn't and I have to do a reset again (or wait a long time). Since a few days on a regular basis.

Under Linux it also worked without problems for a long time. I don't work very frequently under Linux lately, but since today the connection also stalled.
I still use Slackware 13, but am planning to update (although it should work under Slack13 as well).

This is my rc.inet1.conf file

and ifconfig output:

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:24:8c:6e:1a:c7
inet addr:192.168.1.64 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:161 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:170 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:184521 (180.1 KiB) TX bytes:18349 (17.9 KiB)
Interrupt:28 Base address:0xe000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:14 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:14 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:700 (700.0 B) TX bytes:700 (700.0 B)

Any help appreciated, I can't figure out why the dynamic IP setting under Linux shouldn't work properly (or fails sometimes), and what I need to do.

Thank you for your help.

Look up the line stats, which are usually available in the modem. See what's going on.

I had this. I had a line that was good for 2Meg Broadband link, and the state phone company owned the lines, and were "Upgrading their network", so they kept turning up the minimum speed. Then I'd drop out and couldn't reconnect reliably.

The state phone company was a rip off as an isp, and the resellers who were reasonable were unable to do much about the mess, so I ended up going wireless, and I've a 10Meg connection now and a bunch of perfectly good modems from isps who through them around fairly freely.

I'd say a possible solution might be using a static IP or making your router assign you the same IP every time. This is in the case that there might be an IP conflict. It might not be this tho, if you said it worked for a long time before. Try to think about what you changed in your network recently.

I don't have a router, just my Lan card connected to the DSL modem, and that hasn't changed since.
For some reason the static IP address (when working under windows) gets in conflict with something else's ip address, while previously it didn't seem to be much of a problem.
Under Linux I use DHCP, so why would I get similar problems there? I would have expected it to work under Linux, even if the static IP address selection in Windows is not correct.
Haven't solved the problem under windows yet, but don't understand what could be wrong in the Linux case either.
Thanks for your help btw.

My experience with using a modem direct is that the modem uses dhcp itself, so you get handed a random gateway IP. I certainly do. Static IPs cost more money.

The painless way is to have the modem run a dhcp server for your connection to it. No static ip.

Then you can run your dhcp client in debug mode and find out what's going on.

What do you mean by "to have the modem run a dhcp server for your connection to it"?
I have a simple modem/router (a Zyxel P-2601HN-F1).

On my modem/router there is a way to make it connect a mac address with an IP address. So, you can make it give each computer the same IP every time, kinda like static IP only with DHCP. Go to the options page for the modem/router and try to find the option.

Probably a simpler way is just setting a static IP.

Maybe your LAN card or DSL Modem is going bad.

Every issue I have had is about modems dropping out. So the modem - internet link was the weak one.

I just got a phone call from the helpdesk of my ISP that they concluded that the modem was defect. I am getting a new one next week. See if that makes any difference.
Thanks again.