ICS Keeps losing connection after a few minutes

[Brak]

Hello,

I have two machines connected on a network. Both are Win98SE.
I am trying to us the ICS for both machines to be online at the same time.

Here is the problem:
I connect the host computer online just fine. The Client machine works fine for about 5-20 minutes. i'm able to surf ftp etc. But then after 5-20 minutes my CLient machine loses the connection to the internet.

If I reboot the Host machine and reestablish a connection I am able to resume on the Client without having to do anything to the Client. But then after 5-20 minutes it happens again.

Any idea what is amis?

Thanks in advance.


B"H
Brak

 

[cbs604]

When the client loses Internet connection, can it still see the host?

Cheers,
Brodie

 

[Brak]

Yes. I can browse the Host computer's drives and print to its printer etc.

I have also tried to use VSOCK lite (after removing ICS of course) and it does the same thing! With VSOCK al I have to do is shutdown the program and restart it and all is well again (for awhile), but with ICS I have to reboot the machine.

So I assume that what is causing the problem with ICS is also cause the same problem with VSOCK - the question is what?

I have tried reinstalling the host, and the client. I also have a Win95a machine connected to the network which is experiancing the same problems as the Win98SE client.

So I have definantly narrowed down the problem to be the host due to the fact when I restart the host and do nothing to either client all is well again. But if I reboot the clients without touching the host it still doesn't work.


So the question is what is amiss with my Host? I have even tried making the other Win98SE machine the host, all with the same results.

It is truly boggling.

Also, when using the VSOCK, when it does bad if I open a DOS window and PING an internet address I recieve the IP for it (showing that the DNS is still working) but I can get the site. Weird stuff.

LOL, it went south while I was typing this message. lol

B"H
Brak

 

[cbs604]

It is truly boggling.

Also, when using the VSOCK, when it does bad if I open a DOS window and PING an internet address I recieve the IP for it (showing that the DNS is still working) but I can get the site. Weird stuff."

You're right! I have got no idea!

Anyone?

Cheers,
Brodie

 

[Brak]

Hey, a new update.

I removed the VSOCKS and reinstalled the ICS.
Now things are a little different.

Teh client still loses the internet connection but more happens. Now the client loses the host all together. The client machine can't see the host, as you asked about originaly.

So, with it behaving this new way, what suggestions do you have?

Thanks in advance.


B"H
Brak

 

[timroop]

To summarize:
The Host appears to be dropping it's network connection after ~10 minutes.

Is the Host idle at that time? Could the Host be disabling the network to save power? Turn off all power saving options in both the Control panel and in the BIOS.

Could you detail the setup some more? What type of internet connection, network type, etc.

Tim Roop
"If you can do something about it, why waste time getting upset? If you can't do anything about it, why bother getting upset on top of it? -Shantideva

 

[Brak]

I thought that very same thing, so I disabled all the power saving options in the OS and bios and it still does the same.

As for a detailed setup.
I have three machines.
One is running Win95a, the other two are running Win98SE
The one Win98 machine is just used as a server. All it does is allow the other Win98 machine and the Win95 machine share a printer and internet connection.
All machines have 10/100 NICs and I am using a 10 hub.
I am connecting to the ISP via DUNs.

I am also using a prgram called "Remote Disconnection" which allows the two machines to make the Host machine connet or disconnect the Internet Connection.

When the Host isn't conneted to the internet I never lose the network connection. Serval hours cna go by and I still have the connection. But as soon as the Host connects to the internet 10+ minutes later things go wacky.

Truly puzzling.


B"H
Brak

 

[timroop]

I've never used "Remote Disconnection" or "Vsock" before. As such I fully suspect them. (We fear the unknown.) Seriously, can you disable the "Remote Disconnection" software and see if the problem remains? It could be disconnecting more than you know or more than it should.

I have found ICS to be funny about dialup connections. I believe that it has some issues with connection timeouts. But that is purely anecdotal and not much help to you.

Is TCP/IP the only protocall loaded? For a small network like this you can see if loading NetBeui maintains the LAN connection.

Try this. Load NetBeui and TCP/IP. Unbind the Windows Client from TCP/IP and keep it bound to NetBeui. See if the connection stays up.

Keep us posted.

Tim Roop
"If you can do something about it, why waste time getting upset? If you can't do anything about it, why bother getting upset on top of it? -Shantideva

 

[Brak]

I have discovered some stuff.

If the Host computer isn't connected to the net then the Clients don't lose the connection to the Host. I can print to the printer after the Host has been up for serval hours, but after connecting to the net and trying to browse the net with a Client it all goes south.

Another thing I have discovered (very important) is that the problem isn't that the CLients connectionc are missing, but that the Host computer is crashing! I didn't notice this because I cold still move the mouse around after the connection was lost. I couldn't click on anything, but I thought this was a separtate problem with me using the MouseKeys (I don't have a mouse connected to the Host). But when I noticed that I couldn't press the ENTER key to trigger things and that when I move the mouse over items that no little "pop-ups" can up that th eHost was crashing. Hence the Clients couldn't see the Host anymore on the network.

So I must revise m question. Why is ICS causing the host computer to crash after using the ICS for about 5-15 minutes.


B"H
Brak

 

[timroop]

That is another issue all together. Starting from scratch...Disable any/all unneeded processes. Check for time out settings. Does the issue correspond with a disconnect request? Check the modem. Could be in conflict with another IRQ. Also the normal pc issues apply: virus, spyware, hd fragmentation, large # temp files, etc. Just grasping at straws now.

Let us know how things are going.

Tim Roop
"If you can do something about it, why waste time getting upset? If you can't do anything about it, why bother getting upset on top of it? -Shantideva

 

[Brak]

I only crashes when a client machine starts using the internet. I can have the Host up connected to the internet and all will be fine for hours on end. But as soon as one of the Clients tries to access the internet after a few minutes the Host crashes.


I have been meditating about this since my last post and I have the following thoughts.

The VSOCKS is meant to work with Win9x and NT. Maybe since I have Win98SE , which has the ICS, that there is a conflict. Maybe VSOCKS can't work on Win98. When you think about it with ICS why would you want to use VSOCK?

The machine that is the Host is only a 166MMX Pentium. Maybe it's not man enough to run ICS, and when the service is utilized the computer goes south.

To test the later though I have disabled my anti-virus and also the System Agent program. So all that I have running is systray, explorer, and the remote disconnect program. If it crashes again I will quit the disconnect program as well. As I am typing this message I am testing this out. I'll keep you abreast of the progress or lack thereof. LORD willing the problem will be solved soon.


B"H
Brak