internet drops, but not network

[rglatter]

Hey everyone, Im having a weird problem. I have a macbook pro 2.0 GHz running 10.5.3 and using it on wireless connection. My internet connection drops intermentaly, it may drop within 15 min or 2 hours. Usually closer to the 15-30 min though. It is just the internet that drops.

I have confirmed this by using a networked hard drive which I can still access and use while the internet is down. I have also tested it with other computers wired and wireless and it doesn't drop. It also is just the macbook pro that drops the connection. I was downloading things on my PS3 and my internet dropped on the macbook pro but it stayed downloading on the PS3.

The only way to get the internet back working is to turn the airport off in the macbook pro then turn it back on and it reconnects to the internet fine.

Does anyone have any ideas? I am at a total loss as it cant be the ISP because the internet stays up on other computers and things, and it cant be the router because I can still access my networked hard drives.

 

[trentoncain]

It definitely sounds like a software problem on the computer. Do you run any wireless utilities besides the built-in wifi application?

Can you make a test account and see if it happens in the new account? If it works in the new account it's a user preference file. Otherwise it's system-wide.

 

[rglatter]

i dont run any other wireless utilities. I will make a new user account and try that out.

 

[rglatter]

sorry for the double post,

I created a new user account and im still having the issue. Any one else have any ideas?

 

[tsice19]

I'm having a similar problem with my MacBook. It usually does it about 1-3 times/day.

The fix (for my anyway) is to:
Open up Sys Prefs.
Click Network
Click Airport in the side pane.
Click advanced.
Click TCP/IP in the tabs at the top
Click "Renew DHCP Lease"

And then it works. It did ALL THE TIME in 10.5.1. Was fixed in 10.5.2. But now, it does it randomly in 10.5.3, again.

 

[Fontenette Yo!]

You said that your Ps3 is on. Is it on all the time when the macbook is running? It might be bandwith as I had this problem with my Xbox 360.(before i sold it.)

 

[trentoncain]

Try deleting the preference files in your SystemConfiguration folder located here: /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/

They should be com.apple.airport.preferences.plist and NetworkInterfaces.plist.

Restart and it will act like it's the first time connecting to the Internet.

 

[rglatter]

I tried deleting the preference files and it still dropped.

As for the bandwith that may be it, im getting a diffrent router this weekend and will see if that helps. I had no issues with a bigger home network on a diffrent router. Although that said if the other router does help, I have no idea why because it is just on the mac, ive seen computers do weirder things though.

That renew DHCP lease trick is basicly I think what turning off the airport and turning it back on does. it turns it self off then when it turns it back on it pulls another IP address from the router, which is the same as renewing the DHCP, at least that is my understanding.

I will post back my findings on if the router worked after the weekend.

 

[trentoncain]

That makes sense.

A lot of cheap home routers simply cannot handle a lot of bandwidth and will start dropping packets or become unresponsive. You can easily test this by using a Bittorrent application.

There are a lot of networking forums explaining/complaining about this. Look at the model of your router and use Google to search if there is reports of it. Also check if there is a firmware update available that may fix the issue.