Summary: Network adapters often try to detect the network speed for you. This can cause problems if both sides are trying to auto-detect at the same time.
Why does my network connection drop every so often?
There are many possible reasons so I'll focus a common one: confused network auto-speed detection. Most contemporary network cards, hubs, and routers attempt to automatically determine the speed of each network connection. Sometimes they get it wrong.
Most home and office networks run at either 10 or 100 megabits per second (mbs). Just how the network devices tell the difference varies from one device to the next. Most will also monitor the speed continuously just in case it changes. That means that if the device is going to make a mistake it could happen at any time. And that can look like anything from really poor network performance to a previously working network connection suddenly dropping.
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Let Me Show You... |
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Click the image above for a short video showing how to turn off network auto-speed detection. (Windows Media 9 format, 379,388 bytes.) |
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I'd Like Your Comments: let me know if you find the video above useful, or if you have suggestions to make this technique more helpful. Thanks! |
The most common auto-detect confusion happens when the devices at both ends of a network connection are trying to auto-detect at the same time. The detection mechanisms can actually conflict with each other and cause one side to get it wrong. It's not as common but the detection algorithm can also be affected by the actual data going across the wire, or electrical noise.
In most cases, especially on a small business or home network, you know what your network speed is and the autodetect functionality is unnecessary. It's typically easy to turn off auto-speed detection on your network card and that's often a good step to take when analyzing network problems.
You'll first need to know what speed the connection should be at. That's usually the fastest speed supported by your computer and the device at the other end of the network cable it's plugged into. If your computer is connected to a router that router's documentation should tell you. If you're connected directly to a DSL modem the speed is typically 10mbs. If you're not sure, select 10mbs as most faster devices are also auto-detecting and will match your selection.
The specific settings for auto-detection will vary slightly based on the manufacturer of your network card. Fortunately the location of those settings is consistent and the terminology used is fairly common.
To turn off network speed auto-detection:
- Select Network Settings, either from your Start menu or from within Control Panel.
- Right click on the connection that corresponds to your network card, and select Properties.
- In the dialog that results, click on the Configure... button immediately below the "Connect using..." item that shows your network card.
- In the dialog that results, click on the Advanced tab.
This is where things vary based on your network card. In the left-hand list will be a series of properties that can be adjusted. Look for a setting similar to "Speed", or "Link", or perhaps "Media Type". Click on that, and the right-hand "Value" dropdown list will probably have something similar to "Auto". If you click on that drop-down list and options include entries that look like "10mbs", "100mbs", and so on, you've found the right item. Change the setting from auto by clicking on the specific speed you've determined you want the network card to run at, and press OK (If the setting also includes a full/half duplex selection, full is normally correct.)
Windows XP will apply your setting change immediately. Other versions of Windows may require that you reboot for the change to take effect.
Related:
Ask Leo! - How should I set up my home network?
Article C1869 - December 14, 2003
My verizon network drops too. The last time it happened, the helpful technician (two other non-helful technicinas later) who got me back on said that the server could not find my IP address! It is now doing this very frequently. Time to drop verizon altogether?
Posted by: iravat at May 27, 2008 4:07 AMI use my home lan for streaming videos and suddenly had drop out problems with the video streams and failure to copy large files across network. Tried all sorts of fine tuning and then installed the Windows Update "optional" peer to peer name resolution protocol (which I think is also part of SP3) and the problem appears to have vanished. It wasn't immediately obvious to me that I had a peer name issue to resolve but perhaps I did!
Posted by: GJDGJD at August 19, 2008 6:06 AMIf the network you are using is Ethernet but the destination computer is on a Token Ring network, can you transfer a document with using routers? I have this question in college, in which I just started. I'm trying to find the answer but I'm lost.
Posted by: Amy at August 25, 2008 12:16 PMi have two computers in the same router(4 ports) i install dvr in the first one, from the second one i try to see the cameras throw client software but i have MASSEGE LOGIN FAILED. i make ping between the computers and it is ok, i turn off the firewall but still i have the same problem login failed
Posted by: george at October 1, 2008 9:49 AMI'm amazed. Not only does this tip keep me connected, but it also allows me to enable my cable connection after it has been disabled. I wonder why something so simple was so hard to find?
Thanks, Leo. Phil
Posted by: Phil at October 13, 2008 11:47 PMI tried changing the "Auto" but continued to have the problem. It may be a conflict in firewalls. I'm using Zone Alarm and didn't realize Windows firewall was also operational. Typed Start>Run>Firewall.cpl Firewall appeared to be off. Then went to Advanced and found that my wireless was an exception. Now that is off. We'll see what happens with zone alarm only.
Posted by: John at December 26, 2008 11:39 AMTried the speed change trick on my NIC and it now shows "connected" whee before it showed "unconnected" to the internet, even though it was reading it. Thanks.
Posted by: John at February 17, 2009 8:12 AMHmm.. I tried doing the things stated above.
Posted by: Andy at March 17, 2009 8:35 PMBut my download speed are still dropping from 900kb/s to 400kb/s.
Help!
My company just went with VoIP and it is a great money saver as well as the features you get are great.. Here is the problem...
We have a VPN with a location in Ohio and one in Minnesota. The OHIO location is working 100%, no problems and we have a Cisco 1841 Router. At the minnesota location, we have an ASA-5505. Now here is the kicker.
In Minnesota, while we were testing with the connection coming into our modem from our ISP, we have 7MB DSL/1.5UP and the connection came in from the modem to the Edgewater Router. From there due to we were testing, it went into the WAN port on the Cisco ASA-5505, and then from there it went from the LAN port on the ASA to a 3-com Switch. All is showing at AUTO NEGOTIATE we are running at 100MB FULL everywhere. Then of course the PCs hook into the SWITCH.
Here is the problem now... We ran this way for well over a month testing our VOIP phone they gave us, however, it was just hooked directly into the EDGE and not through a PC on the network as the setup is now. ALL WORKED GREAT! no drops in connectivity.
NOW, here is the setup with the VOIP PHONES on the network in MN.....
The DSL comes into the WAN on the EDGE, PORT 1 of the EDGE hooks into the CISCO ASA-5505. Port 2 of the EDGE hooks into the 3-COM SWITCH and the EDGE is DHCP ENABLED as well. The Cisco is not DHCP Enabled as we had a problem with it attacking itself with a LAND ATTACK. Anyways, so we have so far DSL to EDGE, EDGE to SWITCH and then EDGE to CISCO to SWITCH as well sorta like in a circle.
All pcs on the network are statically assigned. All phones get DHCP settings from the EDGE. The PCs are told to go through the ASA and the phones obviously go through the EDGEWATER VOIP ROUTER. The connections on the PCs look like clockwork they BLIP for a second, long enough to get our AS.400 connection back to OHIO to drop and have to reset. THE PHONES ARE NOT AFFECTED. We have tried everything to fix this and TO ME, it looks like a TIMER is resetting the connection every 4 hours.. Our VOIP provider says the EDGE has no timers enabled for resetting anything and our CISCO has been working fine as well. This dropping only started when we hooked the EDGE to the CISCO and to the SWITCH along with the CISCO hooked to the edge and the switch as well..
ANY HELP IN RESOLVING THIS would be GREATLY APPRECIATED. Its causing a lot of headaches due to our MN location uses CLIENT ACCESS from IBM on their PCs to connect to our AS400 in OHIO via TELNET port 23 connection TCP. THANK YOU.
Tech Admin in Ohio
Posted by: A new VoIP Phone Business Customer at March 27, 2009 12:06 PMadministrator@josudacorp.com
I had the same issue.... except I turned the "roaming aggressivenes" setting on my wireless adapter to "low".
I'm back to reliable high speed now.
Posted by: Skipper at October 29, 2009 4:28 PM