Windows 10 Intermittent loss of connection - default gateway cannot be detected

[GeneralHiningII]

Relevant devices:

Killer e2200 NIC (I know, mistakes were made)
MSI Z87-G45 Motherboard (Ditto)

Current drivers are the up to date (15th Aug 2016) standard drivers found here - Link Removed

I used to use the Killer Suite, it was buggy, so I moved to the drivers-only version (this was when I first built the PC, so ~2013).

Earlier this year, the problem came up. Sometimes, randomly as far as I know, the network adapter stops working - it can't connect to the modem router. I used to be able to get around it by disabling and re-enabling the adapter in Device Manager, but now it doesn't seem to work as well. I can also go into the Network Adapter Settings and 'Diagnose' the connection, which used to work but now it doesn't either.

The couple of times that the Diagnose option worked, it specified that the default gateway was missing. I changed this through the IPv4 settings, but it doesn't stop the PC from randomly losing network connectivity. I have tried disabling random USB controllers and audio devices, which doesn't seem to work either.

Of note, I had the DPC Latency Checker from ages ago (dl here - Link Removed). Average latency for my PC is ~5000 microsec, i.e. red bars. Again, disabling random USB and audio controllers doesn't reduce this latency.

I have tried grounding my motherboard but that didn't seem to work either.

 

[Neemobeer]

Can you get out to the internet at all? Can you ping your gateway?

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

How are you connecting to the Internet, by wireless or wired Ethernet connection?

BBJ

 

[GeneralHiningII]

@Neemobeer During the loss, no I cannot.

@BIGBEARJEDI Cable ethernet - I've tried using several different ethernet cables, but this doesn't change anything (I get the problem on both).

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Grounding your Mobo wouldn't have made a difference unless you are using 100% plastic case ( no metal whatsoever). The main PSU cable harness going into the 20 or 24 pin amphenol connector which plugs into the matching connector on your Mobo gives you all the grounding your Mobo should need. The PSU main power connector has multiple ground points attaching to several areas of the Mobo which in turn ground back to the PSU metal case which is in turn connected by screws into your PC metal case frame which acts as a Faraday Cage for the entire rig!


BBJ

Sent from my VS986 using Windows Forums mobile app

 

[Neemobeer]

When you have the problem can you type the following and post the content of the file. (net.log)

From an elevated command prompt (locate command prompt in the start menu and right click, run as administrator)

• ipconfig /all >> %username%\desktop\net.log
• arp -a >> %username%\desktop\net.log
• route print >> %username%\desktop\net.log
• sc query >> %username%\desktop\net.log
• netcfg -v -s n >> %username%\desktop\net.log

Optional (from a powershell prompt)
Get-Eventlog -LogName System -EntryType Error | ? Source -ILike "Network*" | ft -AutoSize -Wrap >> $env:USERPROFILE\Desktop\net.log

 

[GeneralHiningII]

@BIGBEARJEDI I wouldn't think it would work, but best to try anywho.

@Neemobeer

.log files aren't supported by upload so I saved it as .txt instead.

This is all of it from when my internet is working. I'll try and remember to do this when it stops, so you can get a good picture of what's going on.

 

[Neemobeer]

Everything looks normal as to be expected since your internet is working. Try and get this info when it stops working.

 

[GeneralHiningII]

Alright, got the info again when net was down.

 

[Neemobeer]

Well the problem is apparent, the cause is another matter altogether. In dump 2 you are missing an ARP entry for the default gateway. So basically your computer doesn't know how to reach the gateway (layer 2). Typically if your computer doesn't have the MAC address (layer 2) for the gateway it should send an arp request, or if another device sends a request for the gateway your computer would see that and update it. The arp table can be altered either programmatically, with the arp.exe program, through a driver or by other arp requests on the network.

 

[GeneralHiningII]

Erm, can you dumb it down for me? What do I need to do to fix it? Googling arp.exe just gives me random crap that tells me if it's safe or not, and Microsoft technet isn't particularly helpful either. Thanks.

 

[Neemobeer]

You could make a batch file with arp -s 192.168.1.51 b4-ae-2b-30-e6-0b That will fix it. That will add a static entry vs the usual dynamic. It may break again at that point you will have to figure out what is removing the entry. Isn't really any thing of that I know that will tell you what is doing that.

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Hi,
You are certainly correct; using ARP intelligently requires advanced networking skills and many years of engineering know-how. Here's a couple of more links to educate yourself:
BASIC ARP COMMAND:
Arp

DEFINITION OF ARP ON WIKIPEDIA:
Address Resolution Protocol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Based on what you are doing, I would suggest that you buy a standard PCI Gigibit network card (NIC) and remove that Killer e2200 NIC you are using at least temporarily. It is some kind of Gaming card, which I've never heard of, so it's possible that the guys who wrote the NIC driver didn't know what they are doing, or that specific NIC card you have is broken, kaput! Have you attempted to put the Killer NIC into a different PC such as a friend's PC and attempting to connect to the Internet through your home ISP connection? If you get the same failure, it's either a broken card, or a poorly written NIC driver. The market is flooded with these today, as NIC standards aren't what they used to be on hardware.

Make sure you buy a name brand gigabit NIC and not one of these cheap TP-link or D-link NICs-they are crap! Make sure you buy a Cisco/Linksys or Netgear, nothing else. If you throw one of these high-quality NICs into your system and the problem persists, I'd be looking at testing your hardware to see if one or more of your RAM sticks is failed, mismatched, or you could have a failing hard drive.

Sometimes, circumventing highly technical problems is as easy as swapping a component. In this case your NIC. If you buy a high-quality brand NIC and swap out your "gaming NIC" and it solves your problem, then there's your fix without having to spend 20+ years working in advanced Network theory. That should dumb it down a bit for you.

Best of luck,
<<<BBJ>>>

 

[GeneralHiningII]

Removing the card would involve removing the entire motherboard, so no that isn't an option.

Also, @Neemobeer - so what I need to do is run that batch file each time the internet resets? Or I run it once, and then when it breaks again I have to figure out what's going on? Is there no permanent fix?

 

[Neemobeer]

I would start by running the batch file and see if that resolves the issue. If it stops working again and it's the same issue, then you're going to need to figure out why. You can see if something is calling arp.exe with Process Explorer by setting a filter to Process > ARP.exe. If you have the issue again you may see a call to arp.exe and by removing the filter you should be able to find the process calling arp.exe

 

[BIGBEARJEDI]

Removing the card would involve removing the entire motherboard, so no that isn't an option.
>>>Ok, so it's a NIC that's integrated into the Mobo then. A Chip or a Chip-card. This is common in Mobo's these days. Most Mobo BIOSes will allow you to insert a PCI-based NIC card into the Mobo backplane, and allow you to disable or turn-off your internal LAN adapter. If your Mobo cannot do this, you should replace it anyway. Is your PC going to not work on the Internet and you can't repair a busted NIC chip with a $20 NIC card? If that's the case, you'd have to spend hundreds of dollars to buy a new Mobo, RAM sticks, CPU, maybe even a new PSU to fix a problem that a $20 part could solve! Really?? Computer makers are aware of this, and that's why Mobos still have PCI or even ISA slots with which to fix a malfunctioning internal device such as a GPU chip or NIC chip, Fax/Modem chip, etc. I don't know why people dismiss hardware solutions when they are the cause of more problems than software config errors.
You should know that if all software solutions fail, there is NO SOFTWARE ON THE PLANET THAT CAN FIX BROKEN HARDWARE!!! <<<
BBJ

Also, @Neemobeer - so what I need to do is run that batch file each time the internet resets? Or I run it once, and then when it breaks again I have to figure out what's going on? Is there no permanent fix?

 

[GeneralHiningII]

@Neemobeer running the batch file just sends it on repeat with nothing else, not sure if I'm doing something wrong.

 

[kemical]

Relevant devices:

Killer e2200 NIC (I know, mistakes were made)
MSI Z87-G45 Motherboard (Ditto)

Current drivers are the up to date (15th Aug 2016) standard drivers found here - Link Removed

I used to use the Killer Suite, it was buggy, so I moved to the drivers-only version (this was when I first built the PC, so ~2013).

Earlier this year, the problem came up. Sometimes, randomly as far as I know, the network adapter stops working - it can't connect to the modem router. I used to be able to get around it by disabling and re-enabling the adapter in Device Manager, but now it doesn't seem to work as well. I can also go into the Network Adapter Settings and 'Diagnose' the connection, which used to work but now it doesn't either.

The couple of times that the Diagnose option worked, it specified that the default gateway was missing. I changed this through the IPv4 settings, but it doesn't stop the PC from randomly losing network connectivity. I have tried disabling random USB controllers and audio devices, which doesn't seem to work either.

Of note, I had the DPC Latency Checker from ages ago (dl here - Link Removed). Average latency for my PC is ~5000 microsec, i.e. red bars. Again, disabling random USB and audio controllers doesn't reduce this latency.

I have tried grounding my motherboard but that didn't seem to work either.

Hi,
I use the same hardware and those drivers have to be installed in a certain way. I always install them as admin and perhaps more importantly all security apps need to be disabled. If I don't disable my security then the app won't install properly and I wonder if this may bear some relation to your issues?

 

[GeneralHiningII]

@kemical

Which drivers? I install the standalone drivers for the Killer card (so without the Killer suite etc. - found in the link in the original post) through device manager (manual browse computer etc.), so I'm not aware that installing as admin is an option?

I use MSE/Windows Defender for security, and I just checked and it doesn't seem to pick up anything at all. However, I'll try it tonight - should I first rollback the drivers for the netwrok card, disable AV, then reinstall? Or is there a better/preferred method?

 

[kemical]

Which drivers? I install the standalone drivers for the Killer card (so without the Killer suite etc. - found in the link in the original post) through device manager (manual browse computer etc.), so I'm not aware that installing as admin is an option?

I actually use the full suite as I find the Network manager incredibly useful especially for those (like me) with a crappy download speed. I can use the manager to make sure every download is getting an equal share or use all of the bandwidth... Incredibly useful!

I get them from the same site:
Link Removed

(Did you know you can beta test drivers for these guys? It just takes an email and if you get accepted you get a new beta driver roughly once a month. All you need to do is give feedback)

Anyhoo I guess with you installing via device manager you can miss the steps I need to make. Just for your interest though what i actually do is this:
First disable any AV (I use Defender too) and then uninstall via Programs. You'll probably need to reboot but once your ready to install the new suite, make sure Defender is still disabled and then perform the install.

As to whether it will make a difference in your case I'm unsure but I guess it's worth a try?