Hey,
We've had DSL for a few years, never had a problem. Recently got a stock NEC powermate, 2.6 with XP and hooked it up to our dsl (D-Link DSL-502T and D-link DSL-302G) modem via ethernet (the modem stores the user id, etc and the connections always on). It worked, for about an hour, and then come up with the famous "the page cannot be displayed". Thing is, it sometimes works, maybe for a minute, maybe for an hour, but always eventually drops out again. We've tried plugging the lead into our other computers, with no probs at all. Regardless of if it can find the page or not, it will always connect to the modem via 10.1.1.1 in the url. I've wiped all the spyware, cleaned out all the temp files etc., flushed the dns, used another modem, reinstalled the drivers, connected via usb instead of ethernet, changed cables, lowered security, raised security, deactivated firewalls, checked LAN and internet settings, with no effect. What gets me is that it sometimes goes fine, and then minutes later cant display the same sites. Restarting sometimes helps, sometimes doesn't. FTP uploads don't go very far because every few minutes it comes up with 'can't find FTP server' or similar. Any ideas?
Andrew

have your ISP perform a line check for noise and signal.

We use the same line, modem and cables for 3 other computers and we've never had a problem, but they're all macs, so i figured its got to be the computer. Or can line noise affect one computer but not the other?

Once you're beyond the modem, line noise becomes irrelevant.
IMO, I would stick with the Ethernet connection over the USB.

>"the page cannot be displayed"
this is typically a DNS issue. Recall that the URL gets translated into an IP address
which is used to access the webserver (or FTP or xxx server as the case may be).

you can test your setup with this post

and verify the DNS with pathping $your-dns-address which may run for a few minutes.
Look for high packet loss numbers. if they occur between you and the ISP gateway,
it's YOUR system, otherwise losses upstream between Internet nodes are
just a common occurance. Losses between nodes of your ISP are signs of
poor ISP reliability (like Timewarner's degradation)

thanks. ok well i ran through the tutorial to test my setup, i can ping the nic, IP and gateway IP without a problem, but when i try to ping web addresses (any address) one of either two things happen, i get:

reply from xxx, bytes = 32, time = 544, TTL = 244
OR
Request timed out.

These happen pretty much equally often, and can happen within seconds of each other. It looks to me like the connections going up and down, but the connection to the modem itself seems fine and i can always ping the gateways, etc., and there's never a problem accessing sites through the same setup when we plug the ethernet into a mac so I don't think its the server either. It doesn't have a dialup modem in it, so I can't check if this only happens through dsl.
I'm stumped, any ideas?

Just on top of that, I've noticed that the DSL link/act light on my modem is always on when idle and flashing while loading a site when connected to another computer, but when connected to this particular PC it flashes fast and constantly and never just stays lit up. Could be nothing, and just that the pcs constantly sending/recieving, but figured the more info the better.

this is typical I've been seeing this frequently too!

try this:

run->cmd /k ping -t $your-dns-address

you can minimize the window and ignore it ALL DAY/NIGHT.
this will keep the path between you and the DNS primed to take/return replies.

The connection is not likely to be oscilating Up/Down, but rather the ISP subnet
you are connected to may be overloaded.

google for PATHPING -- interesting information

edit:
>>and there's never a problem accessing sites through the same setup when we plug the ethernet into a mac
and that's really interesting! :suspiciou

DSL green amber light should be soild (if this is not you need to call your ISP and get a tier 3 Service tech to check your signal line for conection problems with the DSL hub office)
ACT/Link shoud be blinking when you're downloading or using internet stuff

Well i finally got there, turns out there were TWO problems, expaining why everything was so inconsistent. The main one was some monster malware that none of my programs picked up (I ran six, with no results) that was finally killed off by Prevx1 ($25 a year, but i can part with that). The other problem was that the modem itself kept rebooting for some reason, so we've changed to a different brand of modem. So thanks heaps for your help guys, using it i finally managed to track down where all the prob were occurring. Expect to see more of me