NIC/Browser loses connection over time

Well, this one has me stuck. On my PC, if I leave it on for a while (time varies, more than a few hours) my cable internet connection is somehow lost.

More description: If I leave my computer sitting without any network/internet program open (no aim, no kazaa, no browser) say overnight, the next morning the connection seems to be dead. Browser can't resolve any addresses, instant messaging can't connect, p2p can't connect. If I leave something like instant messenger running, usually everything will continue to work.

Today however, even with both instant messenger and kazaa open, the browser still lost the connection somehow and couldn't resolve hosts anymore. One minute, I'm reading Cnn, the next, nothing.

I couldn't ping anywhere on the internet, but could ping the router and other computers in my little intranet. Instant messenger was still working. Tried ipconfig /renew with no results.

Network is three computers on a netgear router sharing a cable internet connection. When I've been having problems, the other computers on the network have been fine, so I think it may be my NIC? NIC is integrated on mobo.

Anyone have an idea?
Thanks in advance

Is the router assigning IP addresses (192.168.X.X) to the three networked computers?

If yes, rarely does renew-ing the IP address have much affect since the router is assigning them (and that rarely fails). You need to check the router to see if it still has the IP from your ISP. Since the others can get on w/o problem, I would say yes.

If no, let me know and I'll go into the possible problems with that. Since this is a rare setup, I don't want to go into irrelevant explanations unless I need to.


Since the NIC is integrated, check through the BIOS settings for anything abnormal.


This is the first solution I thought of (until I read your third paragraph). I thought I'd mention it. If you open the Device Manager, right-click the NIC, go to Power Management tab, there is an "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." option which is usually checked by default. You might try unchecking this option.


If all else fails, installing a NIC for testing would be a good idea too.

Haven't had a chance to try a different NIC, my comp's been needing a new northbridge fan. (The northbridge wouldn't be the problem, would it?) I haven't been able to determine just what/how long it takes to lose the connection.
Until I get a different NIC (or the problem goes away) I'm just going to live with it I guess.
Aggravating.
Thanks for the suggestions.