I tried the modem at the other cable line in the den. Lights 1 & 2 blink just as they did in the computer room.
My guess is a problem in the cable at the junction box outside my house.
Most cable modems can be accessed by a web browser. When I put http://192.168.100.1 in the address bar, I get a lot of information on status, signal level, addresses and configuration. It may not help you fix a problem, but it might give you a better idea of where the process is falling apart.
I had a similar problem last summer. The modem was working okay, but I couldn’t access any websites (I was using IE then). He went to the MSDOS prompt and typed in “ping (and a web address)” and nothing happened. He then typed in “ping (and a numeric address like in your post)” and got a four line response indicating that the modem was indeed functioning. I just tried that and got the same results. His only help was for me to reinstall the OS. I did and evererything was okay until Friday.
I have entered the site you recommended and it’s currently on “step 1 of 5”. How long does it normally take to complete?
I’m going to be getting a new computer in two weeks (I finally decided on a Dell 8300) and will be restoring the other computer to its day one state, but I would like to hold off doing this until after I have the new machine up and running.
[QUOTE=I have entered the site you recommended and it’s currently on “step 1 of 5”. How long does it normally take to complete?
I’m going to be getting a new computer in two weeks (I finally decided on a Dell 8300) and will be restoring the other computer to its day one state, but I would like to hold off doing this until after I have the new machine up and running.[/QUOTE]
Each step shouldn’t take longer than a minute or two. We probably have different modems, my status is listed differently. I also have Comcast and have had the same problem as you (although not for awhile). It would fail at the ‘Register Connection’ step. In every case, after a phone call from me, the problem cleared up within a few minutes to an hour. I really doubt reinstalling your OS is the answer - usually the cable modem needs a good cold reboot from Comcast. Another possibility is the signal levels, but reinstalling everything won’t change that, it’s another cable company issue.
I had the exact same problem with the RCA modem I got from Comcast last year. The problem I was having was that my modem kept going into stand-by mode involuntarily whenever it damn well felt like it. After a bunch of calls, they eventually just sent someone out to my house (an appointment for which I had to take the afternoon off, thank you) and replaced the modem with a Webstar. Internet hasn’t gone down since.
I bought the modem outright last year. I didn’t want to rent one from Comcast. It worked out okay because Radio Shack had a $60 rebate deal going on (which ended up being $80 by the time the check came back thereby negating the $79.95 price).
If I have to rent one, I’ll just have to suck it up. I think it runs about $3-4 per month. At the time I had to sign a one year deal so I can’t change to DSL without paying some godawful fee ($200, I think it was).
The only fields filled in are:
Tuning: in progress…(step 1 of 5)
Current state: not ready (or upstream parameters acquired)
Highest state obtained: tuned
From all you have posted I think we can definitely conclude that it’s Comcast and not your computer. The fact that you can connect to your modem’s internal web server shows your TCP/IP etc., is fine. The log message from your modem seems to indicate that it’s sitting on the line shouting “Hello! Tell me what to do!!” and it’s not getting an answer from Comcast.
Lovely. Now I’ll have to wait a week for the repair guy. I’m definitely going to ask for a credit!