Loss of Internet connection

Factual Questions
1

I’m using a MacBook Pro 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 with 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3, running OS X 10.9.5. I’m having a problem with – I think – images and videos.

I notice that when I search images on Google, especially if I click ‘View image’ or if there are a lot of images and I scroll quickly so that not all of the images are loaded, loading will stop and I am unable to navigate in any other window. When I look at YouTube videos, a video might play to a certain point and then I get the dots chasing themselves in a circle. Again, I no longer have access to the Internet. (I’m also disconnected from my work computer if I’m logged on.) If I look at Yahoo, there is often a video on the page that wants to load. Same thing happens. Not all the time, but often enough. The SO’s computer also loses her connection.

The solution is to unplug the (cable) modem and the Airport wireless router and plug them back in. The modem is fairly new – less than a year old. The Airport is a little long in the tooth, as I got it in 2007. I seem to remain connected to the Airport, based on the icon on my computer. I’m wondering if the problem is with my MacBook. Maybe there’s a memory shortage? Maybe it’s hogging all of the bandwidth while it tries to load stuff? Or maybe it seems it’s me, because I look at more pictures and videos than the SO? Or could it be the modem? Or the Airport?

Any ideas what’s been going on the past few months, and how to fix it?

FWIW, I run Adblock Plus and do not accept third-party cookies.

2

The key is your SO’s machine also having a problem.
That points right at your modem or router.

3

I thought that my computer might be causing the interruption. Doing something to the modem or router.

When I reboot the modem and router, the pages in my windows reload. I think next time it stalls, I’ll try just rebooting the router and see what happens. It’s the oldest link in the chain.

4

Does the SO lose connection even when you’re not online or only when you are? If the former, it sounds like modem/router issue. If the latter, most likely a client issue.

5

AFAIK, she doesn’t lose her connection unless I open an unlucky image/video.

6

I had a really bad connection, frequent random disconnections every day, with my Wifi receiver plugged into a USB port, and it wasn’t until I experimented with different ports that I noticed an improvement. It was suffering from interference from all the other USB ports, so now to get the best results I have the receiver plugged into a front port, as far from other USB cables I can get. (Though now my headphones have a constant crackle)

7

The last two times the Internet stalled, I unplugged the Airport and plugged it back in. When it rebooted, I had the connection back. So I’m guessing the router is dying.