# Why does my connection fail?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 12, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145 "2009-03-12T00:01:11Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/1 "2009-03-12T00:01:11Z")
I play on the computer. I close the browser and go away for an hour with the computer up and running and when I come back, my browser cannot connect to the net. FireFox, AOHell when launched will not connect. Opera, IE, nada…
I can reboot and all is fine…
XP-Pro
2WIRE254 router-modem from AT&T/Cingular on AT&T DSL…
Actually had this problem on Wildblue satellite also IIRC.
What is timing out or dieing an agonizing death or what???
What does the reboot reset? How do I keep it set, whatever it is?
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/2 "2009-03-12T00:59:36Z")
Most likely your machine is going into hibernation, including putting the wireless card to sleep. This can be set in the machine’s bios, and in Windows (screen saver, power, hibernate tab).
But why it doesn’t reconnect on wake up I don’t know. But you could extend the time before it goes into hibernation.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/3 "2009-03-12T04:52:52Z")
Not wireless, it is hard wired…
I leave a browser up and it stays connected, but with all browsers closed, after about an hour, a launched browser will not connect.
Wireless laptops and the other desktop will connect, just my desktop won’t… ???
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### Author:  [@dynamitedave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dynamitedave)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/4 "2009-03-12T05:16:06Z")
I vaguely remember something about wired network cards powering down to save power. Ok, just checked mine via Device Manager and there is a setting for power management that allows the PC to turn it off.
Could be worth a fiddle with?
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/5 "2009-03-12T15:41:35Z")
Pawed through that and mine does not have any settings I can find or change about that.
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### Author:  [@renew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/renew)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/6 "2009-03-12T18:40:35Z")
I used to have a similar problem and solved it by disabling the DNS Client:
From the windows (XP) desktop:
Click on Start --\> Control panel
DoubleClick on Administrative Tools
DoubleClick on Services
DoubleClick on DNS Client (or DNSCache?)
Select Startup Type Disabled and click OK
Restart your computer
If you have the same problem as I did, this should solve it
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/7 "2009-03-12T20:20:23Z")
> [@renew](#):
>
> I used to have a similar problem and solved it by disabling the DNS Client:
>
> From the windows (XP) desktop:
> Click on Start –\> Control panel
> DoubleClick on Administrative Tools
> DoubleClick on Services
> DoubleClick on DNS Client (or DNSCache?)
> Select Startup Type Disabled and click OK
> Restart your computer
>
> If you have the same problem as I did, this should solve it
I’ll try it.
This is where I am at now…
I did “CMD” then “ipconfig” before shutting my browsers and leaving for a while. I got the upper left response in the picture.
After I came back I immediately got the response that is lower left in the picture. I tried my browser and it would not show the home page, AOHell would not connect but FF would go to places bookmarked with the actual IP address such as ( [http://xx.yy.77.zz/forums/index](http://xx.yy.77.zz/forums/index) ) Even after going to a couple of these, it still would not connect to my home page which is Google nor anyplace that was by name only such as ( [http://moxxbo.ignxxxlist.cxm/forum](http://moxxbo.ignxxxlist.cxm/forum) )
So I tried “CMD” & “ipconfig/renew” and got the same response. Lower left picture.
I did a reboot and all is well and I got the right middle picture. All three are the same…
Ideas?
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### Author:  [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/8 "2009-03-13T00:03:20Z")
I see no links to pictures anywhere … but something somewhere is going to sleep, but being kept awake if you have your browser open. Did you look as the stuff I mentioned? Wireless/wired makes no difference to that.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2009, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-my-connection-fail/489145/9 "2009-03-13T04:20:36Z")
[The three CMD responses.](http://dragon43.googlepages.com/cmdcomposit.jpg)
I have hibernation turned off.
Forgot to check BIOS, will do dat in a few…