Why Do Cable Internet Connections Sometimes Go Kerflooey?

In MOST cases the IP address, DNS address or some other address has changed or been "lost".

AT&T/Roadrunner use DHCP so that your system "picks up" an IP address and other needed network information when you start you system up. If they reset thier servers or a portion of the network goes down then the addresses can get scrambled and you run into connection problems.

Those types of problems can usually be fixed pretty easily by powering off/on your cable modem or runing "winipcfg". Doing either of those will cause your end to request new addresses from the DHCP server.

This is a VERY common thing with most of the AT&T/Roadrunner cable access users I've talked to.

Without knowing what they had you do with you're Win98 disks it's hard to say why they had you go that route.

fishin'- That was why I was so confused. Usually turning off the modem, and/or resetting winipcfg does the trick. I wonder why the tech had to go farther this time.

Well, "all's well that ends well"! My problem is, that no matter how competent I get on the computer (I consider myself on the high end of intermediate), I still have an anxiety attack every time I think something is going wrong with my computer!

I have Road Runner also and here in Orange County, CA, I do get problems of congestion and errors which, when you call their tech help, they try to pass off as your own computer problems. Not. I also am getting a perculiar search problem when I hit a link to log onto a site from quick launch and sometimes it will start pilling up one error search screen over another. I try to use the task monitor to shut it down and sometimes it will finally put up an "end task" popup and will stop it. Sometimes it will just crash the browser. I don't know if this is the quick launch and favorites links misbehaving when used from the desktop or if it is Road Runner.