SL Keeps Killing My Computer's Internet Connection

[Cornelia Cooperstone]

I have a strange problem which I've never encountered in 10 years in Second Life. (Funny that the forum labels me as a newbie, but whatever!)

For the last few days, every time I log onto SL on my main desktop, I lose the computer's Internet connection entirely after two or three  minutes. This does not just affect SL, but all my applications on this particular computer. Once SL crashes the connection, my web browser and any other connected software are also useless.  

I can only get the connection back by rebooting the computer entirely. This is a wired Ethernet connection running through a typical router setup (Netgear Nighthawk  AC1900). Meanwhile, I can log on with no trouble using my laptop on a Wi-Fi connection. How weird is that?

I normally use Firestorm, but I checked and the same problem is also happening with the Linden viewer.

Steps I have taken so far without solving the problem:

• Uninstalled and reinstalled both Firestorm and the Linden viewer. (Latest versions, clean install.)
• Tried a Windows system restore to roll everything back to an earlier point, which repeatedly failed to complete.
• Updated router firmware.
• Updated drivers for ethernet and graphics cards.
• Fiddled with Firestorm bandwidth settings (had been 1500, dropped as low as 900).
• Kept an eye on system temperatures – nothing looks out of the ordinary.
• Called my cable provider who came to the house yesterday and installed a brand-new modem which is now getting me speeds in the range of 110 mbps down/10 mbps up.

System information: Windows 7 64-bit; Intel Core i7 4770; 16 GB DDR3 RAM; EVGA GeForce GTX 960Ti; Samsung 840 EVO SSD; EVGA 750 watt power supply; two Dell monitors.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Cornelia Cooperstone
clarification

[ellestones]

i get this problem sometimes. Our causes may be different tho

assuming that is not a hardware issue, like your Ethernet card is failing

what I found that helped me, was to add more DNS connections to my desktop. In my case I added my ISP DNS, two Google and two OpenDNS

a instructional of how how to do this on Windows 10 is herr

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-change-your-pcs-dns-settings-windows-10

i am only kinda guessing here, but I think my router gets flooded when lots and lots of domain-based connections (which SL has lots of) from a single external source are received, causing the router to shut down. Having multiple Domain Name Servers helps (I think) to spread the incoming load vectors

a adjacent point, is that my ISP has told me that they don't deliberately drop my connection when their DNS receives large bursts of requests from me, but am pretty sure there is some kinda fail-safe cutoff point built into their DNS software

[Cornelia Cooperstone]

Thanks-- appreciate the reply. Sad to say, I gave it a try, but that didn't fix things. Again, thanks very much for the suggestion- it was definitely worth trying.

[Rachel1206]

I have experienced the same - FS sometimes disabling my wireless or USB mouse - this ONLY happens when using FS...

A weird glitch in combination with system, drivers and software... I suspect the NVidea drivers causing it.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Rachel1206

[Cornelia Cooperstone]

Never even thought about that possibility- thanks for the suggestion!