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JPSmit

JPSmit

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Greetings all. I am trying to sort through an issue with my internet access.

Info:

Windows 11
I use Chrome and occasionally Brave
I have NordVPN

For the last couple of months when I go to use my laptop I lift the lid, open Chrome (or it is open) and when I try to do anything online the page loads and loads and loads until it times out. The only way I can access the internet is to restart the computer at which point everything works fine. (This also happens with Brave)

This week Mrs JP and I are at a conference and with the hotel wifi everything works fine again. I get right on the internet and everything works.

I had presumed that it was an issue with the computer itself (it's getting a bit old and sometimes has a mind of its own) but now I wonder if it is related to the modem. Interestingly, during this time we changed internet providers so this has been an issue over two different modems.

Needless to say I can't check any ideas until we are home at the end of the week but, I would love to hear people's thoughts.

thanks all
JP
 
" ... with the hotel wifi everything works fine again"

You mean that your laptop works fine on the hotel wifi? or wifi works fine if you're using a hotel's computer

Are you using VPN all the time? or only occasionally?

Is the load load load timeout problem on *any* webpage? or only on one or a few webpages?

You mention all is well if you restart the laptop. Is all well if you just close and re-open Chrome?

modem? M O D E M ??? We haven't used modems since I worked for President Jefferson in 1805! (maybe an ISP "cable modem" with ethernet connected to a wifi router?)

:crazyeyes:
 
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1. Laptop works fine on hotel's wifi

2. VPN all the time

3. load load load timeout is all pages

4. If I close and reopen chrome without re-starting it doesn't work - ie. load load load timeout. (but again here on the hotel wifi Chrome works fine - no restarts needed and no timeouts)

5. They are still called modems so far as I know - and wireless modems, just 1.5 gig instead of 64 k

thanks!
 
Seems to my befuddled brain, that the problem is with your ISP. You're always using VPN, but the slow loading problem disappears when you're not using your local ISP service. (Just out of curiosity, why do you always use VPN?)

Give the ISP a call, describe the problem, and share what you wrote in post #3, and state that it only happens at home, and no where else. Have them run some testing and trace what's going on. There should be no charge, as we're 99% sure it's the ISP's problem that's causing your problem.

TM
 
I had so many problems with 11, I went back to 10, and all the problems went away.
 
JP - VPNs often slow down internet connections, which would slow down your browser (Chrome, Bravo, etc.). I don't have a clue where you are now, but I"m betting it's likely that your hotel uses a different ISP from what you use at home. This could change how your laptop VPN connection "sees" the internet.

So ... when you get back home, F I R S T confirm that your Chrome webpages still slow down. T H E N reboot the laptop, and turn O F F the VPN. See if the slowdown changes (or maybe even disappears). A VPN "re-routes" your webpage connections, and adds at least one extra step to your internet connections.

Report back!
Tom M.
 
Hey, J-P -

Just to throw another log on the fire and offer a morsel of thought:

Last time our computer gave us trouble I decided to switch to Apple. Despite the learning curve (which hasn't been as severe as I thought it would be), both the laptop and the desktop have been flawless. Haven't let go of Gmail or switched to Safari yet, but probably will.
 
NutmegCT said:
JP - VPNs often slow down internet connections, which would slow down your browser (Chrome, Bravo, etc.). I don't have a clue where you are now, but I"m betting it's likely that your hotel uses a different ISP from what you use at home. This could change how your laptop VPN connection "sees" the internet.

So ... when you get back home, F I R S T confirm that your Chrome webpages still slow down. T H E N reboot the laptop, and turn O F F the VPN. See if the slowdown changes (or maybe even disappears). A VPN "re-routes" your webpage connections, and adds at least one extra step to your internet connections.

Report back!
Tom M.
Click to expand...
Good advice - and I think you are correct about the ISP
 
Mickey Richaud said:
Hey, J-P -

Just to throw another log on the fire and offer a morsel of thought:

Last time our computer gave us trouble I decided to switch to Apple. Despite the learning curve (which hasn't been as severe as I thought it would be), both the laptop and the desktop have been flawless. Haven't let go of Gmail or switched to Safari yet, but probably will.
Click to expand...
No can do my friend. We are already a house divided. Mrs JP is a confirmed Mac person and I am a confirmed PC. This has been the subject of much good natured discourse over a number of decades. To switch now would be more humiliation than I could bear as I would be the recipient of 'I told you so' for the rest of eternity. :LOL:
 
And just to throw yet another log on the fire ...

If your Windows laptop problem disappears when you're at the hotel ... then the problem isn't the Windows laptop!

TM
 
JPSmit said:
No can do my friend. We are already a house divided. Mrs JP is a confirmed Mac person and I am a confirmed PC. This has been the subject of much good natured discourse over a number of decades. To switch now would be more humiliation than I could bear as I would be the recipient of 'I told you so' for the rest of eternity. :LOL:
Click to expand...
Understand... BOY, do I understand!!
 
NutmegCT said:
And just to throw yet another log on the fire ...

If your Windows laptop problem disappears when you're at the hotel ... then the problem isn't the Windows laptop!

TM
Click to expand...
If his windows laptop disappears it might be due to Mrs. JP.
She's right.... Get a Mac (y)
 
I'm guessing DNS issues when you are at home. I know from experience here at the college (with both PCs and Macs) that taking the computer from place to place without restarting often results in DNS mismatch because the computer is still trying to use the DNS servers from one place when you aren't there anymore - I don't know if turning the VPN on and off resets the DNS or not. I always recommend to our students and instructors to do a real shut down when moving from location to location - especially since newer machines start up so fast these days using the "sleep" function isn't a time saver like it was when the machine took 10 minutes to start up.
 
Linux, Unix, TRS-dos, cp/m, NeXT, Q-dos, Apple System-1 ... all just a flash in the pan. Switch to something with character and name recognition:

timeline_computers_1944.colossus.jpg


And no - it's not in Rhodes. ;)
 
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waltesefalcon said:
JP, obviously, you need to mature the switch to Linux.
Click to expand...
You mean Charlie Brown's best friend Linux? What does that have to do with computers?

1769089054321.png


:bananawave:

seriously, that is just too much like work. When it comes to computers I take the blue pill all day long :D

1769089138213.png
 
First, yes we still call them modems, though they are not technically modems, we still cal them that and the specifics of how they work has changed since the dial up days. Sometimes you will have a router built into the modem and sometimes the router and modem will be separate. (Most cable modems these days have the router built in)

It sounds like a home network issue. Try this when you get home: Unplug the modem (and the router if it is a separate box). Wait at least 2 minutes, then plug it back in. This will clear the router's memory, reset the DNS cache, and establish a fresh connection with the ISP (uyour service provider). Then, restart your laptop and try it out.
 
I have fiber optic, and I have a router and a modem. Two separate items set side by side are plugged into each other. Fiber optic plugs into the router, then into the modem. Works fine. (y)
 
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