General

[quote=BobR]Ah.. another clue..!
Yes.. these devices are really sensitive to heat. They put out a good deal of heat themselves, and without good ventilation and ambient temperature they can overheat and cause that rebooting problem. That's one of the reasons some of the manufacturers went with that "high tech look" of standing them up on one end.. so they'd get better ventilation and not cook themselves. I have my old-fashioned flat one on a wire shelf so it gets air from both top and bottom.[/quote]

Yep, mine gets so hot I can't put a flat hand on it. I'll put it on something "not solid", if I may, so it can get air from below as well. It's got holes everywhere for a reason.
It was rebooting especially much during the heat wave the Netherlands went through 2 weeks ago. It's so nice when you can tie the ends together.
I'll have to find a new spot for it when winter strikes.

[quote=Pavchka]The problem seems fixed now I "unpacked" the modem and moved it away from the heater, thanks everybody. [/quote]
Ah.. another clue..!
Yes.. these devices are really sensitive to heat. They put out a good deal of heat themselves, and without good ventilation and ambient temperature they can overheat and cause that rebooting problem. That's one of the reasons some of the manufacturers went with that "high tech look" of standing them up on one end.. so they'd get better ventilation and not cook themselves. I have my old-fashioned flat one on a wire shelf so it gets air from both top and bottom.

@djpinc19: (I was making a joke) And I've been here longer then I would care to admit.

[quote=BobR]Ah... now that might be something else completely.

Network lag, caused by Internet problems usually shows up in Maplestory as a delay when you try to shoot, or pick up loot, go through portals or when monsters take a second to die. It also causes situations like where you can still move around OK, but the monsters all just stand still (but still animating their movements). Usually it gets better after a second, your weapon shoots, the monsters move again, you finally go through the portal. (That's all caused by a delay in the Internet sending data to Nexon's game servers and them sending the answers back to your computer.)

Computer lag is when the screen "jerks" when you move across the map, or there's a pause when you try to make your character jump. That's caused by slow processing in your computer. The computer just can't keep up with displaying the screen as you move, so it jerks instead of moving smoothly. And your character jumping is slowed by the computer doing something else at the same second you hit the "Jump" button. This can be caused by not enough RAM for Maplestory (the game has gotten way bigger than it used to be) and/or a disk drive that needs to be defragmented. It can also be caused by an inadequate video card (or an integrated video system that can't handle the graphics).

In other words, at least the screen jumping problem might not be related to the Internet problems.[/quote]

Right... Maybe it's Blackcipher and Conime that cause me to lag so badly. They're both activated when I start Maple and Blackcipher for one can't be turned off (instant D/C), and together cause my CPU usage to shoot straight to 100%.
The Internet delay isn't so bad, just the usual Europe-lag and a delay when using Savage Blow for the first time after logging in (only Savage Blow does that. Weird).

I've been considering getting Ubuntu since my computer isn't really strong and I can't afford an unpgrade or a new computer. MapleStory doesn't work with Ubuntu, but that doesn't really matter. I could always boot into Vista to Maple. My laptop seems to be running slower and slower and its C-drive is filling itself up with information that seems to come out of nowhere.

The problem seems fixed now I "unpacked" the modem and moved it away from the heater, thanks everybody.

@Greenelf: It's okay, BobR and I are colleagues as far as essays are concerned.

[quote=greenelf]easy there, essay writer! [/quote]

You must be new around here.

[quote=greenelf]easy there, essay writer! [/quote]
Lol.. there's lotsa keys on my keyboard, and I have to use them all constantly or they start fading away one by one like Marty McFly's picture.
Wouldn't want that to happen..!

[quote=BobR]Does this problem also affect the TV signal..?

Just for the Internet though, I agree with the possibility that it's a hardware problem with the modem/router.

The lights flashing like that indicate the unit is rebooting,(or at least reconnecting with the ISP) which could be caused by the problem CTBlack mentioned.
I'm not very familiar with the Thompson line of routers, but when a router becomes "overloaded" it can hang and cause a reboot (which clears its memory) and then the whole process repeats when it overloads again.

Usually that only happens when there are too many connections or the amount of data being transferred is extremely high. People who try to download multiple torrents for extended periods of time run into problems like this when they just swamp the router with data and connections and the router just gives up and reboots.
Assuming that's not the case here, it's possible the modem/router is defective and is being stressed just from normal Internet connections.

The thing to do would be to contact the ISP's technical support and ask them to run a "line test" to your house. They can run the test remotely so they don't need to come to the house, and normally it's free and can be done immediately. The test should let them diagnose any problems in the wiring between their location and your house and if there's a problem with their end of things they should fix it without charge.

Also ask them if they can examine the modem/router's logs and see if it looks like there's a problem with it. If it's constantly rebooting or reconnecting they should be able to tell that from the internal logs and hopefully be able to tell if it's a hardware fault in the unit.

If they provided the modem/router, ask them if they can replace it if it looks like the unit itself is at fault.

There are actually two connections involved in getting Internet service to your laptop.
The first is from the modem back to the ISP's equipment wherever in town they may be. That's what would be affected by a defective modem.
The second is from the router to your laptop. That's the "WiFi" or wireless part.

Have you tested the second part by taking your laptop down right by the router and trying to connect to the Internet from there..?
You should have the best wireless signal possible from close to the router and if the problems persist when you're close to the antenna, it's not likely to be a wireless thing.[/quote]

easy there, essay writer!

[quote=Pavchka]My connection seems a bit more stable now, I can Maple without D/Cing, but I have a pretty serious lag where the screen "jumps",[/quote]
Ah... now that might be something else completely.

Network lag, caused by Internet problems usually shows up in Maplestory as a delay when you try to shoot, or pick up loot, go through portals or when monsters take a second to die. It also causes situations like where you can still move around OK, but the monsters all just stand still (but still animating their movements). Usually it gets better after a second, your weapon shoots, the monsters move again, you finally go through the portal. (That's all caused by a delay in the Internet sending data to Nexon's game servers and them sending the answers back to your computer.)

Computer lag is when the screen "jerks" when you move across the map, or there's a pause when you try to make your character jump. That's caused by slow processing in your computer. The computer just can't keep up with displaying the screen as you move, so it jerks instead of moving smoothly. And your character jumping is slowed by the computer doing something else at the same second you hit the "Jump" button. This can be caused by not enough RAM for Maplestory (the game has gotten way bigger than it used to be) and/or a disk drive that needs to be defragmented. It can also be caused by an inadequate video card (or an integrated video system that can't handle the graphics).

In other words, at least the screen jumping problem might not be related to the Internet problems.

My connection seems a bit more stable now, I can Maple without D/Cing, but I have a pretty serious lag where the screen "jumps", so maybe the Net goes on and off so quickly I juuust don't D/C. I still have trouble watching YouTube videos.

The TV signal is fine and crystal clear, but I should note that the modem is connected to a splitter by cable and the splitter then sends a signal to the receiver (and that's why the modem can't be moved). The Internet doesn't get more or less stable when I move my laptop closer to the modem.

I just checked the KPN website and found a few things that may disturb the signal, like the presence of a big metal heater, an emergency telephone unit broadcasting 24/7 and my grandmother who has Alzheimer's and has gotten stuck somewhere in the 1950s is constantly moving it about and sometimes knocking it over, so those are things I can work on. She put the modem on the floor (bad!), in a corner (bad!) [i]and[/i] built a wall of telephone books around it (bad!).
The issue with calling the provider is that I don't own the modem. The modem technically belongs to my grandmother and my uncle who ordered it is "boss", meaning I can't do anything to or about it without his permission. -_- My situation is a bit complex and I most of the time have to wait for someone else to fix my problems*. I'll ask him if he can contact KPN for me or if we can do it together.

* If the Internet uncle finds a problem, we have to contact the house maintenance uncle to inform him something's not right, and then we have to inform the uncle of finances that we may need to buy a new router, which'll cost money. Bureaucracy's all over the place.

Does this problem also affect the TV signal..?

Just for the Internet though, I agree with the possibility that it's a hardware problem with the modem/router.

The lights flashing like that indicate the unit is rebooting,(or at least reconnecting with the ISP) which could be caused by the problem CTBlack mentioned.
I'm not very familiar with the Thompson line of routers, but when a router becomes "overloaded" it can hang and cause a reboot (which clears its memory) and then the whole process repeats when it overloads again.

Usually that only happens when there are too many connections or the amount of data being transferred is extremely high. People who try to download multiple torrents for extended periods of time run into problems like this when they just swamp the router with data and connections and the router just gives up and reboots.
Assuming that's not the case here, it's possible the modem/router is defective and is being stressed just from normal Internet connections.

The thing to do would be to contact the ISP's technical support and ask them to run a "line test" to your house. They can run the test remotely so they don't need to come to the house, and normally it's free and can be done immediately. The test should let them diagnose any problems in the wiring between their location and your house and if there's a problem with their end of things they should fix it without charge.

Also ask them if they can examine the modem/router's logs and see if it looks like there's a problem with it. If it's constantly rebooting or reconnecting they should be able to tell that from the internal logs and hopefully be able to tell if it's a hardware fault in the unit.

If they provided the modem/router, ask them if they can replace it if it looks like the unit itself is at fault.

There are actually two connections involved in getting Internet service to your laptop.
The first is from the modem back to the ISP's equipment wherever in town they may be. That's what would be affected by a defective modem.
The second is from the router to your laptop. That's the "WiFi" or wireless part.

Have you tested the second part by taking your laptop down right by the router and trying to connect to the Internet from there..?
You should have the best wireless signal possible from close to the router and if the problems persist when you're close to the antenna, it's not likely to be a wireless thing.

If it is signal problem then you can try getting a bigger antenna, run a cable to the router or get a access point/ range extender.
The symptoms you described is similar to when a router runs out of memory due to too many connections (like with lots of torrenting), and it needed a hard reset to fix it.

* Hi Hi Ky Ky *

Honestly it sounds like either your ISP is terribad or your modem is terribad. I would try resetting your modem and seeing if that fixes it. After that I would RMA them modem if the problem persists. After that I would contact your ISP and tell them to fix your internet.