Resetting Winsock Protocol

marsmimar · 12 Nov 2010

Ever since I got my 7 Pro x86 laptop in Dec 09 I've experienced periodic loss of Internet connectivity, usually a couple of times a month. My computer is connected to an external modem provided by AT&T, no router, no home network. The modem has been tested by two different AT&T repair centers and no problems were noted. Even so I bought another modem and connectivity is still regularly lost. My laptop is wired like this AT&T diagram:

Attachment 113514

Based on my own research I've found that one possible cause of network connectivity problems is the mis-configuration or the corruption of the Winsock protocol (network drivers) on the 7 computer. (Prior to getting the 7 laptop I was using an XP Pro machine. I never had any connectivity issues with it.) Per Microsoft, this protocol is used by Windows to communicate with other computers and to access resources on the Internet, such as e-mail and Web sites. If there is a problem with Winsock, Windows will no longer be able to access the Internet. The recommended Microsoft fix is:

1. Run elevated command prompt.
2. Type netsh winsock reset > ENTER:
3. The following message should be seen: "Successfully reset the Winsock Catalog. You must restart the computer in order to complete the reset."
4. Restart computer.

Another elevated command prompt that has been suggested is:
netsh int ip reset reset.log hit
So far I have not tred this because netsh winsock reset has been able to restore my Internet connectivity.

FWIW, all drivers are the lastest versions, no malware on computer (connectivity issue has occured in the past even after a clean install of OS), device manager shows no problems including ethernet drivers and network adapters, all cables have been swapped out including the filter, and the only event log entry of any substance was a warning: "Name resolution for the name dns.msftncsi.com timed out after none of the configured DNS servers responded" after latest loss of connectivity a couple of hours ago.

My questions are:
1. What exactly is happening when I enter the netsh winsock reset command?
2. Why would my Internet connectivity / network drivers fail so often? Does it sound more like an ISP issue or a computer issue?
3. Any recommended diagnostic checks to better pinpoint what is happening and why?

If this is posted in the wrong section I apologize.

Jacee · 12 Nov 2010

Try registering your DNS by opening an elevated command prompt and typing:

ipconfig /flushdns .... press enter
ipconfig /registerdns .... press enter

Also, can you update the firmware on AT&T's Modem?

marsmimar · 12 Nov 2010

Jacee said:

Try registering your DNS by opening an elevated command prompt and typing:

ipconfig /flushdns .... press enter
ipconfig /registerdns .... press enter

Also, can you update the firmware on AT&T's Modem?

On previous occasions when I've lost connectivity I tried flushing/registering DNS. It didn't help to restore connectivity and there were no errors in the event viewer after the requisite 15 minute waiting period. According to AT&T repair center the latest firmware is installed on both modems (original and spare) as of Sep 2010 when I took the original modem in and purchased the spare.

Jacee · 12 Nov 2010

What Anti-virus software and Firewall are you running? You may have a conflict there.

marsmimar · 13 Nov 2010

Jacee said:

What Anti-virus software and Firewall are you running? You may have a conflict there.

MSE and Windows firewall.

Bill2 · 13 Nov 2010

1) Windows sockets configuration (Winsock) can get corrupted for various reasons such as installation of networking software, or malware infection, or even by security apps. When Winsock corrupts, you'll run into networking errors like "Page cannot be displayed” error messages.

What netsh winsock reset command does is to reset the Winsock Catalog to a clean state or default configuration. It removes all Winsock LSP (Layered Service Providers) previously installed, including the potential malfunctioning LSP that causes loss of network packets transmission failure. So all previously-installed LSPs must be reinstalled. This command does not affect Winsock Name Space Provider entries.

To check which LSPs are installed, use netsh winsock show catalog command.

2) For your connectivity problems, I think you need to explore alternate drivers. Also, if you have a spare NIC, test with that.

chev65 · 13 Nov 2010

The TCP/ip stack can also be corrupted and fixed with the command below.

It's a 4 layer stack and can get messed up sometimes although if you are losing internet randomly and you can't make changes to your modem-router then about the only other thing you can do is try another network driver for your machine.

netsh int ip reset reset.log hit (reset TCP/IP stack)

http://support.dell.com/support/down...nConsent=False

Read more: http://windows7themes.net/repair-reset-winsock-windows-7.html#ixzz15B58tLUR

Jacee · 13 Nov 2010

If the above still doesn't work, you may have a program that's trying to connect to the Internet and causing the 'time out'. Bonjour?

marsmimar · 14 Nov 2010

Bill2 said:

1) Windows sockets configuration (Winsock) can get corrupted for various reasons such as installation of networking software, or malware infection, or even by security apps. When Winsock corrupts, you'll run into networking errors like "Page cannot be displayed” error messages.

What netsh winsock reset command does is to reset the Winsock Catalog to a clean state or default configuration. It removes all Winsock LSP (Layered Service Providers) previously installed, including the potential malfunctioning LSP that causes loss of network packets transmission failure. So all previously-installed LSPs must be reinstalled. This command does not affect Winsock Name Space Provider entries.

To check which LSPs are installed, use netsh winsock show catalog command.

2) For your connectivity problems, I think you need to explore alternate drivers. Also, if you have a spare NIC, test with that.

chev65 said:

The TCP/ip stack can also be corrupted and fixed with the command below.

It's a 4 layer stack and can get messed up sometimes although if you are losing internet randomly and you can't make changes to your modem-router then about the only other thing you can do is try another network driver for your machine.

netsh int ip reset reset.log hit (reset TCP/IP stack)

Drivers & Downloads

Read more: http://windows7themes.net/repair-reset-winsock-windows-7.html#ixzz15B58tLUR

Jacee said:

If the above still doesn't work, you may have a program that's trying to connect to the Internet and causing the 'time out'. Bonjour?

@Bill - Thanks for the info, Bill. I think understand Windsock a lot better now.

Unfortunately I don't have a spare NIC. I ran the "show catalog" command and there were 17 LSPs listed and called things like: Base Service Provider, Network Location Awareness Legacy, Tcpip, NTDS, E-mail Naming Shim Provider, PNRP Cloud Namespace Provider, PNRP Name Namespace Provider, mdnsNSP, WindowsLive NSP, and WindowsLive Local NSP. Do you see any red flags here?

@Rob - Appreciate the links. I double-checked Dell support for any updated drivers and I have the latest installed.

@jacee - Your comment about a program trying to connect to the Internet got me thinking. I don't have Bonjour (no iTunes or any other Apple apps that might need it) but doesn't MSE call home via Microsoft SpyNet? I'm running MSE 2.0 beta. Have you heard of any issues involving SpyNet?

@All - I apologize for not responding sooner. Had to take care of some personal things. Appreciate your comments and suggestions. This problem occurs so infrequently it's really hard to troubleshoot. I don't get any advance warnings that something is wrong until I try to go to a website and I realize I lost Internet connectivity. Should I just get into the habit of clearing the Winsock Catalog and TCP/IP Stack whenever I shut down my laptop?

chev65 · 14 Nov 2010

@All - I apologize for not responding sooner. Had to take care of some personal things. Appreciate your comments and suggestions. This problem occurs so infrequently it's really hard to troubleshoot. I don't get any advance warnings that something is wrong until I try to go to a website and I realize I lost Internet connectivity. Should I just get into the habit of clearing the Winsock Catalog and TCP/IP Stack whenever I shut down my laptop?

You should not need to clear winsock or reset the TCP/ip stack at every shut down, clearly there is an underlying problem. There are no magic buttons in Windows 7 that fix networking problems.

If you really want help with this problem then post a screen shot of your ipconfig /all here the next time you lose the connection and I will see if I can find a problem. This procedure has worked for me over 600 times to solve problems and I can assure you that your network problem is no different than anyone else's.