I have an up to date fully functional version of Windows Vista. Sometimes I open Internet Explorer to watch BBC iPlayer (it just seems to work better, and also some Internet radio stations are only compatible Internet Explorer). But every time I close it I get the Windows error message. You know, the one that says “Internet Explorer has stopped working, click here to close or here to investigate the problem”. Almost every time. Why? I could understand it if it happened while using Firefox (my main browser) or Chrome, as Vista may wonder why it has stopped working when I close the browser. But surely Windows should be able to recognise when its own software is closed. Or is it simply because Windows is just so bleeding stupid?

If you are having internet connection problems in Vista Home then one possible solution is to disable IPv6.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Start > Control Panel > View Network Status and tasks (under Network and Internet)
2. Chose Manage Network Connections on the left side menu
3. Right click Local Area Connection and choose Properties
4. In the pop-up box, uncheck the following:
   • Internt Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)
5. Click OK and then RESTART your computer..

As far as I am aware the worse that this can do right now is slow your connection. However, some people say that it speeds it up – and if like me you were losing your connection several times a day, then a slightly slower permanent connection is far better than having to reboot 5 times a day.

My question is – why the hell is Vista shipped with this new technology and no mention of the possible problems it causes? There are tens of thousands of search results for this problem, especially for wireless users. So why no patch?

I posted a blog a while ago with a possible fix, which involved changing some registry settings to prevent the internet connection being dropped when Vista goes into sleep/hibernation mode. However, this did not work for me after all. After some more digging (there are tens of thousands of websites discussing the Vista internet problems) I found some new possible solutions. I tackled them in a totally unscientific way, so am not sure what worked – but something certainly worked for me. 

To recap:

• Dell Inspiron PC
• Netgear 834 router
• Windows Vista Home Edition
• Firefox 3
• Chrome

On a regular basis I was losing internet connection while browsing. At first I thought that it was a Firefox problem as on losing the connection, Firefox would crash, and End Task did nothing. The only solution was a reboot. However, it then happened in Chrome too, so I stopped blaming Firefox. Some forums said AVG was the problem, as it did not know what the new .sqlite file types are that Firefox uses to store cookies in. So I uninstalled AVG, and installed Avast Home edition instead. But I do not think that this worked as Chrome later crashed. I then found another forum suggesting that Zone Alarm was the problem. So I ditched that too, and fired up the Windows Firewall. I then found another forum talking about Vista having trouble with IPV6, an internet protocol thing that replaces IPV4. First I hacked Firefox to ignore IPV6, but before fully testing, I decided to change the Vista configuration to also not use IPV6. Since then everything is working fine. Must be about 24 hours of relatively intensive use – i.e. Firefox and Chrome open, both with several tabs, plus email and Skype. All OK so far. I was even using PuTTy and FireFTP earlier with no problems. 

I still cannot be sure what has fixed the problem, but it looks like disabling IPV6 was the trick. This is what I did, in order:

1. Uninstalled AVG Free and installed Avast
2. Uninstalled ZoneAlarm firewall and using Windows firewall
3. Disabled ipv6 in Firefox, but then after this
4. Disabled ipv6 on server – learn how to disable IPv6 here

So far all OK.

I am tempted to reinstall AVG now (or later, give Windows internet connection a chance to crash again) and go from there. Maybe it was ipv6? Whatever that is. But maybe AVG (one forum mentioned something it FF using .sqlite file and AVG getting upset about it. I dunno. But it is working for now.

I have had this problem for a few weeks now. No idea what has caused it. Searching on Google reveals tens of thousands of results, which suggests that I am not alone. However, none of the suggested solutions have worked so far.

Solutions to losing internet connection on Vista:

1. Windows might be turning off your network adapter to save power.

Turn off the power-saving option in the network adapter’s properties (wired network adapters only):

I followed the instructions but did not have an option to clear, so that failed. My Ubuntu pc stays connected, but Vista Home needs to be rebooted several times a day. Checked router all is well. Other apps (such as Skype) remain connected, so seems to affect web browsers mostly. Def. a Vista problem and not a phone line, router or pc hardware problem.

2. Changing the Vista registry settings to configure the router behaviour

This solution has been repeated on forums across the internet, so I tried it, and it failed too:

1. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click regedit in the Programs list. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.

2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters\Interfaces\{GUID}

In this registry path, click the (GUID) subkey that corresponds to the network adapter that is connected to the network.

If you don’t know which one of those cryptic {GUID} to select, just find the one that has got an IP address. (see screenshot below)

3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-bit) Value.

4. In the New Value #1 box, type DhcpConnDisableBcastFlagToggle, and then press ENTER.

5. Right-click DhcpConnDisableBcastFlagToggle, and then click Modify.

6. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.

7. Close Registry Editor.

If you are using both wireless and regular connection, you’ll need to add DhcpConnDisableBcastFlagToggle to both.

Source: http://www.catonett.com/blog/archives/194

So now I am left having to reboot Vista several times a day. I have started to back everything up to separate drives to allow a complete fresh install. Really do not want to have to do this, as it will take time a lost time is lost money. But I am starting to think that I have little choice but to start Vista afresh and hope for the best.

A few days ago I read with amusement that Microsoft were offering anyone the chance of downloading the test release of their latest desktop operating system, Windows 7. Now, they had the wisdom to warn that this latest test version is full of bugs, just in case some people were expecting a working operating system. Windows 7 (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna) is the next release of Microsoft Windows, an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, netbooks and media centre PCs.

But what strikes me as crazy now, is that they still have not managed to sort out their current, and previous, operating systems. I am currently using Vista on a newish Dell pc, with 4Gb RAM and a pretty standard but fast Duo Core CPU. I do not ask too much of this computer though, so really, I would expect few problems. However, those that warned me that in time Vista would slowly grind to a halt were indeed right. When I decided to buy a new PC, I received the following advice:

1. Install Windows XP
2. Install a Linux distribution (best bet Ubuntu).

At the time I thought that this was just the usual Microsoft bashing, and that people who had problems in the past with Vista were running it on older, slower computers. But this evening I had my 3rd crash. For no apparent reason, both my keyboard and mouse stopped working. This made my system unusable, and left me with the only option of hitting the power switch, losing unsaved work, and rebooting. Now, Microsoft have been building operating systems for sometime now, so really I would not expect such simple crashes. If I were using 3rd party products, then maybe a keyboard / mouse failure would not be unexpected every now and then. But I have  Microsoft wired keyboard and a Microsoft wired mouse. One moment they were working, and the next, both dead.

On rebooting the PC, Vista did kindly inform me that new drivers had been installed and that the “new” hardware was now available for use. Great. Like I had not been using them for months already. This is the second time this has happened. And why has there been no fix for these failures? My computer as a common as mud, as are my keyboard and mouse, and yet bugs in Vista mean that they periodically stop working. And now Microsoft is planning to release its next “operating” system. I wonder what won’t work in this version? Monitors, ethernet cables, disk drives?

Maybe one day Microsoft will see the light and move to a UNIX based operating system, to create stable and logical operating systems like Apple and Linux. It probably will not be long before even Google have a better operating system than Microsoft, and no doubt that will be free too. Bring it on. I have had almost enough of Windows. In fact, maybe this is time to move on. The only reason I stuck with Windows was for Photoshop (now a very old version) and playing games. But I now use GIMP for all my photo editing needs (Photoshop is actually still sitting on an old XP machine). Although I do like the odd game. If only games ran well on Ubuntu.