1) Make sure that the drivers for the ethernet adapter that the modem is using are properly installed and enabled in device manager. Also make sure that the link/enet light is on. If there is more than one ethernet adapter in the pc, you may try disabling the one that is not being used, and make sure the modem is plugged into the correct card. You may also try changing the media access type on the ethernet card to "10 base T", or "10 megabit half duplex". Click here for walk through. This applies mostly to the 3com 3C920 integrated nic that Dell puts on their motherboards. *note if Windows XP detects the D-Link card as a realtek, or the kingston card as a light-on adapter, it is identifying the adapter based on the chipset, and should still function.* Normally our service should function with most 3rd party nic's, but if everything else seems perfect and the customer is still timing out, install our card.
2) Make sure that the nic appears in the network connections window as a local area connection with a tcp/ip binding. Excess protocols such as ipx/spx, netbeui, internet connection sharing (ics), and virtual private networking (vpn) can cause connection problems. Make sure that none of these are bound to the adapter. Also check tcp/ip settings such as "obtain ip address automatically". You may also try right clicking on the appropriate local area connection and selecting "repair".
3) Power cycle the modem for a full minute. Ethernet modems are problematic for "locking up" their communication with the DSLAM. Powering down the modem for 1 min. gives the DSLAM time to reset itself.
4) Make sure that the modem has sync. Also make sure that there is an appropriate router build, and try an end to end atm ping. If the customer is not an RT order do a port check in circuit manager and check that there is not excessive downstream capacity occupation (anything over 90% can cause connection problems and inconsistant sync.) In the case of an Ameritech customer that has not been converted, contact Ameritech provisioning for these tests.
5) You may try forcing windows to use the correct network adapter for its connection by running the Network Setup Wizard.
6) After you are sure that everything is connected and configured properly, and there are no line/network issues you may try using the NETSH command to reset the tcp paramaters. Open an Ms-DOS window and type the following including spaces: netsh interface ip reset log.txt