Hi,,Having a continuous problem here...My internet connection drops out for a few seconds mostly when switching pages,,just cuts out shows can't display page I get a red spinner on my network icon sometimes I notice it happens when I'm doing nothing....Called my IP Spectrum,,first they gave me a new modem setup my port forwarding I needed for a game (EAW) screwed that up too..Anyhow Spectrum came again this time two dudes one checked in house and the other went up a pole and found a bent connector and replaced that ,,Seemed OK for a day or two now it's back,,I have a simple one machine setup connected ethernet cable straight to the machine..I believe it's an on board ethernet connection..Sometimes it drops a download which is a PIA because using some sites I have to go restart the whole thing ,,Ant suggestions on what I might do is appreciated,,thanks

Well I would run some trace routes and pings to different servers, you can google how to do that..

not enough information to do any troubleshooting

check your modem - it's usually a black box the ISP gave you, it might have some wifi antennas on it. it should have a bunch of small lights. you want them to all be green with no blinking. one or two of them might flicker rapidly but that's normal; steady blinking is usually a sign of a connection problem between the modem and the outside world (internet). if there are any orange or red lights blinking you've definitely got an issue.

does the issue occur when you use a smartphone connected to your house's wifi? if not, then the problem is probably with your computer's or modem's DNS routing. sometimes this happens when an ISP starts messing with their DNS servers or routing.
it can also happen when you install some badly made software or malware.

also try using a different browser, what browser are you using? if it's explorer i'd have to just say use a different browser anyway, as explorer is dangerous and puts you at risk for malware and ransomware (will encrypt your harddrive completely and you'll probably never get your data back). if the issue persists in other browsers it could be a hosts file problem or dns problem.

last thing to check (or first?) is if you are connecting by wifi, make sure your signal strength is strong enough. if it's weak, try connecting it with a lan cable. if you're using a lan cable, make sure that the cable is plugged in securely in both the modem and the PC.

if you have a router between your modem and pc, make sure to check all the lights as i described above. steady blinks or red lights are trouble.

Vf9 Very simple setup here modem/router-->>computer Plain ethernet cable to on board ethernet...I'm using pale moon browser and have also tried fire fox..The modem lights are always solid..Had tech support show up twice,,the first dude put in a new modem and the second guys two trucks went up a pole and found one of the cables was L shaped at the connection and repaired that,,Now it's happening when I'm switching web pages ..It hesitates for a couple seconds and gives me page not found and a red X on the connection icon i hit retry and it connects..I've been able to fly EAW on line with no problems except can't connect to Game Ranger with all the proper ports forwarded..I was thinking of trying a new dedicated ethernet card but with the big video card I have it just won't fit in.i I've used a ping program that continuously pings an address and get disconnects several times an hour. Any suggestions on a different browser..most i've seen are overloaded with features I don't need I don't have a cell phone,,smart phone,,tablet etc,,just a simple browser Firefox and Pale moon are related and pretty much the same.

First, if they didn't use a new Ethernet cable with the modem, swap that out. Unplug the modem to power cycle while doing this for good measure. It may have updated firmware that will not finish installing until you do so, or there could be other temporary issues.
Second, I'd get some electric contact cleaner spray and, with pc off, spray the Ethernet port.
Third, open the case and make sure you're dust free. It can cause odd issues, especially if your mobo is covered.
Fourth, update your network driver.

Still doing it?
Run malware scanners while in safe mode.
Malwarebytes free scanner
Adaware free scanner
There are others, but those are the main ones. What one misses the other might catch. Again, in safe mode or you may be wasting your time.

Also, be sure windows and browser are up to date.

If you have a laptop or other pc you can hook up you can quickly diagnose if the issue is related to isp/modem or something going on with your desktop.

thanks Kryptonite,,I did put a new cable in they didn't do that and did totally un-plug the modem..I have maleware bytes never ran it in safe mode and will grab Adaware also have super spyware I run it too it saved me once before when I had troubles booting..Inside the case is clean i do that every couple weeks ..This week I'm adding a second HD and will do it again and reroute the extra PS cables If all else fails may be try a seperate ethernet card If I can't fit the internal on I'll try an external one,,,Thanks for the replies

Hi Russ,
Try using Chrome and see if you still have problems.

I once experienced similar problems as you are experiencing. I was primarily using firefox. Normal data transfer i.e. games, torrents, chat, etc. was just fine, only browsers were affected. I forget the exact cause of it but I believe I had to flush my windows DNS cache.
https://documentation.cpanel.net/display/CKB/How+To+Clear+Your+DNS+Cache

You should also check your hosts file (google it) and see if there is anything strange or unusual in the hosts file. sometimes malware will redirect ALL of your traffic through a different server.

which leads me to my last point, some malware can hijack your connection in devious ways.

99% sure your problem is a software related one, I would guess you've got some kind of malware infection that is directing your traffic through servers or a bot network that has been taken down.

VF_9
Thanks for the reply..Flushed my dns cache and checked my hosts file nothing there all lines are remed out with a #..I have the same as you had torrents,,games,,downloads Team Speak are all working fine,,,It occurs when I'm like at my home page SimHQ and go to check my mail and it drops out for a second and re connects...or when switching other pages too.....I just was forced to do a complete re install of win 7 from my factory disks and the problem still persists ....I've replaced the modem because it was an old vista one and the tech support guys from Time Warner climbed a pole and found a bent connector..But the problem didn't go away...I fly EAW on line a lot and it never drops out...I'm using Pale Moon as a browser it's based on fire fox and also tried Fire Fox clean,,,,,,Think i'll give Chrome a shot ,,i had it once but couldn't get used to all the features,,I'll test it for a few days and see what happens,,Along with a run of Malware Bytes and SUPER anti spyware I was thinking of getting a discreet Ethernet card mine is onboard now,,but have to look inside the case I installed a video card and it's huge not sure if I can get anything in a PCI slot...If all else fails I'll live with it as long as I can fly

Did you try another pc or laptop?
You need to be able to tell if you're actually losing your internet connection or if it's your pc. Can you access the logs on your modem to see if it says anything? What is the uptime? Does it show any authentication problems or anything like that?
Check your ethernet port on the pc, make sure nothing is bent in there.
I suspect this is your pc, not your internet connection, and probably hardware based.
Did you try updating your driver? Reinstall it anyway.

You can adjust MTU size in the registry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_transmission_unit