Internet connection disconnect

[Sleven]

I have been using Mint since Mint9, then LM10, LMDE 32bit and now have settled in using LMDE 64bit.

When I first installed LMDE64, I had a bad DVD, my burner was slowly dying and ended up with a slightly unstable but working OS, which disconnected me from the internet many times through out the day.
When I realised the burner was bad, I replaced it, burned a new LMDE64, reinstalled, and the disconnect issue almost went away.

At least once a day my connection will just drop. I can't say that it does it every time I do something in particular, it happens at random time, some times with nothing running. Some times it is in the morning, other times at night. It has done it once a day since the good install.
This never happened in any of the other Mint OSes, and does not happen in Debian 6.0, I have a few other OSes installed on bootable flash drive and it never happens in any of those.

Any ideas to what may be causing it ti disconnect or how to track it down?

[rivenathos]

How are you updating your LMDE? Levels 1-3? Levels 1-5? I am just seeing if that is something consider.

[Sleven]

I have a green check mark in the shield in the lower right panel. Every time I don't see it I update by clicking the shield. Is there another type of update I should be doing?

[rivenathos]

In LMDE, you may as well use the Mint Update like you have been. I was just thinking if Debian was having no problem, that some package in LMDE may not be updated to the same version or something. The Debian parts are supposed to be the same. The only differences are the Mint repos and packages.

In Debian, you are updating everything. In LMDE, unless you set it differently, you are only updating packages that are deemed Levels 1-3. There are still some kernel and video driver updates in Levels 4-5. Other than that, things should be the same for now.

[Sleven]

It's not a big deal, it always reconnects. It's like having a small pebble in your shoe, it just a bit irritating.

BTW Debian 6 is running like a champ after getting the new burner and reinstalling, nothing like the first install at all,
and I've noticed LMDE64 is acting better after a new install also. The disconnect issue almost cleared up, and all the other minor glitches went away all together.

I should have know something was wrong, on the bootup splash screen on both of the first installs there were error messages. No errors at all on both of the new installs.

[Sleven]

Just noticed in your first post about levels 1-5.

I have it set to only update levels 1-3 because of the warnings, are 4 and 5 safe to update?

[rivenathos]

There is always a lot of discussions about enabling Level 4 and 5 updates. Most of those discussions centered around the Ubuntu-based versions. I know Ubuntu updates could bork things up quickly, so that is why the Levels were a good idea in the Ubuntu-based versions.

If you are running Debian Squeeze, you probably have all of the updates available. If you are running LMDE with only Levels 1-3 enabled, you are missing some that you have on your Debian 6 install. If nothing broke on your Debian install, chances are it will be fine in your LMDE install - at this point. In fact, you are pretty safe updating Squeeze since now and from now on, you will get only bug fixes and security updates. There should be no major version changes that will mess things up.

As soon as Squeeze goes stable, then your LMDE will continue to track Testing. I can only guess at what to expect with LMDE and Wheezy-Testing in the first few weeks/months. Clem and the development team will certainly have suggestions by then.

[Sleven]

Riven, the connection issue has become more unstable in the past 24 hours, disconnecting several times. Took a snap shot of how update is configured, is LMDE still tracking Squeeze, if so, you think it will be safe to enable all the packages for updates?

Screenshot.png (51.4 KiB) Viewed 1114 times

[rivenathos]

At this point, all the updates to LMDE are bug fixes. In your Squeeze install, you already have what Mint labels as Level 4 and 5 updates. If those have given you no headaches in Debian, you should be fine in LMDE. Do you have Debian 6 and LMDE on the same computer? If so, does your Squeeze install have the same wireless problems as LMDE? If not, then you may need an update.

On my LMDE, I am accepting all updates since I know nothing will break. Once Squeeze goes Stable, I am probably going to set my Levels to 1-3 for a while. At the very least, I am going to hold off doing any updates for a week or three as the repositories sort through all the flood of incoming packages. I am still weighing my options since this is a whole new ball game.

[DrHu]

I assume wireless device, as that is usually the only type that has connect/disconnect issues, being that a wireless can intermittently connect/disconnect whenever there is any session problem, power problem, traffic problem or any other condition including power or OS busy that causes the wireless to think the connection is lost (temporarily)
How about power mode for the wireless or overheating of the device, which could also cause disconnects or screen saver or other applications cutting into the system and interrupting it silently ?

[Sleven]

Thanks Riven, will update to see if that helps.

DrHu, my connection is not wireless, I have an Ethernet card with a cat5 cable going to the router.

[Sleven]

During the updates a few things popped up that I'm not sure about, can you take a look,

error.png (107.81 KiB) Viewed 1099 times

I chose not to migrate but copied the update command in case you say I should.

As a side question, I often see RC following files and even different ISO, what does RC mean? I tried to google the meaning but RC stands for many things, none of which I saw relating to Linux.

[rivenathos]

When I saw that migration suggestion, I decided to accept it and see what happened. Nothing exploded, so I am going to assume it is safe. I have not seen that message in pure Debian before, so it must just be an LMDE thing.

[Sleven]

Thanks Riven, crossing my fingers and proceeding...