PC/Xbox connection issue

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

 OK every time i try to play COD:BO's  my wife gets disconnected from her xbox 360. dunno why this has started being an issue,since we've played both games in the past without this issue.now all of a sudden she's getten knocked off the connection. i can still play BF:BC2 without this issue and she can still play her "left for dead" with her friends.could this have something to do with steam? I've done a system restore just in case some setting got messed up,but it didn't help. any idea's? 

[Raidien{MEOW}]

Normally it is a router issue... I had a cheap D-Link router that had issues whenever I tried to play Battlefield Heroes. I could play, but no one else could use the internet, and I couldn't use the internet after I exited the game until I rebooted my router again. The issue is that the MAC address table filled up, and could release anything causing no other traffic to pass through. I bought a new linksys router and haven't had issues since.

Old Router: http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=WBR-2310

New Router: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Linksys+-+Wireless-N+Gigabit+Router+with+4-Port+Switch/1358356.p?id=1218252935814&skuId=1358356&st=WRT320&cp=1&lp=1

You may just need to upgrade your router, or get one of those nice gaming routers (I couldn't afford one, so I went with the next best thing (had a $20 off best buy coupon and it was on sale) that I could find...

[Jugulator*{MEOW}*]

you could also try installing a different firmware. I did this on my linksys and it now works great.
go to dd-wrt.com. click on router database and find your router and the instructions on how to upgrade to dd-wrt firmware. follow the instructions exactly. but be prepared to buy a new router if you mess up and turn it into a brick.
this will give you firmare that is similar to the firmware you get on very expensive routers. it will even allow you to turn up your wireless signal strength.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

"but be prepared to buy a new router if you mess up and turn it into a brick."


  LOL,better make sure i have the cash on hand first!!but since the little woman turned gamer i won't have an issue getting 1 if needed.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

 well if i'm reading all this right on these gaming router's, the only speed increase is for the wireless part of it?? i have her Xbox wired in straight to the router,via ethernet cable.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

It's largely a marketing gimmick in my opinion and from what I've read.  A standard router with QoS configured to give priority to games should be all you ever need.  As far as your problem goes, maybe a port conflict or possibly the MAC address issue Raidien said.  I'm not really that good with network stuff.

[Raidien{MEOW}]

dd-wrt and tomato are good choices, but there are many routers out there that aren't supported (such as my old one, last time I looked a year or two ago). I think the issue with mine was not enough internal memory to store the software on, but I can't really remember. I can put dd-wrt on my new one, but I haven't yet... My wife gets very pissy when I start messing with the network... maybe if I can get her to go away for a weekend I can mess with it lol.

The gaming routers use some "GameFuel" technology, which like Smooth said is a marketing gimmick in a way, because it is just packet prioritizing... but you pay to have them configure it for you vs. having to try messing with too much yourself... I like my router things to work out-of-the box as I hate messing with settings (other than setting up statics & port forwarding), which is why I recommended it... and for the fact that they typically have larger address tables, so you don't run into these sorts of issues...

The D-Link GamerLounge has some pretty great reviews, but I think that it is already EOL (has been out for years), and I haven't really seen anything great take its place... and it is still almost as expensive as it was when it came out... and I don't think you can put open source builds on it, such as dd-wrt or tomato

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

well pardon my ignorance, but the only time we have an issue is when i try to play black op's. if i had a router issue, wouldn't it affect her xbox anytime i tried to play any game?

[Raidien{MEOW}]

Not necessarily. My old router I played COD4, AA, BF2, BFBC, ArmA on with no problems whatsoever. I only ran into problems with BF Heroes. Some games open tons of ports to servers or other machines (like opponents) to help spread the load of the server, but in turn, it increases the load on the client and their connection. I don't know how Black Ops works, but with my experience with Heroes, it may operate in a similar way.

I don't know what kind of router you have, and I don't think you are ignorant. I'm just throwing it out there that it is a possibility that the router could be the issue, not necessarily that it is the issue...

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

im fairly sure it is the router. Blacky was down last week for Christmas,everytime he got on his laptop we all had connection issue's and couldnt  figure out why. plus the fact i have been playing black ops for some time,with the wife on her xbox & no issues at all. now all of a sudden it kick's her off. 

 as for my router its a belkin f5d8235-4 v2, and ive read up on that dd-wrt. it can be added to this router.they came up with an udate for it just a few weeks ago. but im not gonna try it though, TOO MANY HORROR stories about it killen there routers.

[Jugulator*{MEOW}*]

but what have you got to loose? if it works you have a much better router than one you will be able to buy. if it fails, well, you need a new one anyway. and you just might gain some router experience in the meantime.
have you updated the Belkin firmware? might try that first.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

ya jug, gonna get the new 1 before i experiment with this old one. just a bad time for extra cash lying around.

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

I don't know if you got this resolved Wild, but I think I'm having something similar.  I doubt it's exactly the same problem you're having, but they could be related.  After a session playing BO, I'll notice sluggish performance in anything else requiring the internet, browsing, other games, etc.  So I run a speedtest and my bandwidth is erratic.  I normally get 8 down to Chicago and it will read anywhere from 3-6 during these problems.  I think it's due to Black Ops flooding the maximum connections allowed on the router, similar to heavy p2p traffic.  I read a few posts on Steam forums where people thought that was what was happening.  Resetting my modem seemed to clear it up this past time.

[WildKatZ*{MEOW}*]

ya i tried resetting several times,helps at first then she still gets kicked off. be next month before i can try another router.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Okay, I will try to throw my .02 in here.  
Wild I see Raids point and that may be IMHO the culprit (Port stealing)

Lets look at another possibility - IP stealing.  I am assuming that the possiblity that something may have changed?
You should be running that router in DHCP mode where it will isssue IP's automatically (your computers should all be set to auto obtain the IP address unless you have a specific reason not do so)  Here is where I have seen a simple over looked change that some people mistakenly do (at one end or the other - router or computers) - They do not allow enough of a range to their IP alotment or they set the computers up as a static IP.

Look at your router settings - You should have a small range of IPs to alot.  If you set the range of IPs in the router to few and one more machine logs in.....well you dont have enough IPs set to give out- thus the router cancels out one IP to save itself. That is the most popular issue for home users.  The only allow just enough IP's.
Along this same note - remember that the router needs to have an IP as well so your down one there - the issue here is that the router will kick an IP to stay alive accept a static IP.

My network has a range of 15 IP's to doll out.  Believe it or not those go very quick!  My Motorall cell - when at home it switches to home network add another for Tammys cell.  Xbox, Wii, two Laptops two computers and the nieghbor mom and daughter are using my wireless x 2 IP's. Family and friends bring their laptops over....  

A last thing to try is run your game in DMS DMZ, this opens all ports - maybe this will help?  Of course you should turn off the DMZ after - that is a bit of a hassle but not that bad.

TK