Roon
Networking
Ethernet connectivity drops on windows
Windows
Roon v2.0 build 1303, windows 10 pro os build 19045.3324, Dell inspiron 5558 Intel core i5-5200U 2.2 ghz, Hard wired Ethernet 100 Mbps Realtek PCIeFE controller, Netgear Nighthawk RAXE300 router
Pi-DAC pro
netgear nighthawk RAXE300 hard wired 100 Mbps
Hello everyone - My Roon was working just fine until the last Windows update (see config above). Now when I start playing a song it loses connectivity after about 15 to 30 seconds and then skips to the next song when connectivity returns. All the network connections are hardwired and there are no other applications running on the network when this occurs. The issue is either in Windows or the router, but I highly suspect Windows. When I run the task manager and go to the “performance” tab, everything goes fine until the “Ethernet” box on the left side just disappears for about 5 seconds, then comes back.
sometimes the disruption is short enough that ROON will skip to the next song, and sometimes ROON just stops. When I click Play in Roon again, the same thing happens on the next song. I am REALLY hoping it is a known issue with WINDOWS and the answer is not "You just need to go spend $3000 on a new core computer. Any assistance would be helpful. Again - everything was working fine with this configuration until about a month ago.
Here is what the task manager looks like when the “Ethernet” drops off the left side:
And here is when it comes back a few seconds later and Roon skips to the next song:
Have you rebooted your router and PC to determine if these have any effect? Have you tried replacing your Ethernet cable between the PC and router? Not sure this is a Roon issue as much as a network issue without more information.
Couple of suggestions.
Have you tried uninstalling/reinstalling your ethernet controller in Windows?
Have you checked for new drivers for the Realtek ethernet controller?
Windows often installs Microsoft drivers for devices rather than manufacturer drivers.
Also, I would check the power management settings for the ethernet controller - Windows key + x > Device Manager > right-click on your ethernet controller > Properties > Power Management and make sure the “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” box is inchecked.
I have definitely rebooted and reconnected everything. Graeme - I will try your suggestions and let you know how it goes. The power saver thing would be odd given that I’m losing the controller every 60 seconds or so, but anything is possible with Windows.
My gut feeling is that it’s most likely to be a driver issue. I have an Intel 10G fibre server card in my desktop PC. Windows updates regularly broke its functionality and I often had to wait for Intel to update the drivers to restore things to normal.
You could also try to rule out an internal network adapter hardware issue by getting an inexpensive USB3 1GBit adapter. Would give you more speed on top. Though that’s a bit overkill as 100 are enough here.
Such as this one:
Amazon Basics USB 3.0 to 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet Internet Adapter https://amzn.eu/d/8KUozef
It seems that you have it identified. Network drop outs in Roon sometimes can be very hard to dissect.
As others have responded, either update the drivers or replace the NIC with another.
Keep us posted.
–MD
Sorry for the delayed response - I was finally able to carve out some time to work on this tonight. I first swapped out the Ethernet cable which did not fix the problem. Then I went searching for drivers. The Dell website said all my drivers were up to date. The adapter is a RealTek PCIe FE. I went to the RealTEK website and the most recent driver they had was for Windows XP. I went ahead and re-installed the latest driver from the Dell website, and that did not fix the issue. I had forgotten when I purchased the laptop it was an XP laptop and was upgraded to Windows 10. I am thinking now the latest Windows update broke something with the XP device driver compatibility. I am moving to the next step and buying a USB Ethernet adapter. Will let you know how that goes tomorrow.
@Graeme_Finlayson is absolutely on the money , Windows Upgrades have a habit of applying their “best fit” drivers , Roon is particularly sensitive to the Video Driver as it extensively uses the GPU
Check This first, what video do you have , is it Intel built in maybe (aka Realtek) try the Intel site.
Funnily enough this used to crop up after virtually every Windows update , it seems to have stopped of late until just now, you are the second user suffering
Uninstall the driver.
Reboot.
Reinstall the driver.
In network adapter advanced properties, find and turn off Energy Efficient Ethernet.
Turn off firewall.
Update - using the $14 USB Gb Ethernet adapter fixed the issue. Interestingly its driver is also by RealTEK. Another interesting thing I noticed - when using the on board Ethernet adapter (and not swapping around between windows) the GPU utilization was at 0 to 3 percent. With the USB Ethernet adapter, GPU utilization was at a constant 12 to 14 percent, so something about the old driver (or Windows update) was preventing the GPU from being used. Anyway, it’s fixed now - will have to put my cassettes away for another day. BTW - just got a new pair of KEF LSX II’s and they are working great over wireless Ethernet as a second zone with Roon. I’m a happy customer again - thanks everyone for the assistance!
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