uTorrent crashes, whether or not program has been open, And NO router

[Gasgrin]

I have been using the torrent system(various clients) for downloading for roughly 2 years now, and have never encountered a problem like this before. My problem is very similar to everyone who has been having internet crashes as of lately (Most seemed to have started around Jan 25, 07). My internet connection runs for an inspecific amount of time, then my torrent speeds slowwly drop and my internet connection completely locks up. I usually have 2 options at this point: First is to unplug my modem for roughly one minute; or Second, is to run my network connectivity diagnostic tool. Either of these will get my internet back up and running for me for a short period of time.

Now i know this seems to be a common problem, that is ocurring more and more frequently, but I have some varitions from what seems to be the common factor in everyone elses problem.... I DO NOT have a router. I am connected with Shaw high speed from a motorolla cable modem directly into my Dell P4. As I mentioned earlier, I have been downloading torrents for a couple of years, so I feel confident that I have a faily good understanding of how everything should be working. I have not made any changes to my computer(No new software or updates other than daily updates to my Kaspersky AV, A-Squared, and Ad-Aware SE), but have noticed that when I started downloading on Jan 26, my connection kept on dropping off. I contacted my internet provider after 3 crashes, and he told me my connection was fine and everything was reporting normal on his end. He suggested that the next time it happened, I pay attention to the lights on my modem, and that if the lights were still going, that it was probably a software related issue. The next time my net crashed, I looked at the lights, and sure enough, they were still flashing as though my connection was there. If I use the "diagnose connection problems" tool on IE7, it will correct the problem, except for the odd time it says I have to reboot to solve the connection issues.

Another thing that I have noticed is that if I close uTorrent for roughly 3 minutes or so, then my internet connection will sometimes restore itself on its own, though this is not consistant. Another inconsistant thing that I have noticed is that sometimes, since Jan 26. '07, I dont not even have to have utorrent running to lose my connection.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the most current version of uTorrent, but have had no luck. I have limited my total connections to 100, disabled dht, unchecked resolve ip adresses, lowered my outgoing bandwidth to 40k and still cant get my system to keep a steady internet connection .. I have read many of the other topics and responses, but havent been able to find that anybody without a router was having this problem. My only firewall is the WindowsXP firewall.

I need help!!!!! The one thing I have noticed and wondered, is that there was a huge rise in complaints of this problem starting around Jan 25... Could this be related to any sort of update with windows or something else thats causing a mass incompatability issue? I'm not technical by any means, but I would say I am fairly comfotable around computers and how to use them, and I tried to explain my problem as clearly as possible. Hopefully I didnt offend anyone by reposting a topic, but I couldnt find anyone else in the exact same scenario.

Thank you to all who offer assistance

[DreadWingKnight]

http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=15992

It could be a windows update.