This happens usually when a router in the chain doesn't know how to deal with multiple outstanding ICMP echo requests - usually the router closest to you (ie: your cable modem in this case, but possibly another). This is almost always a deficiency in a router that is often solvable by updating the bios in the router, or changing a setting.

The problem is seen as you decrease the time interval between hop traces because as you do so, you increase the likelyhood of overlapping outstanding packets - especially at the point where your latency exceeds the interval between hop traces (hop 1 might be responding in < 10 ms, so it won't show packet loss, but further down it might be 35, or 80, or 200ms - so there will almost certainly be multiple outstanding requests there).

You'll probably get much worse packet loss as you trace to a host that has higher latency. This is an artifact of the router, not a problem with your computer, with PingPlotter, or with any of the routers showing packet loss.

You can change the settings in PingPlotter so that your router behaves more like you want it to, though, and changing the way simultaneous packets are sent.

Several years ago, the Netgear RT314 router had a similar problem (now corrected) - and we have a page on how to configure for *that* problem that should also address your problem today:

http://www.pingplotter.com/netgear-rt314.html

If changing these settings doesn't correct the problem, then post back here and we'll work on some other solutions. If it *does* correct the problem (almost certainly it will), we can help you determine which router is causing the problem (ie: cable modem or something inside your cable complex).

Pete