RCA Cable modem acts up

hi,
i have an RCA cable modem and ATT broadband,
and a few months ago. im just sitting here and the cable modem lost connection, and the pc Beeped like when you plug something in on USB. and then the lights on the modem went out. it wouldnt turn back on so i hit the reset button on the back and the lights cycled thru, I think that they started flashing the one near the power button first for a few times then the first and second the the 1,2,3 and then 1,2,3,4 but then it shut off again. so i kept trying the reset button and finally it came back on but ever since when i turn it off.
the Cable light Stays on.
and since the first time a few months ago, it has done it maybe 6+ times.
does anybody know what happened to it and why the cable light will not go off?

it worked fine for more than 6 months.
its hooked up thru USB.

also almost every day i will have a crash where the PC link light goes out and i have to reboot to get it working again. when i check my event viewer it says error #1000
and when i get on microsoft knowledge base it says something like, sorry but there is no info aval. on that error.
it happens almost every single day. and usually when it happens my windows wont close down. and if i click the "program not responding Click to end now" it will shut down all my windows.

Thanks.