PLEASE--I'm getting desparate and need some feedback from some tech people

[shellycheval]

Where I live there is no cable, no DSL phone line, only very expensive satellite dish connection to get high-speed internet . For years my dial-up service has worked, if slow and occasionally unreliable. But, for the last month or so I've been having great difficulty maintaining my dial-up connection internet connection at home. At the beginning of November the computer tech guys at work diagnosed a bad monitor/modem cable and replaced it, checked out the rest of the computer and said it was fine. Things worked well for about two weeks then gradually the ability of my computer to maintain a connection to the internet deteriorated--it kept losing the connection and redialling. Long-story-short:

--56K modem checks out OK with diagnostic program installed with modem
--tech guy at my internet service provider checked all the connection settings--all OK. He suggested I get rid of all old MacAffee security stuff to see if it was interfering--so I uninstalled all MacAffee stuff--no difference.
--I replace the phone cord from the computer to the phone outlet--no fix
--I checked the phone outlet with a phone and it is OK
--ran a complete system virus check with AVG--no viruses detected, but AVG reports that the virus detector needs to be updated, all other AVG security stuff appears to be OK

When I initiate a connection I get a message that reads something like "internet site not responding" then it redials incessantly to no avail. My phone service is working fine--if there was a problem with my outside phone line I would not have phone service.
But, can the phone line be of good enough quality to provide phone service, but not sustain an internet connection? So what poltergeist is at work here? I am so far behind on the Forum and FOTCM and very frustrated. Someone said there is a wireless technology that plugs into the USB port and make a wireless connection to the internet for your computer--can you tell me anything about these devices? Would they work in my home office when my cell pnone service is weak inside my brick house--I have to take the cell phone to the window for service. What should I check or do next? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you!
shellycheval

 

[Buddy]

I have no idea what the prob is, Shelly. Possibly someone could trace your phone line all the way to the pole, for damage that might allow signal interference?

Age/quality of the phone line from your phone all the way to the nearest trunk can be a big issue, as well, I would think.

What environmental context information: weather, times of day, etc. It may be helpful info for the phone company who has a vested interest in you being able to use the service you're paying for.

 

[Scottie]

You should be able to call your phone company and get them to run a line test and tell you the quality of the line. Some phone companies have a broadband internet test that will tell you online the distance your house is from the central office, and the attenuation of the line in dB. The lower the attenuation, the higher the quality of your connection.

If it was working okay before and has recently gotten worse, then it is possible that there is a problem with the line between your house and the phone company office. Back in the day, I had a friend who had terrible problems until somebody from the phone company finally tracked it down to a junction box. After a little rewiring, he was back up and running with his modem again. His phone also always worked even when his modem didn't (modems are far more sensitive to line quality).

As for the USB/cellular internet option, it depends on where you live and what service providers are available. In some countries, you can sign up for one of these little USB antenna gizmos and you get unlimited bandwidth. In other areas, you get something like 2GB per month of bandwidth. Sometimes they have specials where you're "unlimited", which usually means 1 or 2GB of downloading per month, and then they throttle the connection down to about twice dial-up speed after you exceed your monthly quota. Usually it is cellular service providers who offer these USB key thingies, and it's like signing up for a second cell phone account.

The one other problem with these USB cell services is that your coverage has to be pretty good for the higher-speed service, aka 3G, 3G+, etc. Even the slowest version though is 384kbps usually, which will be somewhere around 7-10 times faster than dial-up. If you have to stand by the window to get good cell reception, you can get a USB extension cable and stick the USB antenna on your window or wherever you get the best reception, and then use the USB extender to connect to your PC.

Some of the satellite providers are starting to offer much cheaper services, albeit with limited bandwidth. There are a lot of providers that don't exactly advertise widely. If you want, send me a PM with your location and I'll see if I can dig one up that doesn't cost a fortune, or possible a cellular internet service.

 

[RedFox]

Hi Shellycheval

Long time since I've used dial-up/had to diagnose a problem so I'm wracking my brains here.
Are you able to set the modem to connect at a lower speed? Say 36k or 24k instead of 56k? Or does it do that its self?
I ask because being stable at lower speed usually means line noise/a degraded (old?) telephone line.

At the beginning of November the computer tech guys at work diagnosed a bad monitor/modem cable and replaced it, checked out the rest of the computer and said it was fine. Things worked well for about two weeks then gradually the ability of my computer to maintain a connection to the internet deteriorated--it kept losing the connection and redialling.

Thinking about it.....your line includes the cable, and the sockets into the modem and the wall. Try connecting to your ISP, and wiggling the modem cable in the modems plug, and the wall....does doing that for a moment disconnect you?
If so you found the problem :)
Sockets can be common points of failure that are often over looked.

 

[Ellipse]

I absolutely agree with RedFox, the first think to do is to try a lower speed connection.

Perhaps you have an older modem to do so. If not, what OS are you using ? Windows ?

 

[shellycheval]

Thank you all so much,
The modem card was installed in 2005 or 6--it is attached to the motherboard and a phone cord plugs into it and goes to the wall socket. The phone cord is new and the wall socket is good; I checked it with a phone, and the socket out of the back of the computer seems good and tight. I cannot get ANY connection right now so am unable to check to see if some action causes a disconnect.

I recall seeing settings for how many bits are transferred and I will try to find it again (internet options?) and set it to a lower speed and see if that helps. When I first moved into this house in 2000 there were some small breaks in the phone line to the house that had to be replaced--it was especially bad if it was rainy. I have noticed on occasion some crackeling sounds in the phone this year, and it has been exceptionally rainy for the last few weeks--all year actually . . . hmmmmm.

One of my students was telling me tonight about how her family could only get dial-up where they lived and now she has a Verizon product called an "Air Card" that plugs into a USB port and pulls in broad band service. It is the device that Mr. Scott is describing and like he said, it's like another cell phone account. Her cost is forty dollars a month and it provides enough service for her to "stream"? I think the term is, ten or twelve movies a month. All I want to do on-line is read some news sites, talk to SOTT and TFOTCM, watch a few news clips, and maybe send some photos to people. Right now forty dollars sounds like it will be worth it to end the frustration. She says the device has a little directional antenna and the service works perfect--she has never had a pause or interuption in her movie watching. So Mr Scott I think I will stop by the local Verizon store and see what they have to offer--I do have cell phone and home phone service with them already. If they turn out to be more expensive or not helpful then I will send you that PM regarding finding alternative service. Anything faster than dial-up will be exciting--I am use to playing spider solitaire a lot while waiting for things to open--I am really bored with two suits but find four too frustrating--it is time to move on if possible!
Again, thank you all for your support--it is much appreciated. The one thing I really miss about my psycho ex, who I threw out three years ago, is the constant maintenance of my computer that he provided. So it goes. :)
shellycheval

 

[D69]

Hi shellycheval

Very often there is different type of problem that simple line failure.
This might DNS overload , proxy settings and the list goes on and on.
I would suggest you to try diagnosing if it is indeed a problem with a connection or simply a problem with particular protocol.

you wrote

When I initiate a connection I get a message that reads something like "internet site not responding" then it redials incessantly to no avail

You should try to "ping" a random host while connected. You can do it by running "cmd" command from start/run menu. Old black DOS like window will pop up.
Then you should type in that window: ping google.com
It should give you 4 replies with info if it was successful or not
if not then try : ping 74.125.39.147 <--- this IP address is one of google.com addresses
again if it is successful then ok , if not then it you are sure that it is indeed problem with dial up connection.

If any of these cases were successful and you still cannot open any website , the we will have to move http checks but lets go through these for now

hope it helps ;)

 

[Devar]

When I first moved into this house in 2000 there were some small breaks in the phone line to the house that had to be replaced--it was especially bad if it was rainy. I have noticed on occasion some crackeling sounds in the phone this year, and it has been exceptionally rainy for the last few weeks--all year actually . . . hmmmmm.

I would take a guess that water is getting into a pit somewhere and degraded the signal to a degree that the modem can no longer maintain a connection. I would try placing a line fault with your telephone company / ISP and have them check the line for you (hopefully not costing you any money, I know to do this in Australia it doesn't cost anything if it is indeed the copper line that is faulty).

 

[shellycheval]

PROGRESS!--I've given up trying to resurrect the dial-up connection. I've purchased a Verizon USB 760 Modem and was finally able to install it yesterday. But the results have been spotty--apparently living 50 miles from Washington D.C. as the crow flies is actually the end of the earth (I cannot get PIZZA delivered here!) and I am located at the very edge of a service area. While I am able to get a connection, it is weak, subject to dropping the signal, and still quite slow. The good news is an antenna is available and on order--it will be here in a couple of days and should produce a usable signal. Until then I am just trying to catch up with the reading when the connection permits and will begin posting regularly again when the connection is better. Thanks again for all your support.
shelycheval

 

[Ollie]

Hi Shellycheval

I'm glad that you are 'back in business', I look forward to reading your posts again. It's good to know that the end of the earth is 50 miles from Washington DC as the crow flies!!!

 

[shellycheval]

Back in business-- sort of--the antenna has not arrived--the modem connection won't hold, and when I do have 1 bar of connection it is as slow(er) as the dial-up. In frustration I re-hooked up the phone line for the dial-up service, for which I have a year's paid service, and now it is working JUST FINE!!!--actually exceptionally well! (Please visualize a hair-pulling, screaming emoticon at this point!) The ground has been frozen solid for several days--how deep are phone lines buried? I really have a feeling that moisture in the phone lines is a factor--maybe. "One day at a time . . . " Today I have service and am catching up on the reading. Later today, if the gods are willing, I will catch up with some more posting. Happy to be here in any capacity
laters,
shellycheval

 

[Ellipse]

:) Nice to see you again. I know someone who was in a similar situation. Finally he found the problem was the wind. Depending the wind, the cable was moved sometime and then the connection suffer. Perhaps you can keep attention to this to see if there's a correlation.

 

[D69]

Sorry for this late reply.
I just wanted to add that you have to careful when buying an antenna. Buy one that is already checked by someone from your area.
Very often you will get worse reception with antenna than without. It is caused by losses of signal in connectors.

 

[ignis.intimus]

Hi shellycheval. I just wanted to say that I worked in ISP support for a few years and moisture can definitely be an issue. The insulation on the cables will crack over time, and since it takes so much money to replace them, the phone company will leave them be as long as possible. Another possibility, depending on your setting (urban v rural) is that telephone connections are sometimes routed through what you might think is a sewer. It has a manhole cover, but it only leads down a short ways into a small room with cables and devices to carry signals to and fro. These do flood from time to time, even partially, and that can cause issues as well. I am not sure how far deep your cables would be buried, but they could be as shallow as a foot or two in some places.

If you are still having issues I might be able to provide some further advice with trying to troubleshoot the dial-up portion. I had to "wrangle" with phone company techs for years, and sometimes you just need to know the right words to say; they have special tests and things they can check for (like Scottie mentioned), etc.