Help with Broadband

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 1:58 pm

I am tearing my hair out because since i moved, every 2 minutes my BT Broadband dis-connects itself.

I have sent e-mails and phoned the help line and they are working on it (allegedly).

I have uninstalled and re-installed but nothing's changed.

I have tried to download the BT Broadband Desktop help so that I can do some diagnostic stuff, but I keep getting a message saying that it is not a valid Win32 application

I have windows XP

Is it possible to connect to a 'dial up ' ISP until the problem is sorted out ?

Have any of you guys experienced this and if so what did you do to resolve it???

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:02 pm

Nope. We have telewest honey. But we had similar problems at first. Have you tried rebooting? I mean the actual modem itself? You have to do it from the wall switch.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:17 pm

I've tried everything i can....I might buy a new lead tomorrow in case the old one's damaged...but it doesn't look like it...:-5

theia · Post by **theia** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:18 pm

Yes, Bez, I had similar problems when I changed my ISP last year...it is so, so maddening. I had to keep on and on to them and eventually they arranged for a BT engineer to look at the internal connections...he spent quite a time here and resolved the problem. But keep on to your ISP...mine kept asking me to check the same things over and over again and in the end I said I didn't see why I should be paying for a service I wasn't receiving. I can't be technical in what I say because my son in law usually deals with all that but you do need to keep on at them...my ISP has a forum for problems and it helped to post publicly about the lack of service I was receiving.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 2:21 pm

Bez wrote: I've tried everything i can....I might buy a new lead tomorrow in case the old one's damaged...but it doesn't look like it...:-5
Change broadband providers. If you are having trouble so early it cant bode well at all!

G-man · Post by **G-man** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:14 pm

Yup... can you tell us anything else specific when it disconnects... any error messages ? To be honest, there's any number of reasons this could be occurring... from weather to location, sometimes road crews, heavy equipment, animals like small mice and such nibbling on cables... I've had that latter problem with my connection before, btw... it does sound like it's somewhere in the vast infrastructure of cables and wires...

By the way, that error message usually means that the file did not download correctly or else the file is corrupted. Try downloading the file again using a download manager... you can download one free from Gozilla.com or somewhere similar.

Post by **spot** » Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:55 pm

I assume you have a USB modem, Bez.

Look at the back of the computer, where it's plugged in. See how many other ports you can see of the same shape.

Power everything off, and switch the USB connector to a different port - if you have them all in use then swap a pair around.

Bring things up and try again. Sometimes a given computer has too low a power provision to a port, not deliberately but just because. Maybe when it was working before you moved a different port was involved. Even if it's a new modem it's worth giving it a try.

If the system asks permission to re-install any drivers when you bring it back after the port switchover, say yes to everything.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:16 pm

After 15 days with dodgy broadband, I have reverted to dial up with Virgin which is going to be cheaper but o h s o s l o w ..... if i fall asleep at the 'puty' while i'm trying to post....just SHOUT...

Post by **spot** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:20 pm

Switching USB ports had no effect, then? Pressing your ISP is the only option then, asking for another BT exchange test and an engineer callout perhaps.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:21 pm

Oh honey......LOL! Remember how slow mine was? It cant be that bad!

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:27 pm

spot wrote: Switching USB ports had no effect, then? Pressing your ISP is the only option then, asking for another BT exchange test and an engineer callout perhaps.

Spot...I've rung BT in India, China and all 4 corners of the world. I've e-mailed 4 times ....explained the problems 10 times...The line itself must be OK because...well i'm here on dial-up and I'm not getting any problems. It's obviously a specific broadband problem and quite honestly I've lost patience.

I'm now paying Virgin £13.99 per month for their 24/7 service.

I'll see what BT come up with, but I'm definitely NOT paying them when the bill comes in for a service I haven't got.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:29 pm

Bez wrote: Spot...I've rung BT in India, China and all 4 corners of the world. I've e-mailed 4 times ....explained the problems 10 times...The line itself must be OK because...well i'm here on dial-up and I'm not getting any problems. It's obviously a specific broadband problem and quite honestly I've lost patience.

I'm now paying Virgin £13.99 per month for their 24/7 service.

I'll see what BT come up with, but I'm definitely NOT paying them when the bill comes in for a service I haven't got.
Atta girl!

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:39 pm

Well done Virgin. I have done all my chores on the internet without disruption.....BT...:p

Post by **spot** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:31 am

Bez wrote: Spot...I've rung BT in India, China and all 4 corners of the world. I've e-mailed 4 times ....explained the problems 10 times...The line itself must be OK because...well i'm here on dial-up and I'm not getting any problems. It's obviously a specific broadband problem and quite honestly I've lost patience.Bez, a small thought - you remember the mention I made of DACS in that PM? There's a way for your to easily check. Have a look at the connection speed of your dial-up. If it's near 30kb/s instead of 50kb/s then you have a DACS line splitter still there, and that would kill your broadband connectivity, they can't both work at the same time. There ought to be an icon in the system tray while you're on dialup which shows the speed. What does it say?

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 2:30 am

I phoned BT to cancel Broadband this morning but they tell me and tied in until December....I will dispute this at some point.

The guy put me in touch with an engineer who told me that my Voyager 100 modem won't support 8mg Broadband and to upgrade to an up to date one....I'm in the process of doing this.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 2:44 am

Gosh Bez! Why didnt they give you a proper modem in the first place when they came to set it up?

I just love my telewest!:-4

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:18 am

Raven wrote: Gosh Bez! Why didnt they give you a proper modem in the first place when they came to set it up?

I just love my telewest!:-4

I've been on Broadband over 2 years....I guess these things get out of date really quick. BT have upgraded to 8mg speed recently I think.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:21 am

I know they are doing a big promo push in our neck of the woods. But until you can get all three, cable, telephone and 'puter all on one, then we will stick to what we have.

woppy71 · Post by **woppy71** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:31 am

Raven wrote: Gosh Bez! Why didnt they give you a proper modem in the first place when they came to set it up?

I just love my telewest!:-4

Have to agree with you, I have nothing but praise for Telewest.

The aftersales service is spot on and the tech support is second to none. On the rare occasion I've had a fault, and engineer has been round within the day, and often within a few hours. They've allways been very couteous, and knowledgable.

I get my phone, tv and internet through them. Superb.

Bez.....Switch to telewest!!:wah:

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:36 am

I can't get cable in my rented flat !

Raven · Post by **Raven** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:36 am

Well now that stinks right big!

woppy71 · Post by **woppy71** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:40 am

Bez wrote: I can't get cable in my rented flat !

Oh Bez, sorry to hear that:(

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:09 am

The saga continues but we might be on the last chapter....hope you guys are healthy and happy.....:-6

chrisb84uk · Post by **chrisb84uk** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:25 am

Bez wrote: The saga continues but we might be on the last chapter....hope you guys are healthy and happy.....:-6

Bez good to hear from you! The saga still going on huh, sorry to hear, but I'm sure it will be all done and dusted before long, and then things will be back to normal.

Post by **spot** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:34 am

I do hope it gets fixed Bez. That Voyager 100 might not have managed 8mb/s but it wouldn't have messed you up with dropped connections if that was the only problem.

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:12 pm

Success...i bought a new up to date 'Router' and the connection's been solid for at least 2 hours....fingers crossed my problem's cured and I'll be back to put in my 'tuppence' worth from time to time.

:-6

Post by **spot** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 2:55 pm

Good good. That was far too long - I hope it stays up. Forgive the phrasing, I seem to be stuck in smut mode this evening.