hi peeps,
thought i would put this on its own thred as other has different heading.
I am running an old upgraded computer 98se, (theoretically!) on broadband with bt.

i am using a speedtouch external modem via a usb port(?) via a microsoft internet explorer provided by wanadoo - the disc I got with the modem.

My net access is intermittent. it works for say a minute/two minutes then cuts off for between 30 secs/1 minute(have timed it - - 1 minute is a long time when youre in the middle of something - clicking constantly, while waiting for it to get 'back on line') this is happening all the time not just with a particular site or at any particular time - is same at 4am

the little comuters at bottom of page show bytes in/out - this says info flow is stopped dead, possibly very little trickle occaisionally inward, till flow starts again.

any idea's?

is very frustrating especially when you send something - you have to remember to check if you are online before you click onto something else or it just disapears into the ether! esp if youve just spend half and hour writing it out or whatever.

thanks

Has it always been like that while youve had that modem? I know there was a problem with a certain type of modem drawing more power from the PCs USB ports than the ports could provide. The way to fix it was to use a powered USB hub. Not sure what the make and model of modem was though.

i had the same problem when i was on AOL i must have spent 5-6 hours on the phone with technical support over a 2 week period and got no where.....eventually i cancelled with them,went on telewest broadband and it never happend since.......this is probably no help to you whatsoever but its the only thing that worked for me.

The modems are very poor quality, which is why they are free.

It may be a good idea to get an internal ADSL modem, or a decent Netgear router.

Do you have all your ADSL filters installed correctly? I've heard of a few cases similar to yours and it's been the filters not installed that's been the fault.

have checked the filter and it seems to be ok.
looks like i shall have to look at getting an internal modem (whats a netgear router? is that what this speed touch thing is?)

Before you spend any cash, it's worth checking you haven't acquired a worm or virus. Some of the recent worms in the headlines would intermittently disconnect the internet, and/or reboot the PC,

You can download AVG's free virus checker at http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/

hi peeps,

ok, still have prob.

have scanned with avg and spybot, cleared some viruses/cookies etc but not problem - it froze spybot as it was deleting the 'problems'

have tried external asymmetric dsl mega speed usb modem Borrowed it and tried as replacement - same result

as a side thought I have my computer running off an extension cable from the main incoming wall phone box - the filter plugged into the end of this - comuter in one hole, phone in the other - can't be this can it? (the phone does have a low level hum to it now that I am connected up - dont know if that is normal)

I'm signed on with bt openworld for 12 months so not sure about how to try another provider. (but will phone bt to see what they say lol !!!)

Do you still recon I should try an internal modem (I'll have to get someone else to do this for me as its beyond me)

Try giving BT customer services -> tech support a call and ask them to do a test on your line... it could be that your line has insufficient gain or some other problem that is causing bad data transfer issues.

Other things to try would be a different filter.. and/or try yours on a friends line that uses ADSL and see if they have the same issues...

Basically it's a case of removing each possible cause until you get down to the actual problem..

If you do decide to go for a new modem then I'd spend a fair bit of time looking at what's available and checking for things like support, updates and compatability...

Best of luck...

Originally posted by frankieboy
I'm signed on with bt openworld for 12 months so not sure about how to try another provider. (but will phone bt to see what they say lol !!!)
Missed this until just now...

I cannnot stress enough how awful a time I've had with Openwoe when it comes to getting support...

My advice would be to seriously consider going with either Virgin or Demon... the latter is more expensive but their support is top notch and a friend of mine recently spent 2 hours on the line with a guy who basically held her hand the whole time while they went through the whole process... The friend in question is not the easiest to provide support for and he not only sorted the problem but also calmed her down... :o *not worthy*

Anyways.. pretty sure OpenWorld don't tie you in with a 12 month contract and you get so long in which to change your mind anyways...

Either way, best of luck... lord knows you'll get loads of other suggestions :)

Originally posted by frankieboy
as a side thought I have my computer running off an extension cable from the main incoming wall phone box - the filter plugged into the end of this - comuter in one hole, phone in the other - can't be this can it? (the phone does have a low level hum to it now that I am connected up - dont know if that is normal)

It depends on the quality of your extension. Your best best is to try and eliminate if that's the cause of the problem by trying your computer directly into the wall phone socket.

hi peeps,
have installed ms critical updates, downloaded zonealarm, and run AVG, Spybot, Adaware< and Avast.

have rung bt (to their credit the guy was helpful) have discovered that i have; iSEARCH search box instead of address bar.

have been to control panel / programs /addremove and clicked on it. and it says "it apears to have already been removed do you want to remove the logo from this panel"
when you click it it dissapears.
BUT when you upload internet explorer you are back to square one. when you type in google for example, it take you to the iSEARCH homepage and lists creditcard and porno sites along with a google listing and "not satisfied - try GOOGLE - here" - click that and you're on the google site.

Any one know how to get rid of this iSearch so that I can iliminateit as the problem?
thanks

Found these instructions at http://www.spyany.com/program/article_spw_rm_ISearch.html

To manually remove it, follow these removal instructions:

Close all open Internet Explorer windows.
Click Start > Run, type the following command and click Ok:

regsvr32 /u %system%/toolbar.dll (or toolbar_.dll)

Note: %system% is a variable, you should replace it with the System folder in your system. By default, this is C:\Windows\System (Windows 95/98/Me), C:\Winnt\System32 (Windows NT/2000), or C:\Windows\System32 (Windows XP).

Open Registry Editor (Click Start > Run, type 'regedit' and click Ok).
Delete the following key if present:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\clsid\{1c78ab3f-a857-482e-80c0-3a1e5238a565}
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\software\microsoft\windows\curre ntversion\explorer\browser helper objects\{1c78ab3f-a857-482e-80c0-3a1e5238a565}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\clsid\{1c78ab3f-a857-482e-80c0-3a1e5238a565}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\classes\clsid\{1c78ab3 f-a857-482e-80c0-3a1e5238a565}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\internet explorer\toolbar\{1c78ab3f-a857-482e-80c0-3a1e5238a565}
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\microsoft\windows\curr entversion\explorer\browser helper objects\{1c78ab3f-a857-482e-80c0-3a1e5238a565}

Reboot the computer.

Delete the file toolbar.dll from the System folder( The System folder is inside the Windows folder; it is called 'System32' on Windows NT/2000/XP or just 'System' on Windows 95/98/Me).
They also provide an uninstall control on their website, click the following link to uninstall it:

http://toolbar.isearch.com/uninstall

Hi,
thanks for help
this 'iSEARCH' is a MAJOR nasty
tried the links and manual uninstall you gave me unsuccessfully, but they put me on a path that after 13 solid hours at my computer eventually lead to me clearing it via hijack this and info gleaned from other sites along the way. (hijak this comes in zip form which is unsupported by 98se and until I happened accross an unzipped copy the iSEARCH resisted ALL other attempts to uninstall it. From the comments read along the way, this is like a polititian - looks inocuous on the outside but try getting rid of it!!!) (it sits waiting for you to trip over it, then installs itself as 'homepage' - the uninstall links dont work and it incorporates programmes to disables most other sites etc that would be able to help uninstall).

And after all that - no difference to the computer running!!!

phoned bt and they did a speed check that they said was normal
so, i think I must presum that I may/must have something in the background (perhaps like the iSEARCH - but unseen)

Does it cost much to wipe the computer clean and start again, and would this get rid of the problem if it is a virus / haker /programme whatever.

thanks

Originally posted by frankieboy
hi peeps,
thought i would put this on its own thred as other has different heading.
I am running an old upgraded computer 98se, (theoretically!)
It should say when you right clic then go to Properties on the 'My Computer' on the desktop.
on broadband with bt.
Good good.
i am using a speedtouch external modem via a usb port(?)
check the connection, you should have a fork logo on the wire entering the Pc, if it does, then it is USB :)
via a microsoft internet explorer provided by wanadoo - the disc I got with the modem.
If your internet is with BT, I strongly suggfest you uninstall all Wanadoo/Freeserve software. No need to have Wanadoo stuff if you're with BT. To connect then double clic on 'E' (and not on any other icon provided by your ISP).

My net access is intermittent. it works for say a minute/two minutes then cuts off for between 30 secs/1 minute(have timed it - - 1 minute is a long time when youre in the middle of something - clicking constantly, while waiting for it to get 'back on line') this is happening all the time not just with a particular site or at any particular time - is same at 4am

the little comuters at bottom of page show bytes in/out - this says info flow is stopped dead, possibly very little trickle occaisionally inward, till flow starts again.

any ideas?

is very frustrating especially when you send something - you have to remember to check if you are online before you click onto something else or it just disapears into the ether! esp if youve just spend half and hour writing it out or whatever.

thanks [/B][/QUOTE]

I used to have that with Liberty Surf, now Tiscali. Whatever install, with or without LS software, I still had those minute long no transmission, I used to open another IE window to force transfer thru.
I've since been with Telewest (Cable not ADSL) and haven't had the problem.

Originally posted by frankieboy

Does it cost much to wipe the computer clean and start again, and would this get rid of the problem if it is a virus / haker /programme whatever.
Even if you do that you may still find that your connection issues don't go away...

However if you ARE going to do a reinstall here's a suggested way of doing it..

1. Get the most up to date copies of the key bits of software that protect your PC.. ie: Anti virus, firewall... If you don't use any get AVG anti virus and ZoneAlarm... Also if you're using WinXP get a copy of the service pack 2 (and 1 if you haven't already got it). Basically prepare for reinstallation... Oh and obviously make sure you put everything on a CD as you'll be wiping your hard drive. :)

2. Get hold of a copy of Drive Image or Norton Ghost and do a complete ghost image of your hard drive so you don't lose anything important

3. Once you've gotten that image safely off your PC onto a set of CD's, a spare hard drive or something similar then move onto the reinstall

4. During the installation process setup your hard drive to include a 20 - 25% sized partition as the logical drive (2nd or later)

5. Install your Operating System to the main primary partition

6. Before you connect to the net, install your anti-virus and firewall software..

7. Setup your net connection and test it... If there are STILL problems now is the time to test them with a minimal and clean setup..

8. Now get all the windows updates, reinstall your software and get everything up to date...

9. If you want to save yourself a LOT of hassle in the future, use Drive Image or Norton Ghost to take a new snapshot of your hard drive (all tweaked and peaked) and burn this to CD/DVD so you can return to it in the future if it all goes wrong again at some point...



Options:

a) buy a new hard drive, take out or just unplug the old one and install completely fresh to the new drive... The old one acts as its own backup then.. and HD's are cheap enough.. Doing this myself next week.. This would cut out steps 1- 3.



Now, commercial message I do this sort of thing for my own clients (usually small businesses) so I can offer to get that sort of thing done for you.. but predicably it's a commercial service so it would cost money... If you decide to do it yourself it'd probably take about 2 days total to do it properly so the cost is time but you'll learn a lot along the way...

Hope that helps anyways :)