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Tech: Can't get on-line
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: NH Dave Date: 01 Feb 06 - 02:26 AM I think Sage called it right when s/he suggested it could be a firewall/anti-virus problem. I recently got a new system, installed AVG antivirus software which I prefer and then spent several days fighting with one of the Norton program that would not let Mozilla Thunderbird, my email system, connect to the Internet. I finally blew out the Norton stuff entirely, suffering various dire threats that a million virii would fly up my nose, or whatever, and everything is working fine now. This is not to knock Norton, the program came with my computer, but I chose not to use it, in preference to another program. Dave |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 31 Jan 06 - 10:02 PM I'm online again at home for the 1st time since I started this threadin September. And I didn't do nuttin' to fix it! Go figure. Better go update my virus definitions. xxoo Janie |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: JohnInKansas Date: 30 Sep 05 - 03:51 PM Janie - A bad phone line could cause a "freeze" if a program requests a reply that should come from the phone line and nothing comes back. This sometimes shows as a "waiting for reply" if you go to Task Manager, but shouldn't give you a "black screen" or the infamous BSOD unless something else is wrong. Since you've already got - and got current - AdAware and Spybot, for future reference I'd suggest downloading the free version of "HijackThis." This program is intended for solving spyware problems, but can be generally useful for a lot of computer problems. It makes a logfile of the running processes on your machine. You can give the logfile to experts (by posting to appropriate websites) who can often use the information to provide quick (and complete) fixes. If you make a "clean" logfile when the machine is running properly, you can often find things yourself by comparing a new one - when there's a clinker - to the clean one made earlier. Anything "new" is a suspect, but not necessarily guilty. The program uses a default filename for the save, so it will overwrite any older ones unless you change the filename of the one you want to save. I usually just add the date (e.g. 050930_ for today) to the front of the hijackthis.log default. (050930_hijackthis.log) The program allows you to "fix" things by just putting a check mark in a box in front of the item, but this can be dangerous to the health of your machine, so you should NOT try to use it that way without competent advice on specific things to check. The "fix" will delete the file and any references to it in your System Registry, which can really mess you up if it's a file that's needed. Your use would be just to make a logfile of what's running when things are right, for comparison when things go wrong. Not something to worry about until you get the machine/setup working. John |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 30 Sep 05 - 10:56 AM Thanks John. I am pretty convinced it is a systems or systems setting problem. I have no problems accessing my MSN account or getting email messages from the office when I log on to my home account. I have had some line quality "issues" before, but that has just meant trouble connecting or getting kicked off every few minutes. I would not think a bad line would cause the computer to lock up. When the problem 1st occurred, it would redial repeatedly without any message. After several attempts, it started crashing and has consistently done so now for over a week. I have a very good friend who has worked on my computer in the past, but I think I would be taking too much advantage to ask him to take my computer on again, particularly since he won't ever let me pay him or otherwise reciprocate. Also--he is a Linux person--not Windows--so it takes him some extra effort to muck about my OS. Thank you to all of you who have taken time to respond to me. It really has helped. I am sure now that it is a problem for which I need expert intervention as opposed to something I ought to be able to resolve for myself. Janie |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: JohnInKansas Date: 29 Sep 05 - 05:05 PM 1. When you log on at work, do you use a company account or do you log on to your own (MSN?) account? One way to check would be to send yourself an email, to the address you use at home. If you can retrieve your own (personal) email from work, then you will have confirmed that your account probably is okay. 2. Your home modem wouldn't dial if it didn't get a dial tone, so the fact that it tries confirms that you have a modem connection. It doesn't prove that the line quality is good enough, but suggests that it should be good enough to allow a logon. 3. If your dial-up attempt didn't find something at the number it tries to call, even WinME should give you an error message to tell you "server not found," or something to that effect. The only common "hang-up and redial" - without an error message - is a busy signal from the server, or a "ring with no reply." Find out if there is an alternate local phone number you can try. Since you mentioned "before it logs on to the MSN network" I assume that MSN is your home ISP: For the benefit of those in the US, new dialup numbers can be obtained from MSN ACCESS Numbers (http://support.msn.com/accessnumbers.aspx). Enter your home phone number, and you should get a list of MSN dialup numbers you can try. This site will typically give you only about 5 numbers, and may not include the one you're using now. This doesn't mean your current number isn't good - but may indicate that it's used enough that they don't want to add new users on that line. BE SURE TO VERIFY that the new number(s) you choose to try is a local call for you. There should be an equivalent site for UK users. The above link includes an "English (US)" at the top left that you can click to "change languages," and that allows you to go to the "English (Great Britain)" equivalent, but I don't see a direct line to UK dialup numbers. There is a "Contact Support" link that may get you to something useful. At work, where you can get on the net, you can also go to MSN Customer Care (UK). A bit of poking about at the "I need help|Online Help" should find a place to get alternate numbers, if there are any. A first rule of troubleshooting is "Ask the guys you're having trouble with." 4. You should not be getting a black screen or BSOD, but that's sort of a characteristic "feature" of WinME. It does suggest that you may have some sort of system or system settings corruption that may be best handled by getting qualified hands-on service help. Back up everything you can before you let someone else mess with your machine. (especially your data, generally not your programs since they'll need reinstallation if they get fouled or deleted. Don't forget to export addy books and email - you can do that offline. Since Hotmail generally keeps this stuff on their server if you let them, you may not need to backup anything you're sure is safe there.) John |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST Date: 29 Sep 05 - 03:19 PM Isn't there a technogeek at work who'd look at it for you, for nothing or next to nothing? If not, in your circle of friends there ought to be someone who knows someone who knows someone else that could come over and check it out for you, for nothing or perhaps a beer or two. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Stilly River Sage Date: 29 Sep 05 - 12:36 PM I murdered ME, went to Win2000Pro as soon as I could manage it. ME was so prone to crashing, and I had a modem die in that computer. Like I said, modems are cheap and easy to pop into the mother board and to install. When mine died, it wouldn't stay connected, if it made the call correctly at all. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST Date: 29 Sep 05 - 12:18 PM Windows ME huh....personally I always thought that OS was quirky right out of the box.... is it possible to upgrade to XP? ...if not, I'd almost be willing to take a step back to '98SE...Windows 2000 wasn't much better than ME either, my opinion. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: JudyB Date: 29 Sep 05 - 10:48 AM Internal modem or external modem? Have you tried disconnecting the phone line (and modem power if it has any)? Also, some phone connectors have 4 wires and others have two - I'm not sure how many a computer modem actually needs, so I try to make sure to use the 4-wire connectors just in case - if any wires or connectors were replaced in the "jiggling" process, it's possible that a two-wire piece was inserted (most Y connectors seem to split 4 wires to two pairs of two). It may not matter - perhaps someone who's bothered to learn what is carried on the various wires will let us know - but it might make a difference. Good Luck! JudyB |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 29 Sep 05 - 09:53 AM Windows ME. I have given up on it. When I can afford to have some one look at it I'll take it in somewhere. Until then--home will be off-line. Janie |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 29 Sep 05 - 05:37 AM Please tell us what OS you are using - WIN Xp, 98SE, whatever. There is a known disaster that can occur with XP. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST,leeneia Date: 27 Sep 05 - 10:37 AM Occasionally my Juno software won't start. When that happens, I push Start Shutdown Restart, wait a few minutes, and everything is fine again. I don't know what was wrong, but then that's so often the case with computers. Re: "Continues to use Dial-Up modems...do you envey the extra two pints a month....or are you truly skin-flint-cheap?" I, for one, stick with dial-up because it's safer from viruses and from invasion of banking information. It works well enough for my simple needs. The cost difference is certainly higher than the price of two pints. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 26 Sep 05 - 02:05 PM Try skin-flint-poor. Otherwise I'd take the darn thing in somewhere and say--fix it or fix me! Well, try as I might I wasn't able to sort it out, except that, now after the dialing box comes up, and I hear the dialing and bongbongbong--the screen turns black with only the cursor arrow showing. I tried the internet connection wizard with the tollfree number to try to get additional phone numbers, got the blue screen of death with a message that an unexpected error had occurred. In both instances, can only escape by turning off the computer. This morning I remembered that the problem occurred right after we tried to receive a fax--which didn't come through---maybe I'll try uninstalling the printer/fax and see what happens. Janie |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST Date: 24 Sep 05 - 12:01 AM It is difficult to imagine that an island with some of the best satilite, DSL, Cable coverage... Continues to use Dial-Up modems...do you envey the extra two pints a month....or are you truly skin-flint-cheap? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 23 Sep 05 - 12:46 PM Our phone line is a bit jerryrigged, but it always has been. Hubby has confessed to jiggling some wires and Y-connectors recently, so guess I'll check that out first. Hope to have time to deal with the problem this weekend. Thanks for help from all. Janie |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Jim McLean Date: 23 Sep 05 - 04:40 AM This might not appy to you but here in the UK if you are using the 1571 answering service, you have to ensure there are no messages waiting. If there are, then the modem will not dial up. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Gurney Date: 23 Sep 05 - 01:55 AM I had all sorts of dial-up problems, going on for months, until the phone co. remade the contact in the street. I couldn't get on, but my son could, with a less modern computer. I still couldn't get on, even using his phone point. My computer, right? I could get on, but only as far as my ISP. I seemed to be on, the phone was tied up, but I wasn't on. I got disconnected without being informed. My son had had little trouble, so as he is taking an electronics degree and needs it, I bought him a new computer and took over his. After a week, the troubles recurred, with his old computer. Virus, right? I had removed my virus killer and used another one, spyware killers, changed the modem and everything I and my friends could think of, including phoning the phone Co. and asking if the line was faulty. No, they said. Liars. Liars. Liars. I spent DAYS on the problem. Try taking your CPU to a friends house and trying their connection. No, we had had no trouble with the phones, just the web. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Sep 05 - 11:37 PM It is a great option where you can get it for the same or less as Dialup, and it works better even if you have to pay more. A number of companies are offering DSL at a low price for more than just a month or two. My ex just got set up with SW Bell, and they're charging something like $15 a month for an entire year. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST Date: 22 Sep 05 - 10:48 AM They want you to switch to Broadband. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Stilly River Sage Date: 22 Sep 05 - 10:31 AM Yes--that's another thing to check. Should have mentioned it first. How does the phone line sound? Dialup uses the same frequencies that we use when speaking, so if the line is noisy to your ear, call the phone company to correct it. When you get DSL then it shifts into a different freqency range and (in theory) doesn't interefere with speaking. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST Date: 21 Sep 05 - 02:00 PM Failure to connect to your ISP can also be down to the quality of your phone line. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Stilly River Sage Date: 21 Sep 05 - 01:49 PM When I was using Earthlink's dialup I was aware of some non-functioning modems at the number I called in to. This was in the old days--I can't say how they are built now or managed. But if I couldn't get the connection to work, I logged off and waited a few minutes and hoped to get a better modem. It was like a whole bunch of lines off of the same number. I resolved that problem by going to DSL. If you uninstall a Symantec/Norton product it is often a good idea to uninstall all of them and start over with a new installation of each Symantec program. This used to be the remedy to the problems encountered with Live Update not connecting or messages that files were missing, and it is what I needed to do when the Firewall settings got messed up. I suppose the settings could be "adjusted" by a bug as by anything else, so you may not have had to do anything yourself. This really is just a guess, based on personal observation. I would also try Joe's suggestion and see if there is a better local number to dial into. Always start with the cheapest fixes first, before you start tinkering with hardware. But if you can't resolve it through software or connection, you may have to look at the modem and see if it needs to be replaced. I had one that fried when my power supply had problems (fan wasn't running right) and got too hot. Does your computer have good circulation, have you cleaned it out (dusted it)? Are the vents blocked? Keep your computer running in a cool room and your modem will be happier. They aren't particularly expensive and they are very easy to replace. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Joe Offer Date: 21 Sep 05 - 01:02 PM Hi, Janie - At least a couple of times a day, I'm tempted to throw things at my computer, and then I settle down and realize that the problem is MSN. They give you all sorts of features you don't need that bog you down. But in my rural location, it's nice to be able to hook into a national service and to have a few access numbers to choose from. If you explore your MSN menus, you should find something that will help you select a new access number - it dials a toll-free number that leads you to a menu of access numbers in your area. You may find a different number will give you a better connection - but make sure you chose a number that's a local phone call for you. I've found I have better luck using Firefox or MSIE instead of the MSN Explorer browser. Once you've logged on, go to "sign out" and choose "Switch members." The MSN Explorer browser will close, but you'll still be connected adn you can use MSIE or Firefox. I hope I've confused you thoroughly... -Joe Offer- |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: gnomad Date: 21 Sep 05 - 12:08 PM Is your dial-up one of the "pay per minute from any number" kind, or the "unlimited useage but from only one designated number" variety? I ask because I had a problem with the latter type once. About 8 months after I moved house the service suddenly stopped working, I tried all sorts of things but eventually called the (expensive) helpline who told me I should be dialling from the number I had given up 8 months earlier. For some reason their server(?) had suddenly decided to revert to the earlier number, I asked them to reset it to my current number, and all was lovely again within minutes. I also once had a similar set of symptoms when it emerged that the ISP in question had gone bust, the service simply ended without warning. Good luck! |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 21 Sep 05 - 08:40 AM Hmmmmm....It never occurred to me that the problem could be ISP related. SRS---do you think the firewall could begin to cause problems after an automatic update? I have not myself made an changes in settings or values. I could certainly try to uninstall and reinstall Symantec-but it makes me a little nervous. I tried to do that with an earlier version after a worm or virus disabled it. (Norton quarantined the worm, but the worm in turn knocked out Norton.) And ran into all kinds of problems trying to uninstall it. I fear I have the "feces" touch with technology--(or maybe simply a "phobic" touch.) Janie |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Stilly River Sage Date: 20 Sep 05 - 11:35 PM When I had this problem some time back on my old computer, I finally tracked it down to my firewall. After spending hours trying to diagnose the problem, I gave up and just uninstalled all of the Symantec software and reinstalled it. The firewall was Norton/Symantec and I'd tried tweaking it for something and had reset some value that wouldn't let it connect. Reinstalling it all meant it worked together, and reset the defaults. SRS |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 20 Sep 05 - 09:01 PM Gargoyle is on the right technical track, but for the wrong Political reasons... there are times when my ISP cannot seem to find a path that is reliable or speedy - this is most readily apparent whilst trying to access Mudchat, one keeps dropping out. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 20 Sep 05 - 08:50 PM My Theory:
During "peak hours" and depending on the clone on the throne - some ISP's are barred. I.E. - those who are not registered Democrats and post to a non-socialist agenda - or those who support Mr. Shambles...hence me, and hence thee.
Why? Would one believe such a terrible thing?
1. MudCat is a kingdom, a playground, a domain - and as such the one who has the toys determines the rules...this is a hobby. 2. While being unable to access through the usual borrowed ISP account...I can immediately access through other ISP accounts in the Netherlands and Germany.
In otherwords, you might have pissed-off a clone in the past and if they are at the switch that night (its a damn boring unfulfilled routine )a little bit of jolly's may be gained by watching the mouse try to get into the cat-house.
Borrow a couple ISP's from Turkey, Argentina, Iceland, and see how quickly you get in.
Sincerely,
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: JohnInKansas Date: 20 Sep 05 - 06:12 PM If you have an MSN account, you can call for assistance. Even if you can't be on line and on the phone at the same time, they can be helpful. In the US the last number I have is: Member Support 1-800-386-5550. They have also used 1-877-645-7019 and/or 1-877-635-7019. You should be given a new, current number if you call one of these, but I can't of course guarantee what MSN may do. Previously these numbers gave an option to "press x for a list of dialup numbers in your area." On the chance that a different phone number might connect to a different server, you might try a different one if another is available. Note that "available" doesn't necessarily mean "toll free," so be careful. If you have only a Hotmail account, the ONLY support available is via email (so if your email doesn't work, send them an email). MSN has been making massive switches of users to new Servers, and has changed the allowed kinds of connection for many. So far as I know, most such changes were completed some time (a few months) ago; but they seem to like to screw around with it. MSN has also been targeted with DDOS attackes several times in the recent past, although these usually last only a few hours at most. Most server problems seem to be the result of their own mucking about. John |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Bill D Date: 20 Sep 05 - 05:01 PM borrow a cell phone and have support desk check things out as you talk? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 20 Sep 05 - 05:00 PM Nope. |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Effsee Date: 20 Sep 05 - 04:31 PM Your subscription's run out? |
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Subject: RE: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Clinton Hammond Date: 20 Sep 05 - 04:02 PM Call your ISP and ask them if they have the lyrics to Tam Lin..... :-) |
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Subject: Tech: Help: Can't Get On-Line From: Janie Date: 20 Sep 05 - 03:59 PM On my home computer, the computer either freezes up before it logs on to the MSN network, or repeatedly disconnects and redials without logging on. I have a dial-up connection. This began about a week ago. I have run Spybot, Adaware, and the cwshredder or sweeper or whatever you call it. I have also done a complete virus scan (Norton). Nothing has been detected. The virus definitions were current as the the date the problem began. I had not updated Spybot definitions for about 3 weeks, and Adaware (*blush*) was last updated in June. I ran a diagnostic on the modem and it checks out. And the 'puter ties-up the phone line so no calls can be made. Any clues, suggestions or commiseration? Janie |
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