External modem drops

Last December my e-machine crapped out. I had to fix it with a windows XP system disk for a Dell. The video was weird, but I found the right driver and worked through several other problems. I was able to upgrade svc pk 2 to svc pk 3 by purchasing a new laptop with a wireless connection. That was the only way I could download things I need. The problem is we have only dial-up with a maximum speed of 28,800 (on a VERY good day). I drive 15 miles to the nearest town to get a wireless connection.

Here's the problem. The internal modem on the e-machine went bad. I bought two Hiro v.92 56 usb modems: one for the e-machine and one for the laptop. Apparently internal modems for my e-machine are not available.

For a month or so, things went fine. Now the modem suddenly drops - I presume it's dropping the driver. I tried the other modem, same problem. I moved the modem around. I uninstalled, installed. It works fine on the laptop, I think: I seldom use the laptop at home because I don't like the small screen. We usually take it with us when we are in heaven - a place where high speed exists.

I have googled and talked to friends and looked at everything I can think of in the device manager and the bios.

I am at wit's end. Anyone have any suggestions? Is it hardware? Is it possible to buy two new modems and both be bad? I think I removed any Dell drivers. Some days I have no problems. Other days it seems to drop constantly. This morning it's dropped 5 times, and it's only 9:30 AM. Tomorrow it may stay connected all day. There's no discernible pattern.

Since last Christmas I have been trying to get this e-machine going! It was originally a backup machine.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

 

FWIW ...

Years ago, used to have the same type of problem at our home in south Florida. Fiddled with everything -- software, hardware, wiring, new modems and a new ISP -- for over a year. I was finally able to convince the telephone company (BellSouth/AT&T) to come out and replace (upgrade) their box on the back of the house as well as the wire from there on out to their telephone pole in the alley. ALL of the internet, faxing and telphone problems we were having immediately disappeared.

 

Thanks Spywaredr

We're you able to make a phone call on the line with the bad box? Our computer line is awful and frequently goes out. The repairman have been unable to locate the problem. When we have modem problems, the line is still able to make a phone call. Last night, the computer was offline, but the modem still dropped. Did you experience that? We have 2 lines coming in the same box. One line is stable and was put in before the line for the computer. Let me know if the modem ever dropped when the phone line was disconnected. If so, maybe I can pressure the phone company to do more. I know the line is awful when I'm connected because the networking stats on task manager show it functioning very low or even stalling out.

 

?

1) If you physically disconnect the phone line, of course the modem drops the connection.

2) If your modem is not actually being used to send/receive data for some set period of time, most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) will usually disconnect their dial-up modem so that another customer can use it.

3) Back when I had dial-up, you could either talk on the phone, or send/receive a fax, or use the internet. (Never more than one thing at a time).

--

In my case, I think what finally convinced the phone to come out was when I told them I couldn't reliably send/receive faxes.

 

One thing I'll add to the Docs excellent advice is be wary of any addtionall features on the line, for instance back in the day when I had V90 we also had a feature called Call Waiting. The beep on the line that indicates a waiting call also caused the modem to drop the connection.

 

Thanks again. I'll try and see if I can get them to replace the box. The problem is getting a real person on the phone! The repair man is local. Perhaps I can run into him and see what he sees. Our phone company doesn't seem to care much. They cannot find the problem. They argued it was our trees touching the lines and had the trees topped (including my Chinese chestnuts!). Didn't work.

We usually go offline after we have finished our searches. At 28,800 that's not much more than email and sometimes ebay or online shopping.

From what you say, sounds like the problem is the phone company and not my computer or modem.

Thanks again.

 

Thanks for your reply Wildfire

There's nothing on our phone line but the computer and a phone, no fax or call waiting.

Sounds like 2-0 that the problem is the phone line, not the computer or modem.

Now I guess I stuck fighting the phone company. Think I'll just try a state agency.

I'm afraid the phone company will say the phone is for phone calls, not a computer.

DSL runs down our road but stops about 5 miles short of us. Perhaps fighting them at the state level could force them to fix it or run the DSL out here. I doubt there's sufficient population to justify the cost.

And worse yet - what if it turns out to be my computer or modem.

Thanks for your reply.

 

modem - is the driver dropping?

I explored my modem problem under hardware. Before I charge into battle with the phone company - which I suspect I'll loose - I want to make sure there is not something in XP-3 that I've overlooked.

I have an emachine. It totally crashed, and I brought it back with a Dell system disk, and that resulted in some Dell drivers being loaded. I think (hope) I've tracked them all down. The Dell disk was svc pk 2. I downloaded the upgrade to svc pk 3 on my wireless connection and installed that into the desktop.

As for the wireless connection, well I have to drive 15 miles to the nearest town to get a signal. Downloading on the desktop is almost hopeless.

The internal modem failed on the desktop. I removed it and bought 2 new Hiro V.92 56K USB modems. One for the desktop and one for the laptop.

The external modem worked fine for several weeks and then began to drop. A restart was needed. I uninstalled and re-installed. I switched to the other new modem. Same problem. I uninstalled programs added since buying the modems. No luck.

The phone company insists it's us. The phone line goes out frequently, and they been trying to isolate the problem for over a year. They said our trees were bumping the line and cut the tops of my Chinese chestnuts! Didn't help.

When I open task manager and look at networking, I can see my mouse clicks going to almost 100%. The return drops sometimes into the 20% range and even goes flat line for a period although the modem may be still operating at that time.

I can see no pattern to when the modem drops. Some days it is fine. Other days it's awful. Sometimes the modem drops when it isn't even online. The blue light goes off. Is it dropping the driver? What would cause that? I cannot find a conflict.

Anyone have a clue on further checks I can do in the software?

Thanks

 

You said your phone line goes out constantly.

As a public utility and therefore regulated by your state, telcos are required to provide voice service. If you end up dealing with the phone company over this, make it all about the voice service, not the data (internet) service. Once you mention problems with your dialup internet connection, they can get away with telling you they've done all they can but they have to keep working at it until they get the voice service right.

As a last resort, you can call your state's public utility consumer complaint line. In my state, that gets immediate action from the telcos.

Dialup modems are extremely sensitive to line interference. While your telco does have to provide clear voice service, they do not have to make sure the wires inside your house are good. Make sure your interior phone wire and jacks are in good shape. It's not always easy to tell if the plug on the phone wire is corroded just by looking at it. Surest way to check is replace the wire between the modem and the wall jack.

Cordless phones, especially older ones, can cause problems for dialup modems. If you have any cordless phones in the system, unplug them all and see if the connection still drops out.

One way to check the interior wires is to connect the modem to the box on the side of your house and see if the connection drops. Only your phone guy to do that, though.

 

Thanks Miz.

I think I'm on the same thought track as you. My phone company is also an isp and provides dial-up, but I have a different isp. There is nothing on the computer phone line but a phone which we really don't use. It is not cordless. I've tried changing the modem jacks. The phone company says our wiring is OK, but I suspect the box outside.

We have another line with no problems. It was put in earlier than the computer line. That's our main number, and we don't want to use that because my mothr-in-law is in her 90s. We want that open for emergency calls.

I contacted the phone company's resolution line: a step required before contacting public utilities. I've heard nothing, so I am ready to move on. I hope to force the phone company to bring DSL further down the road. It is available 5 miles from here.

So I hear you saying it's probably the phone line.

I guess I do forth to do battle. Oh how I wish we had cell service! That was promised and never delivered. We are very close to the camp ground in Arkansas that flooded and killed 20 people. The state was amazed that there is no cell service and had to bring in a temporary tower to coordinate rescue and recovery.

Guess their amazement is over.

 

Some of you information is true and some isn't. If you are getting dialup from your phone company, they are required to at least have the lines clean enough to give you 19900 speed. Anything less, they have to fix it. Most houses in the last 25 years or so, you can plug anything you want to in the NID on the back of the house.
I will agree that the Public Service Commission can get things done in a heart beat that you couldn't get the phone company to do. Been there done that with over 35 years as a Phone Man.

 

Thanks to all. Interesting to learn about the phone line providing at least 19,900. I hope that's all phone companies. I will contact the utilities commission tomorrow. The phone has been on and off for 2 days, and my isp earthlink is having problems. It's hard to tell what is going on with all this.

However, I have my laptop on with the external modem, and no drop so far! It has Windows 7 and is only a few months old.

So if the modem doesn't drop (and it may) on the new laptop, what do I need to check in my e-machine with Windows XP? I did notice a strange thing with my desktop. On the days the phone was coming and going, the modem dropped and then came back on. That's never happened before.

I do like the desk top best with the large screen and keyboard as I am a senior citizen.

 

It's been a while but if I recall correctly unlike earlier protocols V92 allowed for dropouts so this IMO isn't unusual. As I say though it's been a while and I could be wrong.

As for your other questions I can't really help but if as you say earthlink are having problems perhaps you should look at them rather than the Tel Co?

 

It's gotta be software??

I used my laptop for several days now. The modem works fine. I moved my modem on the desktop on another usb port (which I've done before). I'll try again. So far today, after 20 minutes, the modem is fine but the line is dropping because of rain. Sigh. This is like trying to figure out if the light bulb or the lamp or both are the problem when the power is out. Just now it popped up to redial, the modem light went out, but it came back on. That's a first - it's coming back on.

Could it be a port, memory chip, *******-up software? I did restore the e-machine with a dell operating system disk. I downloaded nvidia drivers which I remembered were on the computer. Could they be bumping some dell driver and the bumping my modem?

I bought this machine refurbished as a back up, and it seemed fine. It came with XP3 so it wasn't very new.

The tip on 19.900 bps was wonderful. My phone man in Arkansas confirmed that. I wondered if that was a nation-wide regulation. Public services sent a repairman who said it would ask if the computer phone could be wired into the outside line our home phone is on, but I've heard nothing. The line we are on has so many phones on it that it gets overloaded.

I contacted the FCC and got a case number. I'm just sitting around waiting but truly expecting the phone company to win again. Right now I'd be so thrilled with a steady 24.600 or 28,800 - my most common speeds altho I've seen it lower. The task manager shows long period of flat lining on network connections.

I sure miss the desktop. My husband and I are senior citizens and need the big screen and the big keyboard. So your help is appreciated. I hope we don't need to buy another desk top.

The alternative is restore my dell which means putting on the AV program. All the cool people go to the park with their laptops. I must drive 15 miles to that park and look rather strange with my desktop hooked into an AC converter.

Thanks for your tips and help. If anyone has any more leads, I'd appreciate it.

 

What happens if you temporarily unplug ALL of those phones?

 

Thanks for getting back to me on the problem. I did a terrible job of explaining.

We have 2 outside lines according to the phone man. Our main phone is on one and the computer line on another. He called them T1 lines. In the 80s everyone was on a party line. Then a mining operation moved in and another T1 or whatever was added.

The population has increased, and those phones are on one of the outside line. So it wasn't my phone I meant. It's the neighbors up the road. I guess if enough people are making phone calls or dial-up on the computer, the line goes down.

The phone repairman said the engineer noticed the line taking a hit when a lot of activity was on the line. Also they think someone's outside box attached to their house is faulty.

Sounds like they need to just put in new stuff, but I'm not holding my breath. Apparently all of Arkansas is to be high speed by 2015. I'm not holding my breath that long.

Thanks again.

 

If you have 2 lines coming to your house, switch to the other one and see what happens. If they said somebody box is bad, and you have a private line, they have what is called a left in. Somebody else is using your line because it was never disconnected from their house. It is easy to find. Tell them to find the LIF. Left in field.

 

I agree. If the line you're trying to use is the problem, I'm afraid there is nothing you do with your computer or modem to solve it. The faulty line needs to be repaired.

Fortunately you have two lines at your disposal. So the next obvious plan of attack would be to try and use the other line . . . with the hope that it will prove to not be as 'flaky' as the first.

 

Thanks for getting back to me. The other line is not as flaky, but it's not great. I'll try my modem on the other line, but I can't tie that up for a long period as my mother-in-law is in her 90s and calls that line. Now left in, hmmmm, that's interesting and very well could be. I did complain to the state and the FCC. The FCC gave me a case number, but I've not heard from the phone company about transferring us to the other outside line.

So if someone is using our line and makes a long-distance call, that should show up on the bill??? We have unlimited long distance, and the calls all look like ours.

Thanks to both of you.