View Full Version : NTL+Vista Support
Sorry if this has been posted before but i couldn't see any related subjects when i looked...
Has anyone else tried getting support from NTL when using Vista ? I got a new PC delivered this weekend and immediately tried to get it working online. No matter what i tried with the security settings my PC could not get an IP Address through my Set-top box so i phoned their tech support. As soon as i mentioned Vista i was told "Sorry our Broadband does not work with Vista. Nothing about not being able to support it yet, just straight out with it does not work, fullstop. They completely refused to try and help me further after that.
I then spoke to their Customer services to complain about the poor service to a very sympathetic lady who could not really help me, she put me through to one of her work colleagues. He admitted that he used Vista at home and the service does work but their tech support does not know how to support it yet as they are not familiar with the new Operating System. He suggested calling back and telling them i have XP for further support issues. How can a company of NTL's size not support an OS when EVERY new PC bought in the past few weeks will come with Vista pre installed.
It turns out my problem was actually their end with their servers not giving out IP addresses and i eventually managed to get connected without NTLs help. If they bothered trying to help they may have been able to find the cause but they were just unwilling to even try to help me.
I am absolutely appalled with their support. Rest assured i will be looking for a new ISP soon and i will be checking that they support Vista and don't have an unhelpful overseas callcentre.
Nothing new here! When XP was launched it took Ntl/Virgin months to start supporting it. To be fair all there tech support staff will need training on it which will take time. You may get the odd agent who has dabbled at home with it and may try and help you best they can but in general until it's on Virgin's website as a supported O/S then they won't support it and it will be the same with most ISP's
Welcome to the forum by the way! :welcome:
It's just frustrating when the fault is there end but they wont even look into it as they are not up to speed on a new OS.
Beta's have been around for months, full versions of vista for weeks, i guess it takes a while to train every call centre member with the ins and outs of Vista but they should not be telling me it doesn't work with their BB service. I could accept them telling me they are not familiar with it yet so cannot support it but they didn't.
handyman
19-02-2007, 11:56
Calling back and telling them you have xp used to be the tactic to get support with xp pro (which they never supported - business software not public you see). With Vista there is a large difference in the layout of things especially the networking areas so this is not going to work.
I'm sure some enterprising member of this forum will be able to assist you with getting this working.
Any excuse for ntl/virgin not having support ready for this OS release should be laughed at given the distribution of the beta that microsoft did. 5 Million people tested it did ntl/virgin not think to take a gander at a copy?
It's working, I work in IT support so know my way around in Windows so only called them as i couldn't see any reason why it wouldn't work.
The problem was their end, they just blamed it on me using Vista...
I could see my PC was connecting to the set-top box and that it was from there that the connection was having problems...
I went out for a few hours, called them back and was told it was a problem their and to keep trying rebooting the set-top box and PC and it should work eventually and it did. The guy that told me this didn't even ask what OS i was using.
opelfruitcase
19-02-2007, 12:18
I went out for a few hours, called them back and was told it was a problem their and to keep trying rebooting the set-top box and PC and it should work eventually and it did. The guy that told me this didn't even ask what OS i was using.
Isn't this something you should have tried doing before you even phoned them? The messages while your waiting for your call to be answered will normally advise you to do this first...
handyman
19-02-2007, 12:21
Isn't this something you should have tried doing before you even phoned them? The messages while your waiting for your call to be answered will normally advise you to do this first...
I would have thought he would have tried this and then called TS. From how I read it it was an ntl fault and that the stb would need rebooting once the fault had cleared.
parpenbhwarg
19-02-2007, 12:24
I am guessing that Virgin have not yet developed Vista compatible USB drivers for the older modems. Could you not just connect the cable modem to your computer using an ethernet cable?
It is very likely that compatible ethernet drivers are built-in to Vista, but there is a possibility with the newer gigabit ethernet controllers that you may need to download some drivers.
If there are any issues using an ethernet connection with Vista then maybe you could try disabling IPv6 for that connection? Try here (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg1005.mspx#EGAAC) for some help on how to do that.
handyman
19-02-2007, 12:28
The OP is on stb and I'm guessing he will be connected via ethernet since there will not be drivers available. Vista however may have drivers built in as this type of stb will be used on other cable networks.
As for ethernet drivers this will not be an issue as he stated that he bought a new pc with vista on and all drivers should be installed on this.
jackie105
19-02-2007, 12:51
We bought a new computer last week with Vista installed but couldn't get an internet connection going.
Phone NTL/VM and basically got told nothing they could do.
Hubby went off to Argos and bought a £9.99 Ethernet cable and hey presto Vista is working.
NTL were no help whatsoever.
:D
Isn't this something you should have tried doing before you even phoned them? The messages while your waiting for your call to be answered will normally advise you to do this first...
Tried about 10 times (no kidding). It's always the first thing to try and I have had so many problems with the STB in the past i know what to try when the BB connection doesn't work.
The OP is on stb and I'm guessing he will be connected via ethernet since there will not be drivers available. Vista however may have drivers built in as this type of stb will be used on other cable networks.
Correct. Using an Ethernet cable from the PC to the STB.
Hubby went off to Argos and bought a £9.99 Ethernet cable and hey presto Vista is working.
:D
Ouch! £9.99, i hope it was gold plated lol!;)
jackie105
19-02-2007, 13:12
Ouch! £9.99, i hope it was gold plated lol!;)
Please dont tell me you can get them from the Poundshop:Yikes:
PcWorld wanted £14.99 for one so we thought we were doing well for £9.99.:)
Please dont tell me you can get them from the Poundshop:Yikes:
Well actually...........although that was a while ago I got one....
LenMackin
19-02-2007, 13:37
Been using Vista on 2 computers since October. Vista connected via Ethernet cable to NTL immediately, I go through a Lynksys router to the modem.
It does work very well with vista once set up,
My setup is Cable Modem connected to a D-Link router with Wireless access point built in, I have 3 Pc's connecting to this and a pda,
At first i had trouble getting this to work (turned out it was my router)Decided to die,
Even so i contacted tech support , Mentioned vista and all of a sudden support was non existant ,They didnt even suggest things to try, I was left to find the problem my self with not one bit of help, Im sorry but if you sell a product you should surley support the latest technology right? Iv been testing vista for months im sure They could of been doing same, and if not Time to get on the ball ;)
Delta Whiskey
19-02-2007, 14:42
Please dont tell me you can get them from the Poundshop:Yikes:
PcWorld wanted £14.99 for one so we thought we were doing well for £9.99.:)
The local poundshop (Hypervalue) had 2m Ethernet for £1.
Scan have a range of cables:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=5&FilterCategories=61&Thumbnails=yes
DW
NTLVictim
19-02-2007, 14:57
I used to be in the game, I've got patch cables coming out of my ears..
The Doctor says he's never seen anything like it.
DocDutch
19-02-2007, 15:02
okay little rant here.
1st of all Kevin, this is probably a 2nd computer so the MAC address of this pc's lan card wasnt registered on the STB, so rebooting and leaving it off for 10 mins would've fixed that. you are lucky that NTL helped you with it. Get a router and your problems here are sorted.
2nd okay Vista has been around now since the beginning of 2006, but only on general release to the General Public for what 3 weeks.
3rd okay NTL should've trained the people on Vista but as it has been said before it does take time and everything network wise has been changed in Vista.
Rant over.
NTLVictim
19-02-2007, 15:07
I've just re-read the first post...did the unhelpful one actually say "Sorry our Broadband does not work with Vista" word for word??
martin42h
19-02-2007, 15:52
Don't change ISP's yet a while.....I had a similar problem with Sky broadband. I was helping someone get connected who was running WindowsME (remember that!), and was told by Sky customer support 'Our service will not work with ME' when they actually meant 'we don't support ME'. Of course it works with ME. If the computer has an ethernet card and a TCPIP service then it will work!!!
Incidentally, SKY don't list Vista as supported either.
I have VM broadband with a Netgear router and have connected successfully using Win98, WinME, Win2000,WinXP , Vista, Linux, etc. Even my Nintendo Wii and XBOX360 work.
What I'm saying is that its OS transparent, thats the whole point!!
But don't go to your ISP for support unless its XP or 2000.
(I think I'll get my old win3.11 PC out of the cupboard 'cos it'll work with that as well!!)
museltof
20-02-2007, 09:19
All of this reminds me of a conversation with NTL several years ago.
I had just upgraded from Internet Explorer 5 to Internet Explorer 6. A few days later I developed a techo problem (nothing to do with my IE upgrade as far as I can recall), but I made the mistake of telling the NTL guy on the telephone that I had upgraded to IE 6. I was amazed at how he reacted,
he said something like,
"Oh, if you are now on IE 6 we can't help you. We don't offer support to IE 6 - you should have stayed on IE 5!"
I was staggered. I said,
"You are kidding me - right?? Most of my friends have now gone up to IE 6. How can NTL not offer support? It is not so dramatically different from IE 5!"
But it was no use. But I was determined to stay with IE 6, and two days later I sorted out my own techo problem - with no help from NTL. That was in the real bad old days of disastrous NTL customer support, but it did improve a bit after that!
All of this reminds me of a conversation with NTL several years ago.
I had just upgraded from Internet Explorer 5 to Internet Explorer 6. A few days later I developed a techo problem (nothing to do with my IE upgrade as far as I can recall), but I made the mistake of telling the NTL guy on the telephone that I had upgraded to IE 6. I was amazed at how he reacted,
he said something like,
"Oh, if you are now on IE 6 we can't help you. We don't offer support to IE 6 - you should have stayed on IE 5!"
I was staggered. I said,
"You are kidding me - right?? Most of my friends have now gone up to IE 6. How can NTL not offer support? It is not so dramatically different from IE 5!"
But it was no use. But I was determined to stay with IE 6, and two days later I sorted out my own techo problem - with no help from NTL. That was in the real bad old days of disastrous NTL customer support, but it did improve a bit after that!
depending on your os at the time the IE update can update system files in the os causing conflicts
Naysayer
21-02-2007, 10:20
Hi guys, first post, signed up in the hope of sorting this exact problem. Please bare with me as my IT knowledge is a strange mix of fairly informed to complete layman.
Got my nice shiny new Vista pc back home last night, plug in the broadband to the USB port just like on my XP pc, then it starts asking me to put in the disc I got with my BB modem. Anyway that then tells me the operating system isn't compatible, I ring ntl/virgin tech support, and get told pretty sharpish that 'we don't support Vista, here's the number for Microsoft'.
Ok, apart from the obvious and already mentioned annoyance at a company this size not supporting an operating system this 'big', what would the directions be for a mentally-challenged person such as myself to overcome this problem? I've read previous posts about buying an ethernet cable, where does that plug in etc?
Many thanks in advance for any help guys :)
LenMackin
21-02-2007, 10:39
You should be able to plug your Ethernet cable directly into your cable modem? As it's a new pc it really should have a network card built in with a plug point somewhere on the pc housing. USB is not a good way to do this as it needs drivers and Vista is lacking in many a the moment. Go ethernet, it will more than likely get itself working straight out of the box!
You should be able to plug your Ethernet cable directly into your cable modem? As it's a new pc it really should have a network card built in with a plug point somewhere on the pc housing. USB is not a good way to do this as it needs drivers and Vista is lacking in many a the moment. Go ethernet, it will more than likely get itself working straight out of the box!
Absolutely! Just one thing to add don't forget to reboot your Ntl/Virgin modem as well
Naysayer
21-02-2007, 12:31
Thanks guys, any recommendation of where to get one without spending too much?
handyman
21-02-2007, 12:38
there should be an ethernet cable suplied with your ntl modem, they used to be grey but then changed to a blue, not sure now though.
As for buying one dont spend more than a couple of quid. Hit ebay for a bargain
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cat5e-RJ45-Network-Cable-UTP-Lead-2M-Ethernet-for-LAN_W0QQitemZ180087220133QQihZ008QQcategoryZ57188Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
LenMackin
21-02-2007, 12:46
Go to Maplins or any computor shop. PCworld and Currys probably charge the most though but depends on distance between computer and modem. Cable is normally pretty cheap. For a 1 metre length i would think a couple of quid.
Naysayer
21-02-2007, 13:27
Great, thanks again, I will give this a try tonight and hopefully get some joy.
opelfruitcase
22-02-2007, 01:55
I would have thought he would have tried this and then called TS. From how I read it it was an ntl fault and that the stb would need rebooting once the fault had cleared.
To quote the OP:
I went out for a few hours, called them back and was told it was a problem their and to keep trying rebooting the set-top box and PC and it should work eventually and it did.
The op is saying he was told by TS to reboot the box, which would suggest to me that he hadn't done previously, as tech support will generally ask if you've done this already. If you have, they won't normally ask you to reboot equipment again.
---------- Post added at 01:55 ---------- Previous post was at 01:46 ----------
We bought a new computer last week with Vista installed but couldn't get an internet connection going.
Phone NTL/VM and basically got told nothing they could do.
Hubby went off to Argos and bought a £9.99 Ethernet cable and hey presto Vista is working.
NTL were no help whatsoever.
:D
You paid that much for a small strip of ethernet? ;)
USB drivers (especially for unusual devices) are not normally provided by Microsoft, but only by the manufacturer - no doubt, if Ambit (the modem manufacturer) decide to write Vista drivers it will certainly be a good few months if not longer. Ethernet cards have generally been very well supported across all operating systems, so is worth using a cheap network card (if you don't already have a network port on your computer) and connecting your cable modem that way. This way, your future proofed if you decide to build a network/buy a router/wish to connect other computers in future, as well as having a more stable and reliable internet connection without any kind of load on the computer.
<steps down from soapbox>
Hope this helps as general info.
tweetiepooh
22-02-2007, 11:16
Please dont tell me you can get them from the Poundshop:Yikes:
PcWorld wanted £14.99 for one so we thought we were doing well for £9.99.:)
I think I paid less than that for a 30m cable. PC World take the peepee sometimes. A plain cat5 cable (all you need) should really be pennies for the sort of lengths most users want (around 2m). PC World try to get you to buy super shielded Cat6 or so.
Provided you are using ethernet and can see the router/STB/SACM then the O/S used really is a non-starter. Most of the time I use Linux and I don't tell support I am unless they wield out the old virus/malware issue. I multi boot into XP (2 versions) or about 3-4 versions of Linux so I can diagnose if the issue is with my PC or O/S.
I guess that some of the drones just want an excuse to close the ticket rather than spend some time working out what really is wrong.
I don't expect VM to support my PC or my router but after the router it is not my issue.
nicke261192
22-02-2007, 21:19
if you go through a router to your pc you dont need to install the software or anything so off you go!
Hi all, i just started to set my parents new 'Vista' laptop up for Vigin BB and the Virgin software says that the laptop does not have a Ethernet (NIC) connection. It does, I can see it and i've tried plugging it into a router i have and it works too! Phoned Virgin and the first question was 'Is it running Vista' to which i replied yes and was the told that i had to phone another number at £1 per minute. Ouuucccchhh!!!
Any ideas? Would it be easier to configure the Linksys router to connect to the modem then i just plug the laptop into that? If so, what settings do i set?
This is the first time they've been on broadband so do they need to run the Virgin software to activate the account?
Cheers!
Hi all, i just started to set my parents new 'Vista' laptop up for Vigin BB and the Virgin software says that the laptop does not have a Ethernet (NIC) connection. It does, I can see it and i've tried plugging it into a router i have and it works too! Phoned Virgin and the first question was 'Is it running Vista' to which i replied yes and was the told that i had to phone another number at £1 per minute. Ouuucccchhh!!!
Any ideas? Would it be easier to configure the Linksys router to connect to the modem then i just plug the laptop into that? If so, what settings do i set?
This is the first time they've been on broadband so do they need to run the Virgin software to activate the account?
Cheers!
Yes, why are you doing it any differently?
If the B/B works on a PC with no router, then switch it all off, plug ethernet cables between router and modem, and router and PC, and then switch it all on, starting with the modem and waiting one minute before switching on the router, and then waiting a further minute before switching on the PC.
That is presuming the router has been configured for B/B before. If not, then just follow the instructions in the user manual making an ethernet connection between the PC and modem to start with.
Further the the above: If you are using Ethernet, you don't need the virgin software on ANY OS..
Hi, this is a brand new connection this morning. Do I therefore need to set the router up with user names and passwords etc?
Cheers!
---------- Post added at 15:56 ---------- Previous post was at 15:52 ----------
Sorry, and a brand new Laptop. The router was used in the past on another NTL connection.
Cheers
Sorted. I was getting confused with my own ADSL Modem/Router where i have to add the username and password to that.
Cheers!
Wibblett
25-02-2007, 23:39
Yup,
Im running Vista Ultimate with a belkin router and a 10mb conex via an ambit modem.
Setting it up was as simple as turning everything off, then turning on the modem, followed by the router, followed by the pc. Nothing more to it than that!
I think the mistake a lot of people make is that they start bunging in the old broadband installer cd (which is only required for registration and usb drivers) etc.
Very often just rebooting everything in the correct sequence can solve a multitude of issues.
gormless
26-02-2007, 10:21
I had the same problem with NTL saying that they did not support Vista.
I have a new PC and it will only get to the "Provisioning Login". I can add the computer but when I have rebooted the cable box and the PC it goes back to the provisioning login page. If I understand it correctly this saves the MAC address of your network card to verify that it is you who are using the broadband. I can't see how having Vista makes any difference to my MAC address!
I'd appreciate any suggestions as to what to do.
boarderbabe
27-02-2007, 17:56
firstly, forgive my ignorance...but i'm a desperate girl in need of help to get my new laptop working.
i ahve exactly the same problem as gormless (last post) ie, via a linksys router i get to the computer provisioning page and add my new laptop, reboot everything and it wont recognise the new computer and keeps returning me to the provisioning page...????
i have been appalled with the service ntl have provided over this and have made complaint after complaint, however still no solution...anyone got one?:Yikes:
Tech_Boy
27-02-2007, 21:31
If you are connecing via a router, then the stb only sees the router.
You just have to make sure that the router has dumped the pre provisioned (10.) ip address.
You should be able to log in to the routher via putting 192.168.1.1 into the address bar in internet explorer.
The username should be admin, and the password is usually password or 1234 on a linksys.
once you have added the router to the stb, just log into the router & force it to dump it's ip address.
boarderbabe
27-02-2007, 22:57
thanks tech boy, sounds good.
when the ntl provisioning page comes up, should i then type in the ip address you've given???
will this automatically force the router to dump the provisioned ip address? or do i need to do something else?? sorry, i did say i was ignorant...step by step would be really helpful!
:)
Tech_Boy
27-02-2007, 23:45
when the provisioning page comes up.....
1 enter PID & Password.
2add the computer (in this case it would be the router)
3 when the message saying "you have successfully addded this computer" comes up, enter the ip address into the address bar & log into the router
4 force the router to dump the 10.ip address & then look for a new one.
5 once the router has a new ip address(starting with 8X.) browse normally;)
Lord Nikon
27-02-2007, 23:53
rebooting the modem and router will do the same thing...
Tech_Boy
28-02-2007, 00:17
rebooting the modem and router will do the same thing...
when connecting via a modem yes, every time, but sometimes you need to force the router to drop the ip when connecting via a STB.
Completely nuts I know, but I have seen this quite a few times.
boarderbabe
28-02-2007, 00:22
lord nikon, i have tried re booting lots oftimes and it comes up with the same message!
thanks, tech boy i will try that and let you know if works!
Lord Nikon
28-02-2007, 04:12
This is probably one of the reasons VM no longer offer BB via STB
gormless
01-03-2007, 12:34
Thanks for the suggestion Tech Boy.
Tried it last night but the only IP on my router was the internal one, the other was set to auto. Tried taking the router out altogether and going directly from the PCs network card to the STB. Same problem. I can do the provisioning thing, it appears to work but can still only get to provisioning:mad: :mad: :mad: . Came close to flushing STB down toilet.
Giving Sky a call tonight!
Sherlock
01-03-2007, 14:32
VM will be ethernet only soon, so I wouldn't expect them to create any Vista drivers. (You could always try going to the modem manufacturers website direct and see if there's anything there. There are no USB drivers on the new VM installation cd.
For now tho, the definate answer is: If you're on Vista, it's ethernet only. (Bin the disk)
VM will be ethernet only soon, so I wouldn't expect them to create any Vista drivers. (You could always try going to the modem manufacturers website direct and see if there's anything there. There are no USB drivers on the new VM installation cd.
For now tho, the definate answer is: If you're on Vista, it's ethernet only. (Bin the disk)
... as it should be for any version. USB is crap.
Rovastar
16-03-2007, 14:28
VM will be ethernet only soon, so I wouldn't expect them to create any Vista drivers. (You could always try going to the modem manufacturers website direct and see if there's anything there. There are no USB drivers on the new VM installation cd.
For now tho, the definate answer is: If you're on Vista, it's ethernet only. (Bin the disk)
I only joined this forum to look to see if there were official USB drivers for the NTL modems via USB. It appears that they are not. A friend of a friend I have got roped into fixed their net connection for new Vista machine via NTL modem via USB. Now I did get this working with a little fudging around I think some drivers from the NTL install disc did work 3 weeks later they have broke something and I am going to look at it later today.
So I am a little confused as to the claims that it cannot work under USB. I suppose it depends on what modem you have got. I'll post later with the USB drivers I used to get this working and upload a copy and the relevant modem. Presuming I can get it all working again.
BTW USB does have it uses if you don't want to have buy a router or even NIC, etc, I don't know what it is like under VM (and there are multiple ways of connecting getting connected via NTL) but in NTL with a direct Ethernet connection swapping to a different machines was a right pain as you had to re-registered you MAC Address of the NIC you with them. With the USB dongle it registered that one MAC address so switching was easy.
Tech_Boy
16-03-2007, 15:00
I only joined this forum to look to see if there were official USB drivers for the NTL modems via USB. It appears that they are not. A friend of a friend I have got roped into fixed their net connection for new Vista machine via NTL modem via USB. Now I did get this working with a little fudging around I think some drivers from the NTL install disc did work 3 weeks later they have broke something and I am going to look at it later today.
So I am a little confused as to the claims that it cannot work under USB. I suppose it depends on what modem you have got. I'll post later with the USB drivers I used to get this working and upload a copy and the relevant modem. Presuming I can get it all working again.
BTW USB does have it uses if you don't want to have buy a router or even NIC, etc, I don't know what it is like under VM (and there are multiple ways of connecting getting connected via NTL) but in NTL with a direct Ethernet connection swapping to a different machines was a right pain as you had to re-registered you MAC Address of the NIC you with them. With the USB dongle it registered that one MAC address so switching was easy.
Ambit's website is where to look for any "official" usb drivers for vista.:D
The mac address registering was only used on the STB broadband connections, the modem connection does use mac recognition, but just rebooting the modem, clears the stored address & looks for what it is then connected to.
Usb = great for printers, scanners webcams, memort sticks etc, but a right royal pain for networking:angel:
Rovastar
16-03-2007, 20:39
Yeah it does work under USB I don't see the problem.
Here is a screenshot to show you for the NTL 250 modem what ever that is...I think the drivers were from the standard NTL install discs
Yeah I know USB is not the best way I would have one going into our works Cisco router. ;) :Yikes:
homealone
16-03-2007, 20:56
Yeah it does work under USB I don't see the problem.
Here is a screenshot to show you for the NTL 250 modem what ever that is...I think the drivers were from the standard NTL install discs
Yeah I know USB is not the best way I would have one going into our works Cisco router. ;) :Yikes:
I think what Sherlock meant was that the newest ambit255 modems don't have an USB connection, they are ethernet only :)
My connection went down on friday, its been intermittent all weekend [never ever been this bad] rang tech support, soon as i said the magic word "Vista" he just told me there was an engineer coming. ;)
Say XP and its , your router\firewall\av the engineer doesnt get a mention. :)
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