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ulmeyda
17-10-2007, 15:57
Hi guys,

I would really appreciate it if somebody could help me out as I’m not particularly computer savvy especially in regards to Internet connections. Anyway I will go through everything as I remember to help provide as much detail as I can recall.

My issue I believe is with my Modem (NTL 250 on the bottom). It does not seem to connect and it has the following problem. The Enet and power light will be on, the synch light will flash rapidly for a while (15-30 seconds) go completely on and then the ready light which was off while the synch light was flashing will then flash intermittently in a much slower fashion (1 sec interval between on-off). Then it repeats this cycle…forever. Turning the modem off for extended periods has no effect unless it’s a matter of at least 7+ hours where it seems to ‘completely’ reset it.

I only joined Virgin Broadband mid-Sept and the problem has been prevalent no more than 10 days since the installation. On day 1 (bear with me), when I got the modem and CD I installed the package and it all seemed to work fine. At this point all my electronics were only on in the evening and turned off at the socket at night as I had only moved into the property and my furniture and belongings were all over the shop. Once I sorted the gaffe, I bought a Netgear Wireless WGR614 v7 Router as the place is communal with a mate. I slapped in the disc and followed the installation using all auto detect settings simply because I have little idea. I placed a WEP key in and slapped the Ethernet from my PC now into the router (Turned the modem off first for 2 mins as a friend mentioned a MAC address? issue could occur if you switch the cables). Everything was connecting fine (PS3, Wii etc) and all was hunky dory. I left the modem and router on overnight and woke up to the problem with the modem to which I described in the second paragraph. As I mentioned the only way to stop the modem in its ‘cycle’ is to turn it off for an extended period. At first I believed the modem was simply disconnecting due to inactivity but it began disconnecting when I was surfing the net until it simply would not work and the modem would always be in its cycle regardless of turning it off for 20 mins or 5 hours.

After speaking to some colleagues they said I should retry without the router to see if it would work. By now the modem ready light was always flashing etc even after turning it off for 8hrs+ so I re-ran the installation software. It seemed able to communicate with the modem, reset it and I was finally off again after confirming my details registered on the modem and any settings being altered to use the Virgin B.band. After around an hour of surfing it disconnected and the ready light and the modem began its cycle again.

This was last night; I admit I have not phoned up Virgin as my work phone will not allow 090 numbers, but I will do this by the end of the week. Has anyone had a similar problem? I have scoured the net and have never seen such a weird ‘ready’ light problem. Does the ready light flashing mean something that I am unaware off?

I currently reside in Herts (I did phone the Virgin number about any breaks in service and it’s in Luton which is too far from me). My OS is M.S XP; Firewall is the XP one from the Service Pack.

Anyway, many thanks to anyone who was able to manage to stay awake through that. Please help if you can.

Mick Fisher
17-10-2007, 16:19
You mention "the CD and installing the BB" do I take this to mean you are connecting via USB? If so you would be better off connecting via ethernet. http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/94/33602415-how-set-up-your-ntl-broadband.html
Hardwire a connection direct to your modem and if problems persist you could try interrogating the modem for your signals levels and post them here for advice. http://192.168.100.1/ in your browser, login password is root.
Or phone India to maybe book an engineer to visit. Good luck with that. :(

ulmeyda
17-10-2007, 16:37
Hi Mick,

Many thanks for the quick response.

I currently use a laptop but it has a network card already installed so I just plug the Ethernet cable from the modem directly into the Ethernet port in the back of the laptop. No USB required.
The CD is the pap Virgin provides to amend your actual internet settings and install Virgin B.B help etc…

I will try the signal levels as suggested as well as phoning Virgin. Coming from your experience do you believe the problem to be something specific that is fixable? I’m like Lawnmower Man these days, I need my fix :)

Mick Fisher
17-10-2007, 17:20
I didn't think you needed the CD at all if you connect via ethernet. Just wondering if you have loaded usb drivers you don't need and they or some other dubious software from that CD is having an adverse effect on your system.
I will try the signal levels as suggested as well as phoning Virgin. Coming from your experience do you believe the problem to be something specific that is fixable?
It's impossible to say with the information posted so far. It's really a case of elimination which is why you need to connect direct thus eliminating the router. Again for the purposes of elimination it's a very good idea (if you haven't already) to scan for malware and also virus. Also defrag your drive(s) unless you do it regularly and know all is well.
As for signal levels you need only post your
Downstream Recieve Power Level
Downstream SNR
Upstream Transmit Power Level

otguk
17-10-2007, 18:00
Could it not just be that the router has not cloned the mack address of the PC, so the ntl250 is thinking theres a new pc using your account, one not registered? That should be enough to confuse the modem!

There again it might just be like what was posted a signal issue.

on in an hour!
17-10-2007, 18:14
quite a long post so didnt read it all,but if your SYNC and RDY lights arent lit solid this is telling you (no questions) that there is poor or no signal to your modem,forgive me if you may have explained this away in your post but ive had a particularly hard day at work and am currently typing with my forehead!!!:sleep: just read all of your post and i think im right what ive said above,you need a tech to measure the signal levels at your modem,if it is a signal issue (which im convinced it is) you can get the 25ppm credited back to you.

Mr.X
17-10-2007, 18:40
It could be down to an outage whats the first part of your postcode?

ulmeyda
19-10-2007, 13:57
Many thanks for your replies.

As suggested by Mick I placed in the suggested address in the browser. Here are my results:

Downstream Receive Power Level: -14.9 dbmv
Downstream SNR: 33.5db
Upstream Transmit Power Level: 46.0 dbmv

I also looked in the Event Log which was simply rammed from only the past 1hour's activity. All of them were Critical and a similiar type appeared to repeat in sequence.

1. No Ranging Response Reeceived - T3 Timeout
2. Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re intitalizing MAC
3. SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC / QAM

Number 3 had a count of 436 times!! The others 1 to 16 maybe. 1 and 2 seemed to interchange most of the time.

Does any of the above provide any clues before I give Virgin a call? (will be Saturday). I did notice that the choice to reset the modem was availiable in the options. Is this worth a push or way to risky?

Many thanks again guys.

Mick Fisher
19-10-2007, 15:34
I think your Downstream Receive Power Level is out of spec. I thought it should be within +/-10. May be wrong but it's around those figures.
I think the only thing you can reset with the modem is the login password. If you lock your self out you will be up the creek without the proverbial :) so don't reset anything.
You need an engineer to have a look. When you phone India, make sure you are connected direct, don't mention routers, don't get technical with them, if you are on Vista tell them you are on XP, in other words give them no excuse to put down the phone, just report a fault, let them go through their script:banghead: and hopefully you will get someone to call and fix it. Oh and make sure you enquire about who's paying for the call. If you don't it's likely you will.

Mr.X
19-10-2007, 18:18
Your SNR is quite low and as Mick says your downstream power is also a bit low.Unfortunately your gonna have to speak to tech support. Best of luck!!

ulmeyda
25-10-2007, 16:55
Hey guys,

Well many thanks are in order. I believe everything is A-ok now after getting an engineer to take a peek. Your input was greatly appreciated

Thanks for all your help again.

Ulmeyda.