Hello all.
I'm new to this forum, and and hoping someone can help with a problem a friend has with their ntl connection. She has the set top box (no separate modem) which connects to the PC via an SMC ethernet to USB converter. The operating system is Windows ME, with all updates applied.
The connection was absolutely fine until last week, but the PC had previously been hanging on every restart or shut down, requiring a hard reset to clear. I suspected Zone Alarm (free) as the cause of this, and sure enough, after its removal, that problem disappeared.
I then installed Sygate firewall and all appeared to be fine. However, what happens now is that she can browse for about 10-12 minutes from booting up, but after that, IE suddenly cannot access any sites and any running downloads stall. If I restart the PC, all is fine again, for another 10-12 mins. The same thing happens consistently - every time! I've tried the following, but the problem still persists:
Uninstalling firewall and AV progs so nothing is running apart from 'explorer' and 'systray'.
Removing and reinstalling USB converter driver.
Checking connections back to the set top box.
Turning the set top box off and on.
Calling ntl who confirm the connection looks ok from their end.
I also tried fitting an ethernet card, removing the USB adapter from the link and powering down and up the set top box and PC, but I get no connectivity at all after this.
The odd thing is that I've tried pinging
www.bbc.co.uk and other sites after the connection 'dies', and do get a response here, even though the same sites can't be accessed through the browser!
Has anybody come across this before and have any suggestions?
Thanks for any help