New guy on the block - want to hear MY problems and tell me what I am doing wrong?

[mark.nottsng5]

Hi All - just discovered this forum and maybe it's a chance for me to solve a few problems?!

OK, I run a Dell home PC (allegedly TOTR or near as dammit, as an offline PC it's absolutely fine and runs my home office perfectly), and I subscribe to NTL's 750K BB service....only problem is that after I log on to the net, within 10minutes, the system "freezes", I can't access anything more, and I have to restart my PC and get another 9minutes or so of net use, then the cycle repeats itself......

NTL say it's the fact that I connect modem/PC via USB, instead of using an ethernet link????

Can anyone (when they've stopped laughing at the ignorance of a stupid MOG like me who started out when the latest quill pen was all the rage) advise me what I need to do, as netiher Dell nor NTL appear to be capable of doing so ?

Constructive advice would be appreciated....then I'll get back to using the net on a regular basis and leave you in peace!

Cheers, Mark

[Nemesis]

Mark,
Welcome to the Forum, and am sorry to hear that you are having so much trouble ....

Have you tried moving from USB to Ethernet ?

This link may help

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin....sb.html#usbswap

[mark.nottsng5]

Hi Nemesis,

Thanks for responding to my problem, appreciated.

The answer is not yet, will try when I get home this evening, but I think that Dell set-up disabled my ethernet card for whatever reason (according to broadband medic)

....as you can gather, I'm NOT a computer expert though I can use the basics (images of sheep to slaughter, yes I know!) - I have the advantage of an indulgent employer who permits regular online usage (as it's important to our work anyway), so I get a lot of my stuff done efficiently in my breaks @ work

Will update you on how I get on, thanks again - I'd be interested to know if anyone else has had this type of problem?

Mark

[GazzaB]

Hi Mark,
It appears you live in the same area of Nottingham as me! Basically it sounds like you have a USB timing issue which causes the pc to freeze, this can be down to low system resources or old usb controller drivers (generally happens on older PCs). Best bet is to try the ethernet which 9 time in 10 will completely fix the problem. If this is on the pc then you will just need to enable it in your device manager (accessing this varies slightly bethween the different operating systems) and swap the cables over (i.e remove usb cable and insert ethernet) and reboot your pc and cable modem in sequence.
Check the link for contact details if you need anything!

Gary

P.s Welcome to the site by the way

[mark.nottsng5]

Hi Gary,

Yep, am up in Top Valley aka Heron Ridge if you believe the estate agent leaflet - were you an NTL employee down at the Colwick internment camp btw?

OK, thanks for the constructive advice, it seems a lot more plausible than what NTL's "Support" were telling me about some kind of "competition for my RAM causing it to saturate" , and certainly far more logical in terms of rebooting - I'll give it a shot later on and let you know.

Cheers, , Mark

[GazzaB]

Hello again Mark,
Yes I am one of the old Colwick people (Got made redundant about a month ago along with my mate who is now my business partner!) Dealt a lot with brodband problems in that time and have seen this USB issue so many times that I have lost count! Like I say I am 99% certain Ethernet will resolve your problems so give it a go and let us know how you get on.

Gary

[yer nice one]

Hi There,

I have found using usb for broadband causes nothing but problems, Best advice is to boot into your bios, (pressing delete button on startup)

In your bios you will find a menu, using the up/down arrows search for your network card and press (page-up button) to enable the device, now save and exist,

Your PC will boot up and once your in window you will see the "found new hardware wizard" follow the easy steps and your done,

You might need the network card driver, but this depends on what network card and OS your running,

Once the card is enabled, you can easily check if its working correctly by typing "ipconfig/all" into a dos window and then "ping" and your IP, making sure the USB modem is disconnected.

If you get a reply from your IP then your network card is working,

If you encounter any problems, just post back here and im sure anyone's willing to help.


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You thought cable was bad.... You should try ADSL :p
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