'tinternet problem ?

[tigler]

Anyone else having internet trouble this afternoon ?
My connection is dropping out continuously and if it connect's is stupid slow !!!
Have tried the usual, rebooting the computer, turning the router on and off, no difference.
The windows diagnostic is saying the ISP is the problem.

ISP is Orange and it's the west mids area.

 

[Hitch]

There was me about to smash in the computer.
Orange here too. South West area. (the free setup, so not complaining just yet)

 

[tigler]

Yup, same sort of general area. Lost 2 ebay items today because of it, one I'd been waiting 8 days for !!!! Arrrrrrrrrrgh !! Will be using my sniper program regardless in future !!

 

[cumbriasteve]

I learnt a hard lesson once when I had Internet problems, I started fiddling with the modem and the PC settings then found out it was AOL playing up in the North West areas.
Took me ages to get everything working again, if it's bad now I leave well alone and check with others in the area.

 

[hareng]

Throttling

Always on a slow connection here at best plus the lag and have to suffer those moaning about speeds dropping to sub 5mb or above.

 

[tigler]

This was beyond throttling which I know all too well !!
There was definitely a fault as everything is back to normal today.

 

[Hitch]

Seemed to be better than normal last night once it was back.

 

[Jammy James]

I'm with talktalk and had problems yesterday

 

[tigler]

Actually I noticed something else last night, I could get US sites no problem, well apart from being a bit slower than usual, it seemed to be the UK that was the problem. So how does that work ?

 

[rikrobson]

inter uk traffic will be going via LINX (London INternet eXchange) via peering the us traffic will probably be using a transit direct to the 'states.

If there was a problem at LINX then this would explain.

There was an issues that should have been non affecting on friday noening, but if been off shift since then and didn't bother following it up.

 

[Jammy James]

My cousin who works for BT said that there was a problem in london in the big exchange in london i can't remember the name of it

 

[Wedg1e]

I had a random issue a couple of weeks ago in the cold snap, internet was coming and going for days.
Popped the cover off the Virgin/NTL box out front, warmed up the innards (and a few spiders) with a hot air gun and normal service was resumed. It was just as the thaw started so I guess condensation was shorting out the coax cables.

 

[hareng]

Tigler, not running P2P were you? That would explain it.

orange broadband Limit Reached Throttled traffic Shaping yes

Max has 30GB FUP and heavy downloading discouraged during peak. See below
p2p restricted to circa 256 kbps during peak, although this could depend upon area/ LLU
Users in the past have reported being disconnected after 40GB
Update Apr 08. Users reduced to dial up speeds after 40GB

The biggies are the worst for it though a change of contract with Entanet saw many leave two years ago.

Personally every ISP ever been with have suffered dropouts, even had one getting this page up. For me its the length of copper cable and 75db att on LLU.

 

[tigler]

No, wasn't p2p. Restricted to 256K ??!! Chance would be a fine thing ! My max NORMAL DL speed is under 300K !!! Also I'm a light user, I doubt I have ever approached 40GB as I rarely DL vid or music. The only time I use any serious bandwidth is when I have a youtube sesh !!
I started with Free Perve which was taken over by Wanapoo and all was ok then but since Orange took over it's been rubbish. Thing I don't get is I have routine drop outs just after I log on in the morning, literally after about 2 mins, then around 11 AM, 4-5PM and 11PM. The drop outs tend to be around 2 or 3 mins, but sometimes I have to manually disconnect and reconnect from Windows menu to get it back, and occasionally switch the router off and on again.
Complaining to Orange is a waste of time, they blame anyone but themselves, it's either my router, or BT or whatever ! Thing is BT won't discuss it because their client is Orange not me ! Then Orange just say it's BT, roundy roundy !
Really need to find another ISP but which one ??!!

 

[rikrobson]

It sounds like a line fault.
Orange will need to fault this to the copper provider, which is usually BT.do remember that BT is not one company but several.
OpenReach own and fix the copper and network. if your line is LLU i.e. Orange also provide telephony then they should call out Openreach.
If the line is supplied by BT and you pay for the line to BT residential then the line is Wholesale and then BT wholesale (yup another bit) and they will fix the line bu calling out openreach.
if your router has a status page you should be able to get LoopLoss or attenuation and Signal/noise ration (SNR)
the attenuation should be low if its approaching 60 you have a problem or a very long line. the SNR should be high and al least 6 or you have got problems. Also if its dropping it points to a line fault.
it realy boils down to whether the line is LLU or not i.e. a BT line or an Orange line.
If it's a BT Line get a MAC and go to another ISP.

 

[tigler]

It is a BT landline, I pay the quarterly rental to them, ISP is Orange.
I am in a rural area some distance away from the exchange.
Couldn't live with a MAC I'm afraid, been with a PC for too long !
Any recommendations for a decent ISP ?

 

[rikrobson]

no MAC is a migration access code not and apple computer. it's what allows you to move ISP.
If you are rural then the line will be the issue. It will take time for BT to resolve and Orange cant be bothered with the hassle. Without knowing what your ll and snr is its difficult to say what speed you should achieve, but on an adsl max line with max loop loss you should still get just under 1Mbps download speed. it shouldn't be dropping either. if its dropping keep complaining to orange to fix it.
I work for a Scottish based ISP called Lumison But we are quite expensive £30+vat!!! per month, but you get better support 6 guys inc me covering 24/7/365 and were all engineers as opposed to phone monkies. AAISP are also expensive, but will guarantee to fix your line or your money back. All the cheaper ones will have similar call centre support to orange.
Cheap's cheap for a reason!

 

[tigler]

Doh, blonde moment with mac !
Don't have a status page for the router yet, but have just gone onto their website, it's a ZOOM x6 ADSL, for updates and info on how to interrogate it.
This fault has been reported to Orange on a previous occasion but the process was so tedious and time consuming that I don't want to go through it again. There was an improvement for a while but it's regressed.
Your help as a web IT pro is much appreciated, cuts through the BS I get from Orange very nicely !
Another Q if I may, when connecting to some websites it causes the router to disconnect. It reconnects itself but any further attempts cause it to disconnect everytime. However, if I use the in private browsing option on vista there is no problem with most of the problem sites, just the odd 1 or 2 still cause the router to disconnect.
Any idea's ?

 

[rikrobson]

The line is dropping outwith the traffic. It would be very unusual for the line to drop due to traffic. this would also point to the router being faulty.
there are two test that we get customers to perform before calling out BT. this is because they can usually point to an issue that would otherwise generate a £155 false call out bill from BT.
the quiet line test checks the line for crackles and noise
dial 17070 and select option 2. the line will go silent. If you get any noise then the line or phone are fault. change the phone and retest.
an isolation test. this removes ant localised wiring in the property. Isolation test instructions
also get some new filters which is the cheaper option if the line works without phones plugged in.
If you have done al this and it still drops we would get a BT fault raised which would result in an appointment for a BT engineer. They will probably take a coulpe of attempts to fix it as Openreach are sent out first. they just do lines though and won't test the boradband. You will then get a BT wholesale broadband engineer who will change a but of wire ant it will start working properly.

So Do the tests and pester orange about the constant drops in the first instance and move isp for a longer term solution.

If you can get the line figure to me i can advise better too.

 

[tigler]

Would those be possible reasons for only some sites causing the disconnection though ?
Most sites are fine.
Have done the quiet line test and it's silent. The master socket is difficult to access so I will have to do that later. Will get the line figure asap.
Thanks for the help and info so far.