I am appealing to any of you SN readers who are "tekkies" for advice on what to do about my horrendous dial-up performance.Up until about 6 weeks ago I was blogging regularly as Totmom,unfortunately my technical problems put a stop to that.
Around 8 weeks ago,my slow,albeit normal dialup speed of around 40 kbps dropped dramatically to 12!YES,TWELVE!Before anyone asks, I live in an area where my choices for internet access are limited dialup or Hughesnet.Nevertheless 12 kbps is barely enough to read text emails,let alone blog.Then after about a month of this, my speed,in one days time,went from 12 to 31 kbps and stayed that way-not much but enough to get by.Five days ago the dialup speed dropped again to 14 and has not budged since.I use so-called accelorator technology and my computer is up to date and in good shape.I have also checked telephone wires,connections,etc. to no avail.A call placed to Verizon elicits " We only guarantee dial tone service,not dialup speed." So what else is there that I can do?The internet service providers say to call my phone company-and the phone company tells me its not their problem and to contact my ISP.Talk about passing the buck!I know this sounds like an unusual request but I am at my wits end on this.I just cannot pay close to $100 a month for Hughesnet but DSL is out of reach for one who lives ten miles away from the telephone CO(exchange office).If any of you have encountered and/or solved a similar problem,or just have some telecommunications savvy,I would love to hear your advice!
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
25 comments:
Check for Spy Ware... Programs like SpyBot will clean your drive. These Spyware and Adware programs load onto your system while browsing and eat up bandwidth.
That would be my best guess.
Try unplugging all other items plugged into the phone jacks....answering machine, phones, fax, etc. Including the wire itself. (I'm assuming that you only have a single phone line in the house.) Then check your connection speed.
If you have a dedicated line for the computer only, meaning that you have (2) lines coming into the house, only concentrate on the dedicated line.
If your connection speed is now better, then something else that's no longer plugged in has issues.
You also have the option of networking (2) regular phone lines together to double your connection speed.
Good luck!
Have you considered a VZ wireless modem? I think it's only $50 a month...... Doesn't Joe have a laptop wireless card?
When I worked for an ISP I found that adjusting the speed of the modem would improve connectivity. You'll have to go into modem properties to get to that setting. It's usually set at a high number which you actually want to set down to 56k. I know it sounds crazy but it worked for our customers and me when I was on dialup. One other thought would be that the phone line going from the computer to the wall is bad. Try swapping it with a line you know works. The other thought coming to mind is being sure your modem drivers are current, although you did say your computer is up to date, so I would assume that you've already checked that. Those are my ideas.
Since you are using dial up have you tried changing your access number? Sometimes there are problems with the access number and changing it will give you some of your speed back. If you have a connect screen go in and change which number it dials to connect with. You might also ask your ISP if there are other numbers you can use if you dont find any listed. If you are using wmconnect try using the KEYWORD PHONES. Not sure if that is the correct keyword for them but it works for a few other ISPs
Good Luck
Hi,
I'm certainly not a tekkie, but can you afford a broadband card?
$50permonth?
Thats what I use out and about and on the road.
Have you scanned your PC for spyware/adware?
Spybot is a good tool:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
You also have Windows Defender.I find that to be less effective than Spybot. Give it a try.
We, too had dial up and suffered with it for many years. Have you considered getting Wildblue Satellite? It's $59 per month and plenty of speed for my household.
Try disabling the accelerator. Mine eats more time than it saves!
As many of you know, I mainly work on Dial Up. Yes, I have a brand new computer, (2 of them) and a Wireless Card but I like my old system and it works.
However, Dial Up is obviously slower. I have been on the Internet since the stone age and let me assure you of one thing as a fact, Walmart has, (by far) the very best Dial Up Connection I have ever experienced and more importantly, they're the cheapest out there. I pay for the year and it cost me around $7.20 a month.
I will not allow it to hook up any less than 45333, sometimes it wants to kick in at 28000. NOPE, I hang up the connection and let it dial up again and always on the second go around I'm fine.
Some have mentioned the satellite connection, WE DID THAT! Talk about a joke! Even the installers couldn't believe that out wmconnect account was running faster than their system. So, they removed it immediately because I wasn't paying $1,200.00 to hook it up and another $100.00+ a month for their service.
Try going to Walmart and get their hook up. That's my advise anyway.
Taxguy,
she could afford dsl for way less than 50 a month.
Totmom,
You should run a cleanup, scan for viruses and spyware, and defrag on a regular basis. In "SAFE" mode. I do mine weekly, have dsl and can boast speeds faster than many I know who have comcastic(NOT)
Also close all running at startup programs you don't use. These "behind the scenes" proscesses deplete your computers processing power and don't ;eave a lot left for the modem.
Depending on your version of windows, these tasks are done differently for the most part.
I scan all scans first, then do cleanup, then run defrag.
Not picking but for all of the pleasures people get from living "out the country" comes with a sacrifice of some of the niceties that we City dwellers get. It is what it is. You can't have it all. My advice is to either pony up or move.
Spyware/Viruses have nothing to do with your connection speed. It is all about phone line quality. You need Verizon to come out and fix the phone line. You are going tot have to lie to Verizon, only way to get them to come out. NEVER mention the computer to the telephone rep. Tell them that you have pops, clicks, static INTERMITTENTLY (or they'll give you BS that they are testing the line while on the phone with you, they really have no way of doing this but they will) especially after it rains. The real kicker to get them to come out is to tell them you hear crosstalk on the line, that you can hear parts of others' phone conversations like wires are crossed. It then become a privacy issue. Do whatever it takes to get a repair person out. Once the repair person comes out, let them search around for about 5 minutes (so they will find the problem, believe me they already know where the problem is most likely) and then mention, "oh by the way, my computer now has dropped from connecting at 48,000 to 12,000bps. Most repair people will then be nice enough to spend a little extra time getting your line clean. Normally 2 major causes of this sudden drop 1) obviously the phone network is poorly maintained these days, you'll probably find boxes along the road with missing lids, open lids, etc, and moisture gets in there 2) you've had growth in the neighborhood, rather than adding new lines, they put a 'mux' (splitter) on one phone line and digitally split it into up to 8 phone lines. This drops the availabe bandwith from 64k to 16k/8k which sounds fine enough for voice, but plays havoc with computer.
As for suggestions to try Verizon DSL, they use the same copper line you're having problems with now. You'd have nothing but problems wi th DSL. Comcast/Mediacom by far is faster, better customer service, better repair service; however, you will pay 4 times as much. Plus, I believe you'd saying you can't get either anyway.
The 2nd best choice to Comcast, is the Verizon Wireless Broadband (aircard). It is $59 for the usb adapter (get usb, so that you can use on either notebook or desktop, plus you can put on a usb extension cord to move the adapter around to get a better signal, don't get a card) and $59 a month for the service. If you have a verizon cell phone (you don't have to to get their broadbad) if you get 4 or 5 signal bars on your phone, it will be 10 times faster than dialup. If you get 3 signal bars problaby 3 times faster than dialup. If you get 2 bars, dialup speed. 1 bar - maybe not a good idea. As for AT&T (formerly cingular) do NOT get their broadband card - around here their access is dialup speed or worse, t hey don't have the newer technology here like they do in the cities. And for Sprint forget it, as Sprint has horrible coverage here. The nice thing about the Verizon aircard is you'll be able to get on the interenet anywhere with your notebook... in the car, at a relatives house, etc.
One last resort you can try is that perhaps your modem got hit by lightning (though typicall stops working totally) and partial damaged it, you can try getting a new modem. The best chipset of modems are buy Agere, second best are by Conexant. Try to stay away from Motorola, Pctel, Ambient, or anything that says HSP on it.
One thing you could do to prove it is your phone line,not the computer, would be to take your computer to a friend/relatives house that does not live on the same street as you. Plug your computer into their monitor and phone line and see what you connect at. If you connect at 48,000bps+ then obviously the problem is with your phone lines, not the computer.
Good luck!
Always make sure to reboot after doing the scans, defraging and disc cleanup. I have verizon DSL however lately it seems to be a bit slower. It seems like the slow down has occured since a few weeks ago when the whole Internet was shut down on the east coast.
Anonymous 9:06 AM is unfortunately right. (I worked for a dial-up ISP in the late 90s/early 00s) Spyware and viruses will not affect your dial up speed, and assuming you have swapped the phone line out going from the computer to the wall jack, your only hope is getting Verizon to work on the line quality. They will ONLY do this if voice quality is affected. It may seem a little dishonest to "trick" Verizon into coming out but it is the only way they will help you. The ISP has absolutely no control.
Joe's point, however, is well taken as well. If you can get a 30 day free trial somewhere, try another ISP. Depending on where and how Verizon routes your call, you may hit different equipment once it leaves your CO (Central Office).
More likely though the issue is in the "last mile" from the CO to your house, otherwise the CO would be receiving many complaints.
My verizon dsl is not slow at all.
30 bucks a month and 100.0 Mbps + on some days, and keep pc "clean"
Make sure that if you do have Verizon DSL and you plan on having them come out to check your lines that you call the office and get Inside Wire Maintenance on your line first. It's going to cost you 6 bucks a month, and you have to wait a month to use it (keeps people from calling and getting it if they want to solve a specific issue) but it will save you the cost of a service call. Remember folks, if the problem is on the house side of the phone box, you are responsible. Initial service call is $110.00 and it goes up from there. kinda worth the 12 bucks, isn't it?
Verizon Wireless offers 2 Broadband packages. Theres the $39.99 monthly package which has a limit of 50 mb per month, and the $59.99 package which has a limit of 5 gb per month. I sell VZW phones, and right now you can get a USB card for free after rebate with a 2 year contract. As far as the speeds go, it does depend on the cell phone signal you get. If you have a vcast capable cellphone, there are 2 signal bars on the phone. The one thats associated with broadband speeds is the EV. If you have decent signal with this, you should get good speeds. The worst you could do is try it out, and return it if you're not satisfied.
Joe we live in a place with limited options as well. We tried the Verizon Aircard and the speed here in DE is somewhat to be desired. So bought a Sprint Aircard 595U and it gives us the same speed as DSL! I have it hooked in to the USB on my desk top computer at home. Also with Sprint there isnt a limit on how many Megs you can use in a days time unlike Verizons plan and also HughesNet has limits on how much you can download in a month. My husband who is an IT Specialist is really happy with the service we get with this card. I believe our bill is $62 a month, which is high, but with no alternatives her for our needs the speed and download capability out way the price.
I hope you find something that works well for you.
I am not fan of Verizon Wireless, but I do use them for my mobile phone and mobile internet. As mentioned earlier, you could use their usb adapter and they've definitely improved the speed here on the Eastern Shore. I believe you'll experience a tremendous upgrade from dsl. Good luck!!
TM,
Keep checking in with comcast. They have UNadvertised deals. You don't have to get the three-in-one deal you keep seeing advertised. But that package has been worth it for me. VOIP means no long distance bills and $33 or less per month for phone is worth it.
As for internet speed with cable, before, I waited 30 minutes for a 6 meg mp3 to download. That same song NOW takes 10 seconds. I have downloaded entire old albums with file sizes of 80 megs in a minute and a half.
Dial up should gone the way of 2 gig drives and 128K RAM.
Ditch the dial-up; you won't regret it.
bob p
Im not sure if this works. I know wmconnect used to be a dumbed down version of compuserve which is a dumbed down version of aol. Usually the internet adapter was the problem with connection problems and rebuilding it usually fixed the problem right away when changing access numbers didn't. I have never used wmconnect but for cs you click on start..... find cs in your programs... cs system information.....a box will pop up click on the utlities tab and find the UNINSTALL INTERNET ADAPTER.... click that and reboot.... the adapter will rebuild and hopefully that will solve your problem
HughesNet run only about $60 a month for service. It has dropped quite a bit in the last couple months.
I think the problem is with the ISP. Who are you using? I know many hate aol but I have never had any problem with them and they offer many plans depending on how much you plan on using the internet.
Also, as some else said... defragg the computer.
Hope this helps
PS If you have Verizon for phone service get on their ass to get you DSL. Took me a year of pestering but finally got it
Another thing to consider that I have not seen anyone post...Do you download much off the internet? They have guards on them now that if you download frequently they will slow your speed down to almost none for at least 24 hours. We have hughesnet and they do this quite frequently. We actually received a letter from them stating that they were going to start dropping connection speed for frequent downloaders. We have teenagers downloading music and I myself am a gamer so once we received this letter I invested in 2 Verizon Broadbands for our laptops. We only use hughesnet when we cannot get out on Verizon. Expensive yet solved the problem....
Dawn
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