Possible modem problem

[kiwi-cass]

I have dial up & my signal is getting worse every time I log on. Lately I keep getting 28.8 Kbps & used to be 31.2. Terrible I know but was ok. Last Friday only managed to get one web page in about 20 minutes so logged off then back on again. Managed to get emails in & out & get my library web site but other than that only the occasional page that gave an error message when u tried to go to the next page. Finally in disgust logged off again & later in the day rang my ISP. Before logging off had taken note of the bytes received & it took 10 minutes to download 1,000 bytes. Notice as I write this the received bytes are doing it again. Get about 15 then it hangs for about 10 seconds then get another 15 or so then hang again. Now it's back ok again.

The person I spoke to said it might be my ISP connection so told me to delete it & set it up again. Asked about length of cable from the computer to the phone point but that is a metre & not curled up so said that sounded ok. Asked a few more questions & I hung up & tried to log on but could not do so, so had to ring again. Got the same guy so he knew what was going on. Said the connection was ok so try again. Either he did not say or I missed it but was missing an 0 at the front so had to ring up for a 3rd time to find that out.

Think this guy felt sorry for me so after telling me the right phone number got the techs to see if they could tweak my signal but came back to me saying they thought it could be a problem with my modem driver so should uninstall it & re-install & that might fix the problem. I managed to download the driver to my desktop the other day & it's the same version I have now.

To uninstall it, do I go to Control Panel, phone & modem options, modem, highlight it, go to the bottom & click on remove then ok? Then go to my Desktop open the driver download then install it? Do u think this is the best course of action to take? Was doing something sensitive this morning & was so slow ( like 30 minutes for about 5 pages) the action got timed out & could not open the site again at the time. I am talking around 4 am in the morning here, not usually busy at that time. Have tried again a few times & get the 1st page & that's it. Other web sites are alright

Is it possible the problem lies with my computer possibly freezing & how would I go about finding out if this is happening? Not in a position to upgrade to broadband at the moment but dial up is getting to be a joke. I have had the same ISP for about 9 years & it's only in the last 6 months or so the signal has got this slow. Don't download many programs so no idea what could be causing this problem. I only get 4 hours at a time so as u can imagine this is driveing me crazy. All help welcome.

[HARLEY]

Well it's possible your machine is a bit at fault,but I'd wager it's the phone line that is the problem.

Most dialup connections could improve with larger lines installed but good luck trying to get your ISP to do that..........changing modems might be worth it too.

There are some Internet tweaks I used to use for dialup........I'll see if I can find them.

[sj1183]

Hi KC,
I don't know what version of windows you're using but go into the device manager,right click your modem & delete/uninstall it.Restart the computer,it'll find new hardware & reinstall it.See if that helps.
Take care.

[HARLEY]

http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=68127
here you go.

[kiwi-cass]

Thanks for your replies guys. Have opened that link u gave me Harley & will read through it later as only got 20 minutes left.

sj1183, I have Vista home basic, but call me dense but if I uninstall the modem how does the computer find the new hardware to install it if I no longer have a connection to the internet? I'm a bit confused here. I am not that compter savy.

[sj1183]

Originally Posted by kiwi-cass

Thanks for your replies guys. Have opened that link u gave me Harley & will read through it later as only got 20 minutes left.

sj1183, I have Vista home basic, but call me dense but if I uninstall the modem how does the computer find the new hardware to install it if I no longer have a connection to the internet? I'm a bit confused here. I am not that compter savy.

Hi KC,
It has nothing to do with the internet.The computer is reinstalling your modem & drivers that's already there.Since you delete/uninstall the modem,when the computer redetects it,it's as if you added a new modem or any other hardware.I hope i'm not confusing you.
Take care.

[kiwi-cass]

Ah, confusion is part of my day to day life so what's a bit more. Actually it's the notion that something uninstalled is still around for the computer to find & re-install again.

Will try that & see what happens. If all else fails have the version I downloaded to the desktop. Will let u know what happens. Fingers crossed.

[sj1183]

Originally Posted by kiwi-cass

Ah, confusion is part of my day to day life so what's a bit more. Actually it's the notion that something uninstalled is still around for the computer to find & re-install again.

Will try that & see what happens. If all else fails have the version I downloaded to the desktop. Will let u know what happens. Fingers crossed.

Okey dokey.

[kiwi-cass]

Apologies for doubting u, It went exactly as u said it would. Now just have to hope the pages come quicker. Again, thanks for the help.

[sj1183]

Originally Posted by kiwi-cass

Apologies for doubting u, It went exactly as u said it would. Now just have to hope the pages come quicker. Again, thanks for the help.

You're welcome KC & no apologies necessary.
I would also do as Harley suggested.Use the tweaks in his link.

Take care.