This is a strange question probably, but I am having a major problem! I just bought a computer for home and it works to connect to the internet just fine at the shop where we have the other system, but here at home it will only maintain connections for 5-6 minutes and then I must redial incessantly. I have had the phone company out twice and I replaced the jack and have new cords for the phone and computer, but it is still disconnecting and clicking and buzzing.Also, it is the same ISP as we have at work and they say everything is fine on their end. The phone company says the line is just fine. Any ideas? Thank you!

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 10, 2000

Answers

Hi, I'm just curious, we have the same problem with our computer also. Is you server located in Vermont? Carla

-- Carla Hoy (hoycarla@hotmail.com), September 10, 2000.

Nope. Tejas.

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 10, 2000.

Hey Guys! This has nothing to do about your disconnects but---a couple years ago I was having troubles with my puter. The ISP told me to have the phone co. check my line. Guess What! I called'm and told'm what ISP had said. The lady [GTE ]told me that the lines weren't for using to connect to the internet! I cou ldn't believe it! She was rude and hateful and those kinds NEVER tell you their name or where they are located. I did smart off and tell'r we'd just get a couple tin cans and some string--cheaper and more reliable. My $2. worth. Matt. 24:44

-- hoot (hoot@pcinetwork.com), September 10, 2000.

Do you have call waiting on your home phone? If you do and don't disable it, every time it click signals a call, your internet connection will bomb. It happened here until I realized the problem and discontinued the service. Also, if you have a "remote location message read " answering machine (the ones you can call up and key a pin number to lget the messages) , try turning it off before going online. some models interpret the data stream as an access poll and initiate message retrieval which will crash your connection.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), September 10, 2000.

Both Jay's suggestions are correct. Have you considered a "tap" may have been installed on your line ? After you visit and talk with known criminals aka Patriots, you can expect anything ! GL and watch your 6 !

-- Joel Rosen (Joel681@webtv.net), September 11, 2000.

AOL does this to me occasionally. They have a policy if they sense non-use for ten minutes, the connection is disconnected. Sometimes something gets hung up and I'll get a disconnection after disconnection. Generally if I change the server I am using (I have my choice of over a dozen) it solves the problem.

Also, I have a 56K modem, but normally can only connect at 28.8K. The folks at the computer service in town say that is the highest bod rate my neighborhood phone lines can handle. A neighbor, on a different circuit, can get up in the 40s.

Although it is the only provided I have used, I really like AOL. News summaries, stock market updates, national white pages, sports articles, etc. are all in the package. I'm a FSU fan in SEC country so not much on it gets in the local paper. However, I can go to AOL's sports section for game reports.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), September 11, 2000.

For call waiting, you can call the phone co. and pay 1.00 a month to "disable call waiting" at the dialing of *70. In your dial-up networking, just add (*70,) before your isp number. But it won't work if you do not order "disable call waiting". I have Callwave, the internet answering machine, and I recieve voice messages while I am on line. It's so cool. It cost 1.25 a month to get "call forwarding- fixed busy" from the phone co. Since I have only one phone line, people get a message that I am online and please leave a voice message and then I hear it right on my computer! Callwave does not charge anything for it. You can also go to your isp home page and search the FAQ's and help's for an answer. (p.s. Once a cable saleslady told me the "stereo" in the cable had such a long way to travel it was lost by the time it reached my house!!) GEEZ, they actually get PAID to help people.

-- Cindy in Ky (solidrockranch@msn.com), September 11, 2000.

If you use "*70," as a prefix to disable call-waiting, do not forget the comma. A comma inserts a pause as the dialer is initiating the call. Won't work without it.

-- Mike O (olsonmr@yahoo.com), September 11, 2000.

Doreen, the others have probably solved your problem for you, but possibly try setting your automatic email check for 5 minutes or less. As long as I have my browser going out and checking for email every ten minutes, I don't have trouble getting shut off. Any longer and I do. If I don't have my email opened, I can get disconnected in a matter of minutes. Which doesn't make much sense because I could be working through a bunch of url's from a search engine inquiry-obviously actively and rapidly changing url's, but off I'll go. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), September 11, 2000.

Thanks for all of the input. However, I don't have call waiting or message forwarding. I only have the one line and I disconnect the phone and answering machine prior to use. I haven't set the check email on my browser every 5 mins, but this line disconnects in the midst of a conversation on the phone. It was kind of neat because as the lady at GTE was telling me that my line was fine and they'd been out to check it it started clicking and then diconnected us. So much for her saying there was a small problem but we fixed it.

Now that leaves me with the tap scenario, which I wouldn't doubt, because I am pretty vocal about the stupidity that is rampant in our government both local, state and federal, but you'd think if I were worth a tap they would at least do a bit less obvious one. Guess I will call the phone company again. Can they tell you if it's a tap that is causing the problem? Or do they have to follow some protocol of the FCC's?

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 11, 2000.

Bell Atlantic's policy is that it doesn't have to provide internet access! That's so they can sell you a DSL phone line, but a friend at the phone co. informed me that they DO have to maintain the lines to support a FAX machine....so tell them your fax doesn't work. Also, your internt support provider can put a configuration in your modem to slow it down so it's not zipping past the speeds for which the old lines in your neighborhood can handle. I was going out at a top speed of 14k, and that's with a brand new computer with a 56k modem, plus I was knocked of constantly- now after the phone co. installed a new line from the house to the road, plus the slower config. in my modem, I average 30k not great, but I can stay on for hours. Hope this helps!

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), September 11, 2000.

Thanks kathy. i am going to print this and hand it to the phone boy when he comes again. Irritating beyond belief!

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 12, 2000.

Doreen;

The government MAY be tapping your phone, but this problem has to do with the "noise" in your actual phone line. Everything which is sent to your computer contains two "check bits" in addition to whatever is sent. If the check bits are not received, the information has to be re-sent or is lost. If there are too many check bits dropped in a row, the server will disconnect you. This is just a physical problem with your local phone line, and it can be fixed by the phone company with their standard filters at their end. This is why some people connect at 28.8K while their neighbor connects at 48K. Unfortunately, they are only REQUIRED to provide you with voice-quality transmission, which is 1400 baud or 14,400 bits/second. If you're connecting faster than that, they really don't have to do anything. You can get some relief from your problem by adjusting your modem to handle information slower. If you have Windows, it's called reconfiguring your modem, and you can find it by clicking on the Modem icon in the Control Panel.

Good luck, A.D. Sherman

-- A.D. Sherman (adsherman@nettaxi.com), September 14, 2000.

Thanks AD. I have insisted in meeting the phone repair guy at my house this time (4) because they said they fixed it on Monday again and , alas, it is exactly the same again. They were supposed to call me to have me meet the person and didn't do so, but I am doubting that they aactually even showed up as there was ZERO difference. I have arranged to meet them there tomorrow. I will let you know!

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 14, 2000.

Okay, the fella came out and said the line is operating within the phone co's parameters,JUST inside, and he said that if I put my "baud" speed at about 19, that would be the speed that works the best. I have MacIntosh w/ an internal 56k modem and I can't find anyplace to adjust my speed. Help?

-- Doreen (liberty546@hotmail.com), September 15, 2000.

I'd like to address the last concern - Mac won't connect properly at 56K and she doesn't know how to set it to go slower (19k). When you open AOL's splash window, you'll get several options at the bottom of the screen. You can click on "Setup", then go under the phone numbers that are dialed into your internet service and EDIT them, to set the baud rate slower. Once you do that, hit OK, and then sign on and see what happens. It's reversable if it doesn't work, or you can adjust it to another speed that might. Also, check the way the phone number is dialing. AOL has several different nets: AOLnet, SPRINTnet, etc. Make sure that is programmed correctly in order for it to work. Also, make sure you disconnect from any other software you might have running, this will help in aiding staying on the air. Hope this helps.

-- Michele Bryant (MicheleB@aol.com), September 17, 2000.