# Dial up connection problems



## Caveat (24 Oct 2007)

Hi

Having problems getting connected from time to time on my home PC - error messages tend to be either "no dial tone" or "no response from PC".
Sometimes connects first time but sometimes takes up to 5 attempts.

According to the PC, the modem is fine and there do not seem to be any physical problems with e.g. cable/sockets etc. Last night was particularly bad - after about 15 attempts it would connect (at the bewilderingly slow speed of 4-7 kbps) only to disconnect about 2 minutes later. Got momentarily connected twice then I just gave up trying.

There is also a rhythmic clicking on our phone line - not sure if this is related? (and no, I've no reason to think the phone is being tapped)

(Can't get broadband in our area BTW)

Any ideas anyone?


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## ClubMan (24 Oct 2007)

What sort of modem - external or internal _WinModem_? If the latter do you have the latest drivers? Did it ever work more reliably? If so what changed in the meantime?


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## Caveat (24 Oct 2007)

ClubMan said:


> external or internal _WinModem_?


 
Err...  showing my IT illiteracy here...not sure what you mean.

If external means literally, physically external then no, I guess it's an internal modem.  PC is fairly new (given to us) and nothing has changed since we acquired it.  Connection was never perfect (occasionally having problems connecting but I put this down to the nature of dial-up generally) but never as problematic as it is now.  

How out of date would the drivers need to be to cause problems? Existing drivers can't be more than about 2 years old I guess.

The only thing I can think of that has changed recently, and that could conceivably be related, is the clicking on the phone line?


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## onlineprint (24 Oct 2007)

Caveat said:


> Err... showing my IT illiteracy here...not sure what you mean.
> 
> If external means literally, physically external then no, I guess it's an internal modem. PC is fairly new (given to us) and nothing has changed since we acquired it. Connection was never perfect (occasionally having problems connecting but I put this down to the nature of dial-up generally) but never as problematic as it is now.
> 
> ...


 
Sounds like you need to update your 'drivers'

Can I suggest you try the following site to check for available updates, I just Googled for you and tried this on my own PC and found updates for my PC.

Note : You will need ActiveX as is part of the driver scan.
http://driveragent.com/?ref=307

Please note that this is a paysite and I suggest after your Driver scan you Google the maker of your modem for the proper driver update


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## Caveat (24 Oct 2007)

Thanks

The problem may be connecting to avail of this - but I could be lucky.

How likely is it, in your opinion, that there could be other reasons for the problem?


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## z109 (24 Oct 2007)

I think it's a problem with your phone line. The clicking can mean there is a fault in the line. If it is overground the rats/mice have been at it. (It was this problem with mine which also showed the damage in a clicking sound, but it is hung in a hedge due to a long story with conduits). It may also be a loose connection somewhere. You need to physically trace the line where it is overground and see if you can find a source of break and check the connections where it comes into the house and between the entrance and the socket you are using.


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## Caveat (24 Oct 2007)

Thanks for the suggestion.

Do you think there is any point in contacting the fault report section of Eircom?


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## z109 (24 Oct 2007)

Caveat said:


> Thanks for the suggestion.
> 
> Do you think there is any point in contacting the fault report section of Eircom?


The first time I had problems, I contacted them and a fellow was around in a few days. He found where the rats had chewed the cable and fixed it. He didn't charge, even though it was my fault for not securing the cable, because he was in the area!

If your line is underground up to the house from the pole and the inside bits look okay, there could be a fault on the pole line itself. Not common, I gather, but it does happen sometimes (a wallop/stretch from farm machinery, for example). In that case, it's certainly Eircom's problem.


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## Caveat (24 Oct 2007)

As far as I can see the line is overhead - pole to rooftop. Nearest pole is actually at the foot of the front garden.   Presume the line is then fed from the roofspace. Everything does seem to be ok on the inside other than in the roofspace which I haven't looked at - and in fairness, there could well be mice up there.

Might just try phoning Eircom anyway and see what they say.

Thanks


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## ClubMan (24 Oct 2007)

yoganmahew said:


> The first time I had problems, I contacted them and a fellow was around in a few days. He found where the rats had chewed the cable and fixed it. He didn't charge


Because the rats had fixed it already I presume?


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## Guest125 (24 Oct 2007)

Phone Eircom and they'll do a line test while you're on the line maybe asking you to hang up and then ringing your line.Its a good starting point.I had terrible trouble when I was on dial up with exactly the same symptoms as you're experiencing.The problem was carried over when I got BB(very slow speeds) It turned out to be a broken/corroded wire in the box at the front door in the hall.It looked perfect and I only spotted it by sheer accident.


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## Caveat (24 Oct 2007)

caff said:


> Phone Eircom and they'll do a line test while you're on the line maybe asking you to hang up and then ringing your line.Its a good starting point.I had terrible trouble when I was on dial up with exactly the same symptoms as you're experiencing.The problem was carried over when I got BB(very slow speeds) It turned out to be a broken/corroded wire in the box at the front door in the hall.It looked perfect and I only spotted it by sheer accident.


 
Thanks Caff

Have actually just spoken with Eircom - they have confirmed that yes, there is a problem with the line and that this is most likely causing my dial up problem too.  They also confirmed that it was an 'external' problem - they're sending someone down.


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## Guest125 (24 Oct 2007)

That good.Any chance of BB becoming available soon?


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## Caveat (25 Oct 2007)

caff said:


> That good.Any chance of BB becoming available soon?


 
Doubt it Caff - we're in a pretty remote area: nearest village about 2 miles; nearest (small) town about 6 miles!


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## z109 (26 Oct 2007)

ClubMan said:


> Because the rats had fixed it already I presume?


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## Caveat (31 Oct 2007)

Knew this was too good to be true.

I am now being told that actually there was _never _any fault detected on the line and that the person who told me this (who even went as far as to say the fault was external) was simply wrong.

It is being suggested now that electric fencing may be causing my "line problem".  Eircom eng. is being sent out to check this.

Any idea what I do next - if it is electric fencing, is there any way of minimising interference?  If it isn't, seemingly I have a mystery problem, and still no internet connection!?


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## ClubMan (31 Oct 2007)

Can you test things with another line (e.g. a neighbour's) just to see if the problem is localised to your home?


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## dave28 (31 Oct 2007)

I know of a case where an electric fence was causing problems ("clicking noises") on a phone line which ran close by. 
Apparently it only happens if the electric fence is not earthed properly or is faulty. It required the good will of the landowner to repair the dodgy e/l fence. It doesnt need physical contact with the phone cable - its an induced current from the electric fence , technically not eircoms problem.


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## Guest125 (31 Oct 2007)

Well....You can't earth an electric fence unless you want to receive the intended electric shock!!! Is the rythmic clicking still on the phone line?


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## z109 (31 Oct 2007)

caff said:


> Well....You can't earth an electric fence unless you want to receive the intended electric shock!!! Is the rythmic clicking still on the phone line?


They are earthed all the time. No idea how it works, but saw the neighbour installing his. The box with the charge is connected to the wire. The other end of the box has a spike that goes in the ground. I presume if you then touch the wire you connect the circuit (between the wire and the ground).


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## Guest125 (31 Oct 2007)

Back to the original post please.......Is the clicking still on your phoneline Caveat?


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## Sn@kebite (31 Oct 2007)

Caveat said:


> Hi
> 
> Having problems getting connected from time to time on my home PC - error messages tend to be either "no dial tone" or "no response from PC".
> Sometimes connects first time but sometimes takes up to 5 attempts.
> ...



Could it be a faulty phone in your home which keeps "lifting the reciever" so to speak and making an open (engaged) line to your house? That would disable the modem from connecting to the internet.

Could you get another BB like the new mobile bb from Vodafone? - Has a 5GB limit but much better than the "crucifiction" that is: _dial-up_.


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## Caveat (1 Nov 2007)

Thanks for replies all

Yes, clicking still on phone line.  No electric fencing that I'm aware of but I'll check properly this weekend and will also check neighbours for the same problem - presumably if it affects me it will affect them too.  That is, if it is electric fencing at all.

Anyone know how near the fencing needs to be to cause a problem?

How extensive is the "line test" does anyone know?  Are e.g., Eircom saying that there is no problem whatsoever with the phone line from the nearest outside pole right into my house and all the way up to my phone socket?

AFAIK, no problem with the phone set either - but can bring another phone home to check.  This is getting very frustrating.


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## Ger (1 Nov 2007)

Modems live a hard life as they are exposed to all kinds of voltages from telephone lines. In my dial connection lifetime (8 years) I had to change the modem twice and there was very much improvment. However there is a certain amount of guesswork here and you could change modem and have no improvment.


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## ClubMan (1 Nov 2007)

Caveat said:


> Thanks for replies all
> 
> Yes, clicking still on phone line.  No electric fencing that I'm aware of but I'll check properly this weekend and will also check neighbours for the same problem - presumably if it affects me it will affect them too.  That is, if it is electric fencing at all.
> 
> ...



What about trying the _PC_/modem on another (e.g. neighbour's) line as I suggested to see if the problem may lie with the _PC_/modem? What about getting another _PC_/laptop to try on your own line? Are you connecting the _PC _to the line where it first enters the house and thereby avoiding any (possibly dodgy) internal phone wiring/connections? Process of elimination stuff as ever with technology problems.


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## Caveat (7 Nov 2007)

Just to update:

Phone line 'clicking' solved by visit from Eircom guy - so there _*was*_ a line problem then  

Dial up connection now fine too.

Thanks for all the feedback/suggestions!


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## ClubMan (7 Nov 2007)

What connect and throughput (www.irishisptest.com) speeds are you getting now?


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## Caveat (7 Nov 2007)

ClubMan said:


> What connect and throughput (www.irishisptest.com) speeds are you getting now?


 
PC is at home, but from memory it varies between 40 and 45.


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## ClubMan (7 Nov 2007)

Sounds OK so. Note that the connect speed just sets the limit on the ongoing throughput speed which could be lower so you have to measure it using a speed tester like the one mentioned above. But it sounds like you're getting in or around the best performance out of a dial-up connection.


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## Guest125 (7 Nov 2007)

40-45 Oh god I'm so glad I've got BB. When I was on dialup I maxed out at 39 kb/s the average was 32 kb/s dropping frequently to 12kb/s. Sorry to rub it in Caveat but you just brought back some really bad memories.


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## ClubMan (7 Nov 2007)

But _Caveat _has no other option than dial-up it seems and is getting the best out of what he has.


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## Caveat (8 Nov 2007)

ClubMan said:


> But _Caveat _has no other option than dial-up


 
Correct.


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## z109 (8 Nov 2007)

Caveat said:


> Just to update:
> 
> Phone line 'clicking' solved by visit from Eircom guy - so there _*was*_ a line problem then
> 
> ...


Yeah, as mentioned in other threads, it all depends on who you get. The main problem with eircom (and other Irish utility companies) IMO. 

Congratulations on your perseverance!

PS you could always look at getting satellite if all you do is download/browse (the upload speed is based on the phone line, with the download based on the satellite download speed). From memory when I looked at it a couple of years ago, it was quite pricey.


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## Caveat (8 Nov 2007)

yoganmahew said:


> From memory when I looked at it a couple of years ago, it was quite pricey.


 
Well, considering that I'm someone who thinks sky/LCD tvs/anything more than the cheapest mobile...etc etc are wastes of money, alarm bells are going already!


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## z109 (8 Nov 2007)

Caveat said:


> Well, considering that I'm someone who thinks sky/LCD tvs/anything more than the cheapest mobile...etc etc are wastes of money, alarm bells are going already!


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## Sn@kebite (8 Nov 2007)

Caveat said:


> Well, considering that I'm someone who thinks sky/LCD tvs/anything more than the cheapest mobile...etc etc are wastes of money, alarm bells are going already!


You'd probably spend more on dial-up than you would on any other BB package.


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## Caveat (8 Nov 2007)

Sn@kebite said:


> You'd probably spend more on dial-up than you would on any other BB package.


 
Well not much choice in the matter in that respect considering we can't actually get BB.

We spend about 5 hours a week on line - I didn't think there would be any dial up package  that would be cost effective based on that - is there?


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

At 5 hours a week online something like UTVip Lite at €9.99 for 30 hours flat rate dial-up access might be suitable if you haven't already thought of it.


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## Caveat (8 Nov 2007)

ClubMan said:


> At 5 hours a week online something like UTVip Lite at €9.99 for 30 hours flat rate dial-up access might be suitable if you haven't already thought of it.


 
Sounds ideal actually - nice one - thanks!


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## ClubMan (8 Nov 2007)

Obviously check first that you're not already spending less than this as it is! Also check in case there are other similar/better flat rate dial-up _ISP _offerings around.


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## Caveat (8 Nov 2007)

ClubMan said:


> Obviously check first that you're not already spending less than this as it is! Also check in case there are other similar/better flat rate dial-up _ISP _offerings around.


 
Of course - thanks.  

Guess I just assumed that low volume users (5 ish hours pw?) like me would not really be catered for.


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