50 North Main Street, Gloversville NY 12078 518.773.3901
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50 North Main Street, Gloversville NY 12078 518.773.3901
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Computer TipsInternet Problems
You’ve
bought a new computer, and you find that you get disconnected from your internet
connection on a regular basis. Sometimes you can stay connected for a half hour or
so, and sometimes you get disconnected after just a few minutes. You call your ISP
(internet service provider) and they tell you they’re not having any problems, and
the trouble lies with your new PC. You call your computer store, and they tell you
to bring it in and they’ll check it. When you pick it up, they tell you the PC
works fine, and the problem lies with your ISP or your phone line. You call the
phone company, they send a service technician to your house, and she says your line is
clear. Everybody is pointing their finger at the other guy, but the bottom line is
you still can’t stay connected to the internet.
So, is somebody lying here? Well, hardly. No one has anything to gain by that. But how do you get your problem resolved? Here’s the best way we know how- bring your computer to us. Disconnect problems with fast 56k V90 modems can be caused by "dirty" telephone lines, compatibility issues with your ISP, or defective computer hardware. We can determine if it’s the modem in your computer if you bring your PC to us. We connect to our own ISP from our service department, where we know the phone line is clean and our own ISP has properly configured his equipment. Generally, we let your computer stay connected for a couple of hours, and sometimes overnight. If it disconnects, it’s the modem and we replace it. If it doesn't disconnect, it's either the phone line or your ISP. We then connect to your ISP from our service department. If we get disconnected, it’s your ISP. If we don’t it’s your phone line. See? Easy. What if the problem is your telephone line? Call your phone company to check your phone line. Sometimes it takes more than one call, as they rarely fix the problem the first time. I don’t mean to sound sarcastic when I say that. It’s just a fact. Your phone line quality may sound fine for voice, but data transmissions require a much clearer signal. If the information packet received by a modem doesn't match the check digit, that modem requests a re-transmission by the sending modem. This process is repeated until either a clean packet is received, or one of the modems times out and drops the line. What if the
problem is your ISP? Well, you can change
ISPs. Unlike cable television, there are a
number of companies to choose from in our area. One
is free- Free Lane, by Excite. Check with
your telephone company and see if the 770 exchange is long distance for you. I can
dial from my home in Johnstown toll free. Or, if you don’t want to change ISPs, you can install a modem that your ISP supports. Internet service providers must configure their equipment to work with all different brand modems and models, with various protocols. Some are better at configuring their equipment than others. Check with your ISP to see what they recommend. We’ve found that one area ISP with severe connectivity problems will work OK with a U.S. Robotics brand modem. This modem is offered as an option on all PCs sold by the Fulton Computer Co.
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