Broadband. Urrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!

[sporranlegionaire]

Anyone using a broadband router that keeps cutting out? Like mine? After five or ten minutes it gives up the ghost and I have to wait for all the little fairy lights to come on again.
Can I bypass this irritating box? If so, how? I don't use a Playstation or anything with it - in fact, I don't need it at all. But just plugging straight into the wall doesn't work.
Any thoughts gratefully received.

[Arlen]

You don't happen to use NTL/Virgin broadband, do you?

[Yaish]

Router or modem?

First, what sort of broadband do you have? Cable or DSL are the most likely. Also, are you on a wireless connection or wired?

If you have the broadband modem, and then go to a router and you are not running additional machines off it, you can take the router out of the picture.
You have to have a modem but not a router. Routers do make great hardware firewalls though, and I STRONGLY recommend them for anyone with an 'always on' connection. Otherwise, your computer will very likely become someone's spam spewing Zombie and you wont even know it.
If it's a wireless router you will have to go with a wired connection to the modem instead.

Better yet would be to solve the problem. First, try unplugging the router and leaving it off for 30 seconds. Plug it back in and let it reset. That may fix your problem. If it doesnt, you may need a firmware update. Go to the website for the manufacturer of your router and look up your model number. Download any updates they offer.

Also, if you are on a wireless connection make sure that you are not accidentally switching signals while surfing. Windows will automatically switch over when it finds a stronger signal unless you tell it not to. Sometimes it does it when the signal is actually poor though, so you lose connectivity until reconnects or you reset the connection yourself.

Let us know if you cannot resolve the problem.

[sporranlegionaire]

You don't happen to use NTL/Virgin broadband, do you?

...have you got router problems as well then? I'm with BT.

All this technical stuff is beyond me, guys. I'm a technopleb. I can't give any more info, apart from it's not wireless. The 'internet' light always goes out first, usually (but not always) followed by the 'DSL' light and then 'ethernet' light. Then, with luck, it all comes back again. Or I switch it off, and on, to reset it.
I've had it for around 18 months.

[Mike1]

Contact BT.

[Yaish]

Ok, so you have DSL. That helps a bit.

DSL runs on your phones lines but it has to go through a modem for your computer to make any sense of it. The modem will look like a box with lights on it, and it will have several ports in the back to plug various lines in.

There will be a line that goes from the phone jack into the modem, then a line that goes from the modem to your computer or to a router.

Since you keep mentioning only one device, I am going to assume you actually have just a modem and NOT a router.

First, make sure your line is unfiltered. When they install DSL service on your phone lines they might have given you some inline filters, little tiny boxes that plug into the wall and then you plug your phone into those. Make sure none of those are between the modem and your wall jack. Those boxes filter out the data signal from the line so your normal phone will work correctly. If the filter is on the modem line, it will lose signal.

If that isnt the case, call your DSL provider and tell them you are having problems with the connection. They use the absolute cheapest hardware available so it's easily possible you got a bad one. They should replace it for free, and troubleshoot your lines as well. If you are out in the sticks and at the end of a run you can have signal issues as well as it degrades with distance.

Now, if you DO have a router, it will probably look a lot like the modem. It's basically a small, specialized computer that handles traffic. It is what lets all the computers and devices on your network get the information they requested without getting confused with the other devices. If you have one, it will be plugged in to your modem, and your computer will plug in to that. IF you did have one, you could remove it from the system and go direct into the modem.

Now, since it seems like you don't actually have a router you are a bit exposed as I mentioned before. If you would like some more advice about how to protect your computer from malicious users, let me know and I can post some helpful tips that even a technophobe can understand.

[Arlen]

...have you got router problems as well then? I'm with BT.

Unfortunately, yes. But it's just that since Virgin bought over NTL my internet cuts off whenever it feels like it for however long it feels like it.

I have a friend who used to work for BT and she swears that the best internet company you can use in the U.K it Sky.

I might give it a go.

[Archangel]

How new is it?

The one that came with my set up has a very low quality rating and it took two replacements to get a working one. That one hasn't quit since I got it in January.

Also, try plugging in to the demarcation to rule out bad wiring in the house. Double check the line filters (and old unused lines in the house).

Yes, more details would help us help you.

[demobud]

I know that when I first had DSL, the technician told me that the circuit cards at the local junction were not robust enough and that they could be knocked offline by excessive moisture. Sure enough every time the weather was inclement the DSL went out; once the cards were replaced with newer ones the problem went away. It might be worth asking about when you talk to BT.

[sporranlegionaire]

OK. It is a router, as the modem is in the computer (I haven't changed this since the days when I wasn't on broadband, so the modem isn't a separate 'add-on'). I did try plugging directly into the wall socket but all I got was a 'no internet connection' message (or similar - can't remember now). I have two phones, one in here, and one in another room, both with filters. There are two sockets on these filters. The modem plugs into the socket on the filter next to the socket for the phone. But not to worry. I'll get onto BT.
Oddly enough it has been very wet here over the last few weeks. Almost a case of 'wrong kind of rain' (British joke).