Vanity-- Freeper Computer Freak-Out

My office | February 5, 2006 | Me

[najida]

LOL!

My techy brother said the same thing!

"Dammit, get a Mac!"

[carlr]

No DSL available,and at the far end of a line that was run in the early seventies.

No hope here other than satellite,was just kidding around.

[johnny7]

Limbaugh swears by'm too... a lot less virus problems.

[dfwddr]

LOVE your homepage !!! reminds me of my NH home.

Do you have CATV? If so, check w/ your provider. They might be able to run a pipe to you. Cable is better than DSL, and you are probably better off w/ dial up than a dish from what I hear.

[carlr]

No,cable isn`t available either.I have DirecTV.

[dfwddr]

Well that's good and bad. The bad: sux to be you on the computer. The good: everything else.

[cva66snipe]

If your phone service is through MA Bell try this. Call and ask about a second phone line for your computer. Tell them this is what the line is for meaning your personal computer. Ask the representative to have a local installer supervisor call you. If he does ask him if a SLICK System is near your home. If so explain to him that you wish to either add another line or run your existing line through that system.

What this does is puts your phone line digital from the phone companies central office to the cabinet near your home where that system is located.

I live about 8 miles from my phone company but the SLICK is right up the road. I get a consistent 48-49K connect speed on dial-up verified through several checks. My dad who lives down the road from me is not on that system and gets 22K tops. His phone line goes straight from his house to the central office.

Another good possibility is you may have line noise on your phone. Pick up your phone and dial a couple of digits. Listen for any popping noise or a hum in the line. If you hear it then that can drastically cut down your connect speed as well. That is likely a phone company issue.

[carlr]

I have had the static problem a couple of times.The last time Verizon put a new box on the side of the house.
I thought that it might be a good thing but connection speed went from 24-28.8 down to a max of 21.

Would`nt a second phone line increase the cost to the point equal to a satellite system?

[CFC__VRWC]

Are you now running XP with Service Pack 2?

Don't know

From Windows Explorer, click Help in the menu bar, then click About in the menu. If you're running SP2, the message should state that you are. If you're not running SP2, it's well worth getting for the security upgrades and patches alone. Plus, it has it's own firewall, so you can throw that Norton thing in the trash where it belongs. I had a very bad experience with Norton products, and will not run them on any PC of mine.

[cva66snipe]

I have had the static problem a couple of times.The last time Verizon put a new box on the side of the house. I thought that it might be a good thing but connection speed went from 24-28.8 down to a max of 21. Would`nt a second phone line increase the cost to the point equal to a satellite system?

Sounds like Verizon left some bugs. Actually the bugs may be Ma Bells whom Version likely leases lines from. The initial cost of DIRECTWAY is around $500 up front cost for equipment. In my house I'm running 2 phones lines one with all the bells and whistles added plus my Internet service for around $86 per month. I'm not certain about Directs monthly cost but I think it's about $90. Also DIRECT from what I have heard has about the same uplink speed {from you to them} as a good dial-up connection.

I live in a rural area and cable is a little over a half a mile away. I'm waiting on it {likely a lost cause} and would only take their Internet service.

[carlr]

I'm running 2 phones lines one with all the bells and whistles added plus my Internet service for around $86 per month.

The 86.00 is for 2 lines plus the ISP fee?Or is it just for the 2 lines with the ISP charge additional.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

A good last resort (before pitching the pC) would be to download a little utility called "Insane Key Finder". This will identify your XP License key number.
Once you have that you should be able to use a friend's XP install disk and use YOUR License key number to install it. The activation process should bark if you haven't made any hardware changes.

The above steps will allow you to wipe the bloody thing clean and start over. Again...a last resort for sur...but I'd try a different browser like Firefox first.

[cva66snipe]

The 86.00 is for 2 lines plus the ISP fee?Or is it just for the 2 lines with the ISP charge additional.

Combined total of all on the same bill. My ISP is Ma Bell in my area plus they give me $5 off on my Direct TV bill {which is not included in this bill} COEERCTION: Both phones have all options added like caller ID etc and that includes Internet service. I have the second line also because of a medical necessity in the house so both have full options on them. My wife uses the speed call features etc. My bill this month is $84 and that included 30 minutes free long distance I never use.

[cva66snipe]

One other thing IIRC a blasted accelerator can wreak havoc if it becomes corrupted and cause site denial errors. I uninstalled mine a long time ago and a lot of file issues resolved themself. Another thing in the back of my mind is deleting temp folders I think. Not as dissicult on XP as it was on 98 but I can't remember the process. It's more involved than just routine maintenance wizard though.

[JLO]

Ok,now can someone tell me how to get a connection speed that is better than 19.2-21.6 Kbps.

You might want to check out this satellite service. I've had it about a week now and so far, so good. They say it's available everywhere in the 48 contig. states.

$299 complete install + $49 per month was my dealer's price.

http://www.wildblue.com/getWildblue/availability.jsp

[ADemocratNoMore]

> Ok,now can someone tell me how to get a connection speed that is better than 19.2-21.6 Kbps.

Many years ago, before cable or dsl were available here, I has DirecPC satellite service. Not bad, given the alternative. Good download bitrates, uploading limited to what your modem could handle, although now you can upload to the sat at high bitrates if you want to pay extra.

Its pricey, but, IMHO, once you've made the jump to any kind of broadband you'll never want to go back to dial-up.

Good luck.