Disconnects and Slow Connections
Slow connections and disconnects are not only frustrating, but sometimes hard to diagnose. A connection to the Internet involves many components, some on your computer, some on your phone line. But with a little patience and persistence, most problems can be solved.
PSC prides itself on keeping our network up-to-date and functioning at top efficiency for you. All aspects of our network are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week so that any problems are discovered immediately and corrected promptly. If you believe that PSC is having a problem, please contact Technical Support. We can inform you of any problems currently on the system. If you are having a problem, Technical Support is available to help you resolve it.
Monday - Friday (8am - 4:30pm "Fast Time"):
Call PSC's local numbers: 357-2123, 843-5951, 536-3344
or call Toll Free: 1-800-511-4899
Evenings, weekends or Holidays:
Call the After Hours support service: 1-877-915-PSCI (7724)
Breaking down the connection problem areas
When you are having a problem staying connected or with slow connections, the problem usually lies in one of two areas: your telephone line, or your modem. If you are getting connected at all, it is pretty safe to assume that your Dial-up Networking connections are configured correctly. If in doubt, check your Dial-up Networking connection settings and you Windows Network settings.
Your Telephone Line:
Dealing with phone line problems can be one of the most frustrating areas of troubleshooting your connection, since you have no control over the quality of your phone lines, and must depend on your phone company to find and correct any suspected problems in this area. Do your homework before you call the phone company. You'll get more cooperation if you can tell them specific problems and testing you have done on your own, than just calling and telling them "My Internet won't work!"
First of all, keep a log, noting the time, date, and phone number you are calling. Make a note of weather conditions. Do you notice that after a hard rain or when snows start thawing that connections slow down or you hear more noise than usual on the line? This could be a symptom of exposed wiring.
Unless you find specific phone line problems (such as noise on the line), be sure to follow through ALL of the troubleshooting steps below before calling. You'll save yourself and your phone company line technician a lot of frustration if you can rule out problems in your computer or your inside wiring before you call. You'll also have information that will help the technician fix the problem quickly. You can also contact PSC Technical Support, and we'll be happy to help you by making suggestions of problems or conditions to look for, and help interpreting the information you have.
Perry-Spencer RTC, Inc: 357-2123, 536-3344, 843-5951 or 1-800-511-4899.
Verizon: 1-800-483-1000
SBC: 556-4000 (local for all SBC customers)
Noise or static on the line, or other phone line conditions.
Any type of noise on your phone line can cause the data flowing between your modem on the modem at PSC to be disrupted. This can cause the modems to constantly resend and repeat information, so even the fastest connections seem to appear very slow.
Some symptoms of this problem:
1. Noise on the phone line (crackles, pops or "hums"). You can check this by picking up your phone and dialing a single digit. You will have several seconds of silence to listen for any background noises.
2. Very slow connections: If you double-click on the connection icon in the Windows System Tray (this is the box where the time and other program icons are displayed), this will give you a status window showing your connect speed. The average connection for a 56K modem with good phone line conditions is from 36,000 - 50,000kb.
3. Unable to stay connected more than a few minutes. This can vary from a couple of minutes to several minutes at a time.
Be sure to note if these problems only appear at certain times. Problems after a heavy rain or thawing snow can indicate exposed wiring. Problems of an evening or on weekends may indicate "crosstalk" (conversations coming from other phone lines), when residential phone traffic is heavier.
Other devices connected to the phone line
Sometimes other devices connected to your phone line can add noise or other conditions to your phone line that will cause a problem with your Internet connection. For example, some older cordless phones, when failing, can set up conditions on the phone line that won't keep you from being able to make a phone call, but can keep your modem from making a connection to PSC.
If you think this may be the case, disconnect all other phones and other devices from your phone lines and try your connection. If the connection improves, try replacing the devices one at a time, then test the connection, until you find the device that caused the problem.
Remove any phone line "splitters" (a device that connects to your wall jack that allows you to connect two phone lines) or surge protectors and connect the computer directly to the wall jack. These devices can sometimes malfunction and interfere with your connection.
Instead of using a splitter, connect your computer directly, and connect the other line (usually your phone) into the connection on the computer marked "phone". This allows you to use the phone when the computer is not connected or even turned on.
Surge protectors will sometimes malfunction after a lightening strike on the phone line, having "sacrificed" itself to protect your computer and modem. Replace these immediately, since it's cheaper to replace a surge protector than to replace your modem or computer!
Connections in inside wiring
Sometimes problems with the telephone wiring on the inside of your house, such as a loose connection in a phone jack, can cause phone line problems that will keep you from your best connection. To test this, check the outside of your house where the phone company service connects to your house. Most interface boxes have a test jack that will let you check your telephone line. If you can, run a phone line out a window and plug one end into the test jack, and the other into your computer. Test your connection, and if it improves, the problem may be in your house wiring.
Try connecting your computer to a different wall outlet.
Remove the covers from your wall outlets and make sure all connections are tight and bared wires not touching.
Reverse the "tip" and "ring" wires (red and green). Be sure to move them back if this does not improve the connection, or causes more problems.
Remove any long phone line extensions. If a jack is not available where you have placed your computer, and you are using a long extension to connect your computer to a wall jack, this can sometimes cause slower connections.
Your phone company can check many of these problems for you, but you may be charged for the service.
Call Waiting or Voice Mail
The Call Waiting "beep" you hear when someone is trying to call also happens when you are connected to the Internet. Some modems will ignore the sound and stay connected, while others consider the sound a really big error and will disconnect. Dial-Up Networking has a setting that will dial "*70" to turn off Call Waiting before you make your connection to the Internet, so that when someone calls, they will hear a busy signal, and you won't get knocked off. Once you disconnect from the Internet, Call Waiting is turned back on.
To disable Call Waiting:
1. Click on START, go to SETTINGS, click on CONTROL PANEL
2. Double-click the MODEMS icon.
3. Click the DIALING PROPERTIES button.
4. Check the option, "This location has Call Waiting, to disable it, dial [select "*70,"]"
5. Click OK to close the window.
6. Close the Control Panel window.
Voice Mail service on many phone networks use a "stutter" dial tone to notify you that you have a message. Your modem may not recognize this as a dial tone, and may display a "No dial tone" message when you have messages waiting. You can either ask the phone company to turn off this notification (if you have a "Messages Waiting" indicator on your Caller ID, this will still function), or you can set your modem to skip listening for the dial tone before it connects.
To disable "listen for dial tone":
1. Click on START, go to SETTINGS, click on CONTROL PANEL
2. Double-click the MODEMS icon.
3. Click on the PROPERTIES button.
4. At the top of the window, click the CONNECTION tab.
5. Uncheck the option, "Wait for dial tone before dialing."
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK for the Modems Properties.
8. Close the Control Panel.
Your telephone service is on a "remote field unit"
In some situations, your telephone company provides your telephone service through a "remote field unit". This is equipment that allows the company to provide service to several customers through a single line, and is used in situations where it may not be practical for the phone company to run individual lines for each customer. Unfortunately, this unit also adds an additional analog-to-digital conversion (changing the "sound" to computerized "digital" data) in your phone line. 56K modems are unable to establish connections faster than 28,800kb because of this conversion.
The only way to determine if this is your situation is to call your telephone company and ask if your service is provided through a remote field unit. If so, unfortunately, there is nothing that can be done to improve your connection. You may want to look into other connection methods, such as ADSL or ISDN. Contact your phone company or PSC to see if these services are available in your area.
Your Modem
Working with "soft' modem (software-based modems)
Many of the computers that have been manufactured in the last few years user "soft" or software-based modems. One advantage to soft modems is that the firmware (programmable chipsets) on the modem can be updated periodically to keep up with changes in the v.90 (56K) modem standard.
The disadvantage is that if you don't keep up with the updates, your modem can "fall behind" and begin having connection problems:
1. The modem has to dial several times to make a connection.
2. Slow connections.
3. Frequent disconnections.
4. Connections that don't disconnect, but you are unable to bring up web pages or access e-mail after you have been online for a time. Disconnecting and reconnecting doesn't always solve the problem, often you will need to completely restart the computer before the modem will function properly, and then only for a short while.
If you have any of the above symptoms, you may want to check your computer or modem manufacturer's web site to see if new modem software (drivers) are available. It doesn't matter how new your computer may be - you don't know how long it sat on the shelf before you bought it!
WARNING: It is VERY important that you install the proper drivers for your modem! Installing drivers meant for another model (even the same brand or series) may trash the modem permanently. If you are unsure, check with your computer or modem manufacturer's technical support.
The following is a list of popular brands and links to their Technical Support sites. In most cases, you can search for your computer by series and model number to find if there are any software updates.
It is usually best to download any updates from you computer manufacturer's web site, even if you have a brand-name modem installed on your computer. Some computer manufacturers purchase specially built modems for they systems from brand-name modem manufacturers, and the modem manufacturer's model may vary from the computer manufacturer's version.
Compaq
http://www.compaq.com/support/files/
Dell
http://support.dell.com
HP (Hewlett-Packard)
http://www.hp.com/country/us/eng/support.htm
Special problems of connections in rural areas
While living in rural Southern Indiana has its many advantages, one disadvantage is that conditions may not be favorable for dial-up communications technology. You may have a top-of-the-line computer with all the bells and whistles, including a 56K modem. But your telephone service may come from a Central Office 10 miles away (as the wire runs), through a series of switches, long wire runs and remote field units (see above) to get a dial tone to your phone.
56K modems are highly sensitive electronic devices. In order to provide fast connections, you must start with fairly good basic telephone service. To be fair, your telephone company tries to provide you with the best service available, but under some conditions, that service may only be marginal. In some cases, the telephone company standard is the ability to place and receive reasonably clear telephone connections, and modem connections of approximately 14,400 kbps. Your top-of-the-line computer may be connecting through a marginal line, so the best you can expect is marginal results. Think of it as a Ferrari driving on a rutted dirt road - it may be capable of 200 miles an hour, but not on THIS road!
But you can do a few things to make sure that you are getting all you can from the service available to you.
Do your homework before you call the phone company. You'll get more cooperation if you can tell them specific problems and testing you have done on your own, than just calling and saying "My Internet won't work!"
Note phone line problems or connection problems you may have. Keep a log, noting the time, date. Make a note of weather conditions. Do you notice that after a hard rain or when snows start thawing that connections slow down or you hear more noise than usual on the line? This could be a symptom of exposed wiring.
Eliminate your home phone wiring as the source of the problem. Test your inside wiring and any other devices connected to the phone lines (see above). Be sure to also connect a phone to the test jack and listen for noise.
Eliminate your computer as the source of the problem. Take your computer to another location, preferably to someone else whom also has Internet service and is getting good connections. If you have connection problems here, try to clear them up (see above).
Once you have done all this, contact your phone company. Be sure to ask if you are on a remote field unit (remember, this will keep your connection speeds below 28,800 bps. Be polite but persistent, especially if you have symptoms of phone line noise or weather-related problems.
In most cases the phone company will work with you to try and resolve the problems, but be prepare to accept the fact that not all phone line problems can be resolved, especially in rural situations. At best you'll know you've done your best, and may have even improved the connection slightly.
You may also want to contact PSC Technical Support and ask about other Internet connection options available in your area. PSC now offers several high-speed options such as
RapidAccess DSL -- for PSC's telephone cooperative members -- and outside of PSC's regular telephone network, such as
PSC High-Speed Fixed Wireless Internet (also
FastConnect Wireless through Tell City Electric Department, for Tell City area customers), and even
WildBlue Satellite Internet, available through
Cooperatives ONE.
