[mrsD]

computer thread....

There appears to be no fix as yet for this problem.
One colleague of my husband had this and had the ERAP program reinstalled by the computer people, and it fixed her DSL problem.

Then yesterday another colleague told my husband that his OLD laptop (3 yrs old) did this to his home computer, and he never could use them at the same time. My husband's was older than that.

So the techies reinstalled the ERAP and it fixed nothing. So now I cannot be online when he is. So I won't be able to visit here as often. The conflict may be with the DSL or something else in the network, like my firewall, or router.

In general this whole changeover is a nightmare. Everyone is having problems of some sort with their new unit. And still no printer cords are available.
Your tax dollars at work!

[Curious]

dang...i'm sorry mrsd.

it took 3 times for att&t to send me those phone line filters, to get a set that worked. i couldn't even use my phone if the dsl was on.

i was told that the speed stream 4100 B had fixes in it. the 5100 has problems.

[mrsD]

I can mysteriously work from the laptop upstairs...which gets 60% signal
from the router downstairs....while my husband is on the devil HP laptop.

We have to totally turn off the desktop down there if he goes online.
Logging off is not enough. I guess DSL is on all the time even if no browser
is active.
In order for me to go online there he has to unplug his unit. Even when off
power off, he crashes me?

Well, my son is upping my RAM for Xmas to 1 gig on that unit. It should help.
This laptop is much faster...but I hate typing on it. blech blech

Thanks curious..if you or anyone else have any ideas on how to fix this, I'm game!!

That is interesting..about the phone filters.. We have no problem with the phone.
Everything was peachy until this upgrade and new unit arrived. And the techies at
the Govt have no clue.

[mrsD]

Well, I broke down and called the DSL support today.

Went all the way to the Philippines!
Couldn't understand 1/2 of the woman's speech (and I am good with
Philippino) who said if the 2nd light is out on my DSL modem, than
indicates a computer internal problem. 20mins on hold to the computer
advisor...I learn that I have to pay $99.00 to have support over the phone
for one day advice. And it is $139.00 for 6mos. Imagine!

So now we either live with it, or I look for this .dll error again.
Maybe it came in an update. That is all we can do for now!

Major mondo bummer. Will have to decide what to do in the near future.
Perhaps Comcast.

I did the self help tool, and it suggests increasing the cache size so I did
from the default of 50 to 100MB. But the thing has gone down twice
today so far, and my husband is not even connected. This laptop still
works and so it appears to be my unit having the problem.

[Jomar]

hmm - I was thinking that the encryption pgms on his setup were causing the main problems.
the wireless super encryption - could be totally blocking out your other pc wireless signals.
seeing them as intruders so to speak.

I guess that my theory is blown now since his is off and you still have troubles...

I'm surprised that gov doesn't spring for a second line dedicated for employees secure access from home - seems they could be able to get a bulk discount LOL.

[mrsD]

Well, here are some more facts....and a tad bit of conspiracy thrown in for spice.

1) The GOV't does NOT pay for anything we install here to run my husband's job. NO fax, no phone, line, no postage, no deduction for space power, heat.
They assume that no longer commuting pays for the added expenses. How do you like that? They do provide the computer and a keyboard and bag. The printers however are a future event--but it may be a year considering how fast the Govt moves. So we cannibalized my cable from upstairs for now to print on his unit.

2) Today I was on the phone with my son for a while. This is what we came up with.
a) My husband's Gov't issue may be a VPN connection, and conflicting with the DSL which may not like it...DSL is only for home use. MaaaBEEEEE.

b) Then I did what curious suggested earlier. I looked up the PSAPI.DLL files in my computer. There are SEVERAL. Including the one my son fixed in 06 called
PSAPold.dll

c) this gave my son an idea. SBC DSL runs on a software program that enables them to back door into your computer. HMMMMM. They did it while I was on the phone with them. So my son looked up something on the net...over the phone, I couldn't see what. Then he piped up:
go to msconfig.... hit startup and uncheck MotiveSB. That disables them so they cannot look in. All the esapi.dll files are in that directory. WHAT if.... what if they are pinging me? Gathering usage data? Is that why it is only at certain times? I had my 10:30-11 am down, and my 1:30 to 2:30 down, and NOTHING since. Husband has not been signed on all day.

d) and for good measure I removed QuickTime. I don't use .mov files, don't share or download videos/movies. I can always reload it. We are so conservative on the net... I won't miss it.

Basically now I am spent. Tired, frustrated. Now I am thinking, that DSL may have CAUSED this, and now wants $99 to fix it! How awful would that be?
How easy to screw people out of their money for a quick fix. The techie said if I give her my credit card, now, the agent will go into by computer using the XP remote function and fix it. What if THEY created it all to begin with? They determined that the "ethernet" light is what goes out...hence it is coming FROM my computer to create the problem. What if they planted that problem themselves?
Needless to say I did not jump at the $99. When I expressed my displeasure, she put me on hold and then offered $69. Somehow that was just toooooo convenient!
Think about THAT?

[mrsD]

we were feeling confident. My husband logged on, and poof...down this went!

My son thinks--get a new network card?

I am thinking of getting a new harddrive-- he found one for $70 for 250gig.
He thinks mine is loud and slow. And Bob over at PN says Dell harddrives tend
to fail --are defective. So I might get a new one and my son will transfer
my old to it. He is giving us 512 RAM for Xmas with installation. That will bring me up to a gig.

So tomorrow my husband WON'T log on. And we wait for the morning down and afternoon down. See what happens.

I am also thinking of getting a Trojan Hunter.
Could I have a hidden trojan, missed by Avast and our Spybot?
We are sort of puzzled why these crashes occur at specific times only, and irregardless of activity. It can be just sitting here, or I could be viewing tons on Ebay...both extremes. I still think the DSL may be data farming at those times. I was assured no work was being done, when I gave my zip to the techie.

Monday we will try... booting him up first, then me. See if that works. But as it stands only he or I can be online at a time.

[mrsD]

Well, my morning down, did not occur!

Doing the msconfig change seems to be working for 1/2 of the problem so far.

If I don't go down, at 2pm, I will test it on Monday..to see if it stays that way.

I found a troubleshooting forum for the modem. However the answers to other questions I am reading there don't make sense to me. But I see others with DSL that after a year working fine, start to act wonkey for no reason, just like us.

Then today I searched VPN DSL conflict and found this:

Important NOTICE for SBC DSL Users
NOTICE FOR SBC DSL USERS: People who have SBC DSL at home and wish to use the VPN client should only do so if they are using a cable/DSL router to talk to their DSL line. There have been reports of a conflict when using the VPN client along with the PPPoE portion of the SBC DSL software. If you normally run the SBC DSL client to start your DSL session, DO NOT INSTALL THE VPN CLIENT as it will cause your DSL connection to stop working. ACCC will not be responsible if you install the client in this environment and we will not be able to provide support to fix your connection. If you have SBC DSL and wish to use the VPN we suggest that you purchase one of the many Cable/DSL routers that are available. This solves the interaction problem as the router is responsible for handling the PPPoE conversation with the DSL line and your computer does not require that software.

from http://www.uic.edu/depts/accc/software/vpn/index.html
We are using a router, via a long cable, to run the Govt laptop. Just like it says to. So we are still mulling this over. After my second time period passes for the afternoon down...we will try a different boot order for the laptop and main unit. Maybe one has to be on first, before the other...or something similar. I guess it is somewhat trial and error. Since the home unit is always ON...perhaps it should be OFF first. Something like that.

I am putting this all up incase some other poor soul runs into this snafu.