Speedy?

sydneymike

I'm in Bali for a few days and am having problems connecting to the forum using Speedy. I'm also having problems connecting to sites ONLY in Europe. I'm sending this via my Ausralian server which seems to have no problems. I believe the Oz backbone link is via the Pacific. It seems that there may be a problem with the internet backbone out of Bali to Europe but NOT Java, Australia and the US. In my experience, calling 147 is a waste of time. Anyone (Or, anyone who can connect!!) have any info?

mimpimanis

Interesting to know Mike, as I had been having some trouble lately with Global and a freind has just ditched them and switched to Speedy which he says is much better. I was thinking of getting in touch if things didnt improve but I guess there can be problems with all the ISPs.

JohnnyCool

One other thing I just thought of you could try. Clear your web-browser's cache. Might just do the trick.

sydneymike

Thanks for all the quick inputs. This really strange! I can connect to any Australian/US/Indonesian site but NOT sites in Europe, which I assume includes this forum? Admin? I'm sending this via a connection though my VPN in Oz but I still can't connect directly via Speedy. The problem is not shared by others so that's progress. Thanks again for all the help.

sydneymike

JC: I'm behind a firewall and multiple anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Never had a virus/malware problem yet but thanks for the idea.

sydneymike

JC: Sorry, forgot to mention that I first noticed the problem when my AVG Pro would not update. They are based in The Czech Republic, so, the Europe connection. Then I could not connect directly to this forum. Strangest problem I ever had!

JohnnyCool

It's hard to say, exactly. Many variables involved, such as where you are, how far from the nearest Speedy node, the condition of the wiring in the place where you are, has the telephone bill been paid, etc. Even the computer you're trying to use might have a "problem" (like your hosts file [i]might[/i] be blocking stuff). I believe there is still some drama going on with some broken cables somewhere in the Mediterranean which [i]might[/i] be affecting you. Then again, I'm in Bali right now, too, and my Speedy connection seems fine. Mystery. It's also possible that your computer has picked up some nasty virus, malware, spyware, etc. Do you have up-to-date signatures for those things? When was the last time you ran a complete scan on your system? Have your fire-wall settings changed ? Sorry to sound so vague but these are all potential "problems". I know this is no real help for you but at least you know that some Speedy connections are working fine. Your's could be a "local problem". Good luck anyhow. :(

JohnnyCool

I think it's unlikely that your problem has anything to do with European internet traffic. I don't know what operating system you're using because you didn't say. ([i]Is it Windows XP, Vista, Apple OSX?[/i]) I'm no computer expert but participate in various technical forums on the internet. For the moment, I will assume that you're using XP Pro (SP2). [quote]I'm behind a firewall and multiple anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Never had a virus/malware problem yet but thanks for the idea.[/quote] One of them [i]might [/i]be blocking certain websites. Your Hosts file could be corrupted or blocking sites you want to reach. [quote]forgot to mention that I first noticed the problem when my AVG Pro would not update.[/quote] Did it update properly the first time you installed it? It might be the culprit, or has been compromised by something earlier. Have you ever managed to do a complete scan of your system successfully? Do you have more than one anti-virus program installed and activated? OK, let's down and dirty. If it were me, these are the steps I would try first: 1. Find and download a program called [b]Dr Web[/b] (free edition). There are no regular up-dates as such, unless you buy the Pro version. The free download version is the latest and comes in at about 23MB. It doesn't install anything, runs as an executable program and makes a folder on your computer to store reports about what it finds and cures. 2. Turn off (and lose) your System Restore Points. 3. Boot your computer into Safe Mode and run a complete scan with Dr Web. 4. Re-boot your computer and see if your problems are still there. Hopefully not. 5. Remember to make a new System Restore Point if things are going OK. If you still have a problem, try running other scans with your other security software in Safe Mode. And if nothing works, consider killing yourself, giving up computers forever or taking up surfing. Sorry - I shouldn't sound so flippant. IF you use [i]CCleaner[/i] on your machine, be [i]extremely[/i] conservative about what you choose to delete. It's a great program used wisely. Very easy to screw your computer up if you're not super careful. ([i]Always[/i] choose to save a backup when asked.) I would also check that your firewall program, which ever one you have, is not blocking your missing sites. I would love to know the final outcome [i]if[/i] you follow my steps. And don't forget that there are many websites out there with far more detailed help for just about anything. One I've always found very helpful is [i]Tech Support Guy[/i]. Easy to find with a simple Google. Feel free to send me a PM if you get stuck. :D

lumumba

Hi Mike, Not long ago I was dealing with Microsoft for something else and I was told: We always advice to run [color=#FF0000]ONLY [/color]one anti-virus and one anti-spy on your computer. Perhaps this will help. :roll: L.

mimpimanis

Hi Ron, Thans for the detailed explanation of PING. That is somthing the internet guys do when they come here to check my connection. I have saved it to favourites so next time I can check before I call them in so I have some idea what is going on when they tell me "no problem" :)

ronb

A quick check that may help is to use "ping". Again assuming Windows XP, from the Start menu, select Run, and type in cmd. You get this (usually black) text window and type in ping followed by the address of interest, for example "ping balipod.com". The attached image shows an example output - click on it for detail. (I should note that many Internet cafes will not let you do this - but if its your own computer with standard Win XP, then I think you should succeed.) If ping has associated an IP address number (83.149.91.97 in this example) with the name balipod.com, then this is good news. If it fails to show a number, then you have a DNS problem that you Service Provider needs to help you with. If the IP number is there, but then it gives "timed out" messages, then it is confirming what you suspect - the connectivity via Speedy from your location to balipod in The Netherlands is not good. This could mean that physical links are broken or it could mean that routers used by your service provider are misconfigured, or it could mean something else. [attachment=0:19yhf5wn]cmdwindow.jpg[/attachment:19yhf5wn] The second command shown is TRACERT which traces the route from you to your target. In this example it starts showing Spicelink (in Lovina), then by using an IP number locator (here I use http://www.geobytes.com/ipLocator.htm) I find that at step 8 I am in Jakarta, at step 13 I am in SIngapore, at step 16 - NYC, and step 18 we get to Amsterdam. In your case it may try the first few steps then fail to complete - but you will learn something. [ATTACH type="full" alt="CMD window"]147[/ATTACH]

sydneymike

Thanks to all for taking the time and for the helpful suggestions. I'm stuck with the problem but I'm heading back to oz tomorrow and I know it's all OK there because I have accessed through my VPN from here. There are a couple of other wierd issues too so i have concluded that there is nothing else but a complete Vista re-install follwed by a System restore I'll get this done before I come back again and then, after getting my ADSL modem re-installed, I'll post the outcome. 6 month old machine and then this, although in fairness I never had a nother problem until this and it's a nice OS after you get used to it. Sh*t happens! Thanks again for the help from all, much appreciated.

JohnnyCool

[quote]There are a couple of other weird issues too so i have concluded that there is nothing else but a complete Vista re-install followed by a System restore..[/quote] A complete re-install of Vista would mean that you start with [b]no[/b] previous restore points, (apart from the one automatically created automatically every time you boot-up) and if the ones you already had presumably didn't work, would be useless in any case. A complete Vista re-install should fix your symptoms but tells us nothing about what the original problem (cause) was. Does your Vista have SP1? Good luck. Keep your knees crossed for SP2. Again, I'd love to know the final outcome. I just read a report claiming that some Microsoft gods have admitted to screwing up parts of Windows 7, particularly with respect to the generally un-loved User Access Control (UAC). Like you say, sh*t happens. :D

Sumatra

Hey Mike, My neighbor is the IT man a very busy local hospital. After he's messed around unsuccessfully with a computer snag for several hours, he always ends up doing a system reinstall, it's faster, much less frustrating and always works. Make sure you back up all pix, documents and email contacts to stick or disc first. Vista sucks and that's why most large corporations won't give up their XP pro systems, it's too resource hungry and if you don't have at least 4GB of RAM it's slower than time itself. Laptops are cheap, just strip the Vista machine and toss it, then order one with xp pro installed if this is still possible in your area. In the US All laptops and towers over the counter are pre-loaded with lousy Vista, XP machines can still be special ordered though. Downgrading a vista machine to xp is a major pain in the buttocks, unless you have every single xp driver ever conceived loaded properly. Even so, many hp machines are impossible to downgrade even with all the proper drivers installed because they were purposely designed with zero backwards compatibility and HP isn't the only manufacturer who's done this. I've seen more than a few people wreck their machines attempting to execute this option. Don :)

JohnnyCool

[i]For sydneymike[/i] I received a PM from you but can't reply to it. Looks like you have PMs disabled. Feel free to e-mail me.

JohnnyCool

Hi, Don I'm no particular lover of [i]Vista[/i]. (Have [i]Vista Business[/i]s on a Toshiba laptop which I don't really like very much.) However, like it or lump it, we're stuck with it for the moment, unless we move to an arcane operating system like Linux, which does and offers a lot but leaves many hanging in the air with its own limitations. (Lack of [i]Wintel[/i] software, for example.) Of course, [i]Apple[/i] is another alternative but trying to run full-blown Windows' programs in [i]BootCamp[/i] isn't all it's cracked up to be. (Basically, not advisable.) Some technical gurus have labeled Vista as an XP version of the horrendous Windows ME debacle thrust into the future (our present). Personally, I don't think it's that bad but it needs a whole lot of tweaks applied to it to make it sing properly. For instance, if you have a version that will actually show the Aero eye-candy in all its glory, great! If I did, the first thing I would do is turn it off. If my current video card didn't meet Vista's fancy 3-D video card requirements to show-case the eye-candy, I wouldn't be running out to buy a replacement anytime soon. I have considered trying to make my Toshiba laptop an XP machine. I found out that I would need a whole bunch of drivers, etc, available before I reformatted the hard drive and started again. In my case, it amounted to about 300MB of downloads. [quote]Even so, many hp machines are impossible to downgrade even with all the proper drivers installed because they were purposely designed with zero backwards compatibility [/quote] By this, do you mean that it's [i]really[/i] impossible to reformat a HP laptop's hard drive? If so, that sucks. As far as I know, it is possible on a Toshiba, (although I haven't tried it, yet - too frightened). I tried a virtual machine on my laptop a while ago and installed XP-Pro and a bunch of software I normally use. Everything actually worked, but more slowly. (Only have 2 GBs of RAM.) Deep down, I asked myself what's the point? Should I contact Microsoft and beg for a Vista "downgrade" package to XP-Pro? I didn't and haven't, so far. I've also read about ways to disable a whole bunch of Vista services and features so your computer looks and acts like an XP machine. I haven't tried this either, so far. The worrying things about these kinds of measures, apart from screwing something up big time, is how the re-vamped system performs in real-time. Hey - it [i]might[/i] be great! Meanwhile, some of us are waiting for the final release of [b]Windows 7[/b]. I hope it doesn't turn out to be "Vista-XP-ME" revisited. Now where's my latest [i]Ubuntu[/i] installation disk, again? :shock:

sydneymike

Thanks again to all for the helpful suggestions. Having already completely re-installed Vista, I just heard from my friend in Sanur that he has finally resolved the problem. I thought I should reciprocate and communicate the problem to help in case anyone has similar problems. The problem was as simple as a 1 Dollar ethernet cable!! This took almost a month, endless computer crashes, new modems etc etc to finally identify. In crashing the computer and modem because of the poor connection, the NAPT settings in the modem somehow got disabled. When my firend FINALLY found a Speedy technician who actually knew what he was doing. it apparently took 10 minutes to diagnose the problem, reset the modem and change the cable. Incredible!! I truly appreciated all the helpful suggestions which I think demonstrated the true spirit of what such a forum can and should be. One of support and mutual respect rather than what we sometimes see here and elsewhere.