Internet provider questions...

[BigJim13]

So, here in VT we used to have Verizon for land lines and they also provided DSL internet service. We had and still have DSL internet. Awhile back Fairpoint Communications bought all of Verizon's land line and internet provider business from Verizon and Verizon left the state-except for cell phone service.

Anyway we still have DSL from Fairpoint, mainly because its fairly cheap. However, since Fairpoint has taken over our internet service has gotten spotty at best. I will be looking at a page and will get a pop up stating that Internet explorer has stopped working and I have to close the page and restart.

My main question is this- I can get Internet thru Dish Network, we have our TV service with them. The cheapest package is $50/mo and it gives me a download speed of 512 kbps and an upload speed of 128 kbps. The threshold for downloads is 7500mb and for uploads is 2300 MB. I do not know what this means or if it is faster or slower than my DSL now. I only know that my DSL has a speed of 100 Mbps. IS my DSL faster or slower than what I would get with Dish at the stated speeds above.

I am somewhat of a novice when it comes to the Teckie aspects of the internet. I am good with ebay though !

Thanks in advance for any help.

[wirehair]

Your DSL is faster than the sat. speeds you stated.

I don't think that changing providers will change your problem. That message seems to indicate you have a problem on your computer, that same problem would probably exist no matter who is providing your content.

[BigJim13]

Your DSL is faster than the sat. speeds you stated.

I don't think that changing providers will change your problem. That message seems to indicate you have a problem on your computer, that same problem would probably exist no matter who is providing your content.

I was afraid someone was going to tell me that. I had that feeling, could it be a virus? I have AVG free anti virus software. Should I look into something like McAfee or some other program?

[N.V.M.]

your browser crashed, no biggie. not your providers issue at all. and a virus won't make it crash either. if it keeps happening, try FireFox or Chrome.

[scottevans77]

your browser crashed, no biggie. not your providers issue at all. and a virus won't make it crash either. if it keeps happening, try FireFox or Chrome.

Even if it doesn't keep happening, try Firefox or Chrome.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Are you running Vista by chance?

I am having major issues with it where the browsers will drop yet the e-mail will still work. Has been going on for a while and keep making tweaks where it will get better. AVG does have a link scanner built in that if disabled will drastically improve the problem, but not fix it entirely. If you are using Vista, let me know and I can hunt down some of the links and things that may help. Still haven't entirely fixed the issue, but while it used to happen every 30-45 minutes, I can now usually get 4-5 hours.

Although sadly, if you use Firefox, it will not only crash, but will lock the browser and cannot be cancelled through Task Manager, so you will need to reboot to even be able to reopen Firefox. Eventually IE restarting will not fix and require reboot. It is a very known and unadressed issue for the most part.

BTW, DSL can lose bandwidth the further you get from the station, there are places on the web to test your actual speed (or at least used too???).

[BigJim13]

Are you running Vista by chance?

I am having major issues with it where the browsers will drop yet the e-mail will still work. Has been going on for a while and keep making tweaks where it will get better. AVG does have a link scanner built in that if disabled will drastically improve the problem, but not fix it entirely. If you are using Vista, let me know and I can hunt down some of the links and things that may help. Still haven't entirely fixed the issue, but while it used to happen every 30-45 minutes, I can now usually get 4-5 hours.

Although sadly, if you use Firefox, it will not only crash, but will lock the browser and cannot be cancelled through Task Manager, so you will need to reboot to even be able to reopen Firefox. Eventually IE restarting will not fix and require reboot. It is a very known and unadressed issue for the most part.

BTW, DSL can lose bandwidth the further you get from the station, there are places on the web to test your actual speed (or at least used too???).

We are on Vista as a matter of fact, I don't think we are to far from the station though as we are in a fairly good sized town in southern VT right next to an elementary school. I don't know how far stations are spaced but I would imagine we should be fairly close. It hasn't really caused any problems other than a minor annoyance, especially if I am in the middle of something.

I am amazed what some places charge for internet service. Dish Networks cheapest package-the one I referenced in my OP- is $50/mo, the next 2 packages are $70 and $100/mo-just to connect to the internet. Comcast, my only other option, is just as expensive. I guess I will stick with Fairpoint for now at $35/mo I can't really complain.

[mddubya]

Have you tried deleting your cookies and running a defrag? Almost sounds like you're running low on memory.

[warbirdlover]

Not too long ago we had Road Runner but they got so expensive we started looking around. About that time ATT was pushing package deals on cable television, telephone and computer hookups for under $100 for all three. It's been fantastic. If you have ATT in your neighborhood it's worth a look.

[BigJim13]

Not too long ago we had Road Runner but they got so expensive we started looking around. About that time ATT was pushing package deals on cable television, telephone and computer hookups for under $100 for all three. It's been fantastic. If you have ATT in your neighborhood it's worth a look.

I would love to get at&t, the problem is that VT forced them out years ago and for years our only option was Verizon. Finally our Congressman, Bernie Sanders, helped push legislation thru that allowed other companies to come in-you know since Verizon basically had a monopoly here in VT. AT&T just bougt out a local Cell phone company and I hope they plan on bring more stuff here to VT, but for now basically I have the option of one of the Satellite comapies (Dish Network, Direct TV), our local phone CO (fairpoint comm) or the ONLY cable provider in Southern VT (Comcast). So far Fairpoint is the cheapest for what we do on the internet.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Are you running Vista by chance?

I am having major issues with it where the browsers will drop yet the e-mail will still work. Has been going on for a while and keep making tweaks where it will get better. AVG does have a link scanner built in that if disabled will drastically improve the problem, but not fix it entirely. If you are using Vista, let me know and I can hunt down some of the links and things that may help. Still haven't entirely fixed the issue, but while it used to happen every 30-45 minutes, I can now usually get 4-5 hours.

Dang. You and Vista just straight up don't get along.:shocked:

[Pa Jayhawk]

We are on Vista as a matter of fact, I don't think we are to far from the station though as we are in a fairly good sized town in southern VT right next to an elementary school. I don't know how far stations are spaced but I would imagine we should be fairly close. It hasn't really caused any problems other than a minor annoyance, especially if I am in the middle of something.

I am amazed what some places charge for internet service. Dish Networks cheapest package-the one I referenced in my OP- is $50/mo, the next 2 packages are $70 and $100/mo-just to connect to the internet. Comcast, my only other option, is just as expensive. I guess I will stick with Fairpoint for now at $35/mo I can't really complain.

May take a look at these if it continues. The top one covers most of the things to look into. Could probably give you another 20-30 links if you want. :laugh: The AVG did help alot, and while the uninstall for the MS upgrades helped alot of people, most of those were prior to IE going to 8.0, which if you have not upgraded you may try it. The only other that helped me a bit as well was going to the most recent version of Java. This issue is just a big PITA
Web Browser Connectivity Problem (Vista, IE & Mozilla)
Repair and Reset Windows Vista TCP/IP Winsock Catalog Corruption My Digital Life
Reinstall and Reset TCP/IP (Internet Protocol) in Windows Vista, 2003 and XP My Digital Life
Event ID 15016 ? HTTP Service Authentication
Firefox cannot load websites but other programs can
Error loading websites - MozillaZine Knowledge Base
Fixing the local only internet access issue in Windows Vista | The Bit Guru
Windows Vista cannot obtain an IP address from certain routers or from certain non-Microsoft DHCP servers
Connection error, check your settings - Lavasoft Support Forums
5 ways to fix Firefox 3 Connection errors in Vista | Dealpond (the blog)
access local only vista - Google Search

Dang. You and Vista just straight up don't get along.:shocked:

... and sadly I have worked in the industry for 25 years and this is the first time that one has just basically kicked my arse. While I have managed to reach a bearable level, it is by no means fixed.

I would compare Vista to a Crack Whore. While it has all the features you want, it can't be trusted and after a certain point you realize it just can no longer be supported (even by MS). So you can either go back to your old OS with your tail between your legs, that had all the features you grew tired of, or look at the more recent with no guarantee it will not have the same bagage shortly. While ME was a disappointment for MS, Vista is not much better or higher on my list. Fortunately I managed to find out about ME prior. With Vista, it came on my new laptop and because it was a tablet and Vista had many features to support such, I bit the bullet even against my prior reservations of never going to an MS OS prior to the first service pack being in place. Had I done so, I would have realized it was not in the cards.

Probably wouldn't be quite so PO'ed if it did not mainly affect Firefox, which I have the notion in my head that it may be intentional and directed towards Mozilla for a business strategy sense.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

... and sadly I have worked in the industry for 25 years and this is the first time that one has just basically kicked my arse. While I have managed to reach a bearable level, it is by no means fixed.

I would compare Vista to a Crack Whore. While it has all the features you want, it can't be trusted and after a certain point you realize it just can no longer be supported (even by MS). So you can either go back to your old OS with your tail between your legs, that had all the features you grew tired of, or look at the more recent with no guarantee it will not have the same bagage shortly. While ME was a disappointment for MS, Vista is not much better or higher on my list. Fortunately I managed to find out about ME prior. With Vista, it came on my new laptop and because it was a tablet and Vista had many features to support such, I bit the bullet even against my prior reservations of never going to an MS OS prior to the first service pack being in place. Had I done so, I would have realized it was not in the cards.

Probably wouldn't be quite so PO'ed if it did not mainly affect Firefox, which I have the notion in my head that it may be intentional and directed towards Mozilla for a business strategy sense.

I call user error. :|

Which version do you have? Ultimate?

My Home Premium is still working like a charm. *knock on wood*

[Pa Jayhawk]

I call user error. :|

Which version do you have? Ultimate?

My Home Premium is still working like a charm. *knock on wood*

Ultimate

Do you keep up with your MS updates and use Firefox? Better keep knocking on wood. :laugh: These issues were not apparent until the updates in the last few months.

These are very well known issues, and probably the reason it is so hard to address is that there are so many possibilities for ending up with the same Identical issue. MS just seems to have taken the path to let others address the issue.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Ultimate

Do you keep up with your MS updates and use Firefox? Better keep knocking on wood. :laugh: These issues were not apparent until the updates in the last few months.

These are very well known issues, and probably the reason it is so hard to address is that there are so many possibilities for ending up with the same Identical issue. MS just seems to have taken the path to let others address the issue.

I install all the updates as soon as I see they are ready. I shut my PC off for the night every few days, and when the updates are there I install them before powering down.

Firefox is all I use for a browser. Only use IE if I suspect Firefox is having an issue streaming a video or displaying parts of a webpage.

You should have saved $ and a headache by getting the Home Premium.