Connection problem

Kathy · Guest

I didn't know what group to ask this question, so I will ask in both.

One of my in-laws is having connection problems. It supposedly started last week. She was saying that her son is constantly being disconnected from the Internet. Now she has several phones hooked up through one phone line, plus a Fax machine hooked up to the same line that the modem is hooked into. I told her that she shouldn't have the Fax machine hooked into the same line as the modem because that will cause the disconnections and also all of those phones hooked into the same line won't help either. Also noisy lines can do this too...am I NOT right about all of this?

Well, here is my biggest pet peeve....she asked me what could be the problem....I told her just what I said in the above paragraph! This is what she said back to me.

Her : "Well, I don't know about that"

Me : "So far from what I've learned, I believe that could be the problem because I had the same problem until I disconnected my Fax machine from the same phone line as the modem"

Her : "I don't believe that is the problem"

Well, what gets me very peeved is when someone asks me a question and I give them the RIGHT answer when I am positive that could be the answer and they stand there and tell you that it isn't correct! Why bother asking me when YOU have all the answers when you haven't gotten a clue about computers! Sorry, I vented, but just wanted to let you know what I am dealing with right now.

Does anyone else have any other suggestion as to the disconnections?

Thanks,
Kathy
A+

Ghost · Guest

In article <vkkou1fvdoj073@corp.supernews.com>, "Kathy"
<computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote:

Kathy · Guest

*LMAO*!! Oooh....believe me that is exactly where I'd love to tell her to
go!

I am sooo sick and tired of people, like her, that THINK they know it all
and TRY to tell ME that I am wrong.....Wouldn't you just LOVE to ring that
persons neck?! *LOL*

Kathy
A+

JK_Deth · Guest

I feel for ya Kathy!
As a part of current, I do all the after hours techsupport for an ISP and I get that sort of thing several times a week. People that don't believe you, people who insist they haven't done things I know they have done, people who insist they have done things I've asked them too when I know they haven't.
The worst are the ones who know "someone" who is "good with computers and he says" ...

Concerning your actual issue, your attempt to help troubleshoot was valid, not all pc modems and fax machines coexist well together. The reason it can be tough to convince the general public is its not a hard and fast rule, works sometimes and causes problems other times, and it can in fact work fine for 6 months, then cause a problems.(That's another line I've heard many times for different issues). Best practice is to have a dedicated jack for the computer, wired with CAT 3 cable on its own circuit all the way to the Telco'c DMARC, even if its own the phone number. And never use plug anything into the "phone jack" on the modem or patch through a fax machine to the pc. I use the term "best practice" because even the most bizarre wiring scheme you can think may work in some cases, in other cases some as simple as a defective cordless phone on the circuit can cause problems. I'll add that anytime I know someone is using a fax machine on the same line I'll have them disconnect it while troubleshooting. Sometimes the fax machine is the issue, sometimes not and sometimes its even somewhere in between! (actually I have only seen the 'in between' once, a faulty pone line surge protector was preventing her from connecting, but as a result of the troubleshooting we also found fax machine was causing a serious drop in connect speeds)

The way to address that sort of response is say something like "Yes, you're probably right, but I 've developed a step by step system of troubleshooting connection issues that works every time! I've found its best to first to eliminate external problem sources before we change any settings or reconfigure your computer."
"Kathy" <computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote in message news:vkkou1fvdoj073@corp.supernews.com...
I didn't know what group to ask this question, so I will ask in both.

One of my in-laws is having connection problems. It supposedly started last week. She was saying that her son is constantly being disconnected from the Internet. Now she has several phones hooked up through one phone line, plus a Fax machine hooked up to the same line that the modem is hooked into. I told her that she shouldn't have the Fax machine hooked into the same line as the modem because that will cause the disconnections and also all of those phones hooked into the same line won't help either. Also noisy lines can do this too...am I NOT right about all of this?

Well, here is my biggest pet peeve....she asked me what could be the problem....I told her just what I said in the above paragraph! This is what she said back to me.

Her : "Well, I don't know about that"

Me : "So far from what I've learned, I believe that could be the problem because I had the same problem until I disconnected my Fax machine from the same phone line as the modem"

Her : "I don't believe that is the problem"

Well, what gets me very peeved is when someone asks me a question and I give them the RIGHT answer when I am positive that could be the answer and they stand there and tell you that it isn't correct! Why bother asking me when YOU have all the answers when you haven't gotten a clue about computers! Sorry, I vented, but just wanted to let you know what I am dealing with right now.

Does anyone else have any other suggestion as to the disconnections?

Thanks,
Kathy
A+

Jerry · Guest

Did she have the fax before the problem stated?
"Kathy" <computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote in message news:vkkou1fvdoj073@corp.supernews.com...
I didn't know what group to ask this question, so I will ask in both.

One of my in-laws is having connection problems. It supposedly started last week. She was saying that her son is constantly being disconnected from the Internet. Now she has several phones hooked up through one phone line, plus a Fax machine hooked up to the same line that the modem is hooked into. I told her that she shouldn't have the Fax machine hooked into the same line as the modem because that will cause the disconnections and also all of those phones hooked into the same line won't help either. Also noisy lines can do this too...am I NOT right about all of this?

Well, here is my biggest pet peeve....she asked me what could be the problem....I told her just what I said in the above paragraph! This is what she said back to me.

Her : "Well, I don't know about that"

Me : "So far from what I've learned, I believe that could be the problem because I had the same problem until I disconnected my Fax machine from the same phone line as the modem"

Her : "I don't believe that is the problem"

Well, what gets me very peeved is when someone asks me a question and I give them the RIGHT answer when I am positive that could be the answer and they stand there and tell you that it isn't correct! Why bother asking me when YOU have all the answers when you haven't gotten a clue about computers! Sorry, I vented, but just wanted to let you know what I am dealing with right now.

Does anyone else have any other suggestion as to the disconnections?

Thanks,
Kathy
A+

Ghost · Guest

In article <vkkqkicgrdcvf1@corp.supernews.com>, "Kathy"
<computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote:

Ghost · Guest

In article <vkkrued3g2685f@corp.supernews.com>, "JK_Deth"
<john1@telpage.net> wrote:

Kathy · Guest

You see, she said that this connection problem just recently started, even though the Fax machine has been connected through the same line for probably about six months, so this is why I am thinking why she is being sooo negative about my answer. I am going to tell her, AGAIN, to unplug the Fax machine first and then connect to the Internet and see what happens....If she doesn't listen this time, she can let the person she knows who is "good with computers" mess with her problem....I am just fed up with it....after all, "they" know it all, and I know nothing :-P. She better not come to me again with a problem because my next answer will be "I dunno!" This is the second time she's pulled this crap with me....and oh yeah, I have also gotten the one's that insist they did nothing when I know they did! And don't you love the ones that try to tell you what the problem is? *LOL*

Kathy
A+
"JK_Deth" <john1@telpage.net> wrote in message news:vkkrued3g2685f@corp.supernews.com...
I feel for ya Kathy!
As a part of current, I do all the after hours techsupport for an ISP and I get that sort of thing several times a week. People that don't believe you, people who insist they haven't done things I know they have done, people who insist they have done things I've asked them too when I know they haven't.
The worst are the ones who know "someone" who is "good with computers and he says" ...

Concerning your actual issue, your attempt to help troubleshoot was valid, not all pc modems and fax machines coexist well together. The reason it can be tough to convince the general public is its not a hard and fast rule, works sometimes and causes problems other times, and it can in fact work fine for 6 months, then cause a problems.(That's another line I've heard many times for different issues). Best practice is to have a dedicated jack for the computer, wired with CAT 3 cable on its own circuit all the way to the Telco'c DMARC, even if its own the phone number. And never use plug anything into the "phone jack" on the modem or patch through a fax machine to the pc. I use the term "best practice" because even the most bizarre wiring scheme you can think may work in some cases, in other cases some as simple as a defective cordless phone on the circuit can cause problems. I'll add that anytime I know someone is using a fax machine on the same line I'll have them disconnect it while troubleshooting. Sometimes the fax machine is the issue, sometimes not and sometimes its even somewhere in between! (actually I have only seen the 'in between' once, a faulty pone line surge protector was preventing her from connecting, but as a result of the troubleshooting we also found fax machine was causing a serious drop in connect speeds)

The way to address that sort of response is say something like "Yes, you're probably right, but I 've developed a step by step system of troubleshooting connection issues that works every time! I've found its best to first to eliminate external problem sources before we change any settings or reconfigure your computer."

Kathy · Guest

Yes she did. It was connected through the same line for about six months, but wouldn't you think it could still be the problem? I am going to tell her to disconnect the Fax for starters to see what happens after that.
"Jerry" <noway@nowhere.com> wrote in message news:sxu2b.3459$l41.2101970@twister.neo.rr.com...
Did she have the fax before the problem stated?

Jerry · Guest

Have her check to see what else is running in the backround. If they have an older computer somtimes the cpu will hickup and disconnect. I hate win modems.
"Kathy" <computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote in message news:vkkou1fvdoj073@corp.supernews.com...
I didn't know what group to ask this question, so I will ask in both.

One of my in-laws is having connection problems. It supposedly started last week. She was saying that her son is constantly being disconnected from the Internet. Now she has several phones hooked up through one phone line, plus a Fax machine hooked up to the same line that the modem is hooked into. I told her that she shouldn't have the Fax machine hooked into the same line as the modem because that will cause the disconnections and also all of those phones hooked into the same line won't help either. Also noisy lines can do this too...am I NOT right about all of this?

Well, here is my biggest pet peeve....she asked me what could be the problem....I told her just what I said in the above paragraph! This is what she said back to me.

Her : "Well, I don't know about that"

Me : "So far from what I've learned, I believe that could be the problem because I had the same problem until I disconnected my Fax machine from the same phone line as the modem"

Her : "I don't believe that is the problem"

Well, what gets me very peeved is when someone asks me a question and I give them the RIGHT answer when I am positive that could be the answer and they stand there and tell you that it isn't correct! Why bother asking me when YOU have all the answers when you haven't gotten a clue about computers! Sorry, I vented, but just wanted to let you know what I am dealing with right now.

Does anyone else have any other suggestion as to the disconnections?

Thanks,
Kathy
A+

JK_Deth · Guest

"Ghost" <user@user.com> wrote in message
news:user-2508031647080001@1.0.0.101...

Kathy · Guest

She got the computer last x-mas, so it's fairly new. The OS is XP. I have no idea what modem is in it, but when she first got the computer the modem that came with it was dead. Staples replaced it for her. Thats another story HA!, it took them over two weeks to replace the modem.
"Jerry" <noway@nowhere.com> wrote in message news:d7v2b.3466$l41.2125396@twister.neo.rr.com...
Have her check to see what else is running in the backround. If they have an older computer somtimes the cpu will hickup and disconnect. I hate win modems.

R.A.D. · Guest

I am getting a real chuckle here... I have a coworker who calls me at all
hours of the night, and gets trashed while I am trying to walk thru his
problem...and then if you can't help him because he is just to ***
sh_tfaced to help anymore,and you can't get him off the phone short of
hanging up on him!then he will talk trash to others that I screwed him up.
The worst part is..he loaded XP over ME and downloads anything he comes
upon...I call him Crash Bandicot
"Kathy" <computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote in message
news:vkl176igcn56ae@corp.supernews.com...

Kathy · Guest

And the sister-in-laws are involved in this too! *LOL*
(same here, no offense to real techs who happen to be sister-in-laws :-))

"JK_Deth" <john1@telpage.net> wrote in message
news:vkkvljfh7m2ae8@corp.supernews.com...

JK_Deth · Guest

Yep had few sister-in-laws as well. One line I here pretty frequently goes
like this:

My (insert in-law, uncle, cousin, uncle's cousin's in-law, etc) works with
computer and he makes (insert atronomically high figure per hour/week/year)
and he (or she) says there's nothing wrong with my computer.

"Kathy" <computermonkeyNOSPAM@inbox.net> wrote in message
news:vkl176igcn56ae@corp.supernews.com...