Why can I connect to my ISP only some of the time?

Factual Questions
1

Hi guys,

I am running Windows XP and have a 56k v90 dial up internet connection.

My ISP has recently changed its dial-up number, but has kept its old one for the time being but is slowly phasing it out. The trouble is, when I try to connect to the new number, after the modem screeches and buzzes, and the “Verifying user name and password” screen appears… nothing happens for about 30 seconds, and then I get a message like:

“Unable to establish a connection”

or

“The remote computer is not responding”

or

“Some configuration settings are not correct”

But if I keep at it, hitting redial, redial, redial, eventually I will get through on perhaps a 10th or 15th attempt.

So I thought, hmm, maybe it’s my crappy ISP. So I went to a friend’s house and tried dialling in from there. Connected first time.

Then I went home and tried connecting from my house, no go.

So I called him up and said asked to try to connect again… he got on the first go.

Then he disconnected, and I tried again. After 8 attempts, I connected. (I did not fiddle with any configuration settings during these attempts, I just kept hitting redial).

This is causing me enormous amounts of frustration, as well as enormous phone bill at the end of the month if I can not fix it.

Please help me, the Straight Dope.

2

Three possibilities:

  1. It’s your phone line
  2. It’s your modem
  3. It’s the ISP modem or phone line

You’ve ruled out 3 (mostly) by having your friend connect to them, so it’s between 1 and 2. The easiest way to check between those is to take your computer over to your friend’s and try it from there. If your computer connects fine with his phone line, you can rule out 2. If you still have trouble, you’ll want to check for newer drivers for your modem, and maybe tweak the init string.

Most likely it is your phone line causing the problem. If this is the case, it’s either something in your house, or it’s something in the telco network. The quickest way to test this is to run a phone line directly to the dmarc / network interface (the telephone box on the side of your house). If you live in an apartment or some type of complex, this probably isn’t possible. On most homes it will clearly be labeled by your telephone company, and require a screwdriver to open. Inside you’ll see a standard phone plug that your house wiring is plugged into. Just unplug your house wiring, and plug in the phone line to the modem. If you are able to connect on the first try this way, then there is a problem inside your house.

If you can’t connect directly to the dmarc, or if you find that the problem is inside your house, the next step would be to unplug everything else off the same phone line as your modem, and bypass any surge-protectors or splitters the modem line is going through. Also try a different phone cord between the modem and the jack. If you couldn’t connect at the dmarc and this doesn’t help, assume it’s a telco problem. If you were able to connect at the dmarc, but not from inside the house even with everything unplugged, then it’s a wiring problem.

If it’s a telco problem, you’re going to have to make them fix it. Hopefully it’s different where you are, but here with SBC they will almost always give you the run-around if you report it as a modem related problem. If you ever hear any static, clicks, hisses etc on your line, then that’s what you should tell them the problem is. I won’t say lie to the telco, but you might want to listen very carefully for any type of noise, and call others and see if they can hear any.

Have you talked to your ISP tech support? They will probably give you the same steps as above, but they might have some insight since this started when they changed numbers. I usually don’t recommend trying a different ISP, since the problem will almost surely follow your phone line, but if your current ISP isn’t giving you good support then you might want to try some local ISPs and see who’s willing to work with you to get the problem fixed.

Hope this helps.

3

If I’m reading the OP correctly, Combat08 can connect to the old phone number with no problems, but not to the new phone line. To me this means there is something different at the ISP end. Maybe a different brand of modem that’s slightly incompatible with the OP’s modem. I would give their tech support a call and see if you can nail anything down from that angle.