PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Broadband, Networking, PC Security, Internet & ISPs => Topic started by: Sal-5000 on March 11, 2003, 18:49
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Great site, folks. Discovered it a couple of days ago, and it seems that there are a few people who should be able to sort me out with a query (in a manner of speaking). I'm about to get ADSL, and I'm in the market for a DSL modem.
Reading through a DSL FAQ from somewhere, I happened upon this little snippet :
"Do some PC's have problems supporting USB devices? - Yes, this is true. There is a problem with the via KT7 chipset (which is found on several models of motherboard) causing the USB ports to loose power at apparently random intervals. The symptoms would be that the Broadband ADSL will usually work fine for a short time and then the modem would just switch itself off. After a reboot of the computer it will be OK again for a few minutes."
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What's all that about - and does (a) anyone here use a USB ADSL modem, and (b) does / has anyone suffered from the above problem? Is it a TERRIBLE nuisance?
I don't know much about motherboards........ here's the specs of mine [ahem]....... Socket 370 ; Celeron 633 ; SiS 630 chipset ; PC Chips M758LMR. I'm reading this from the manual. God knows what it means.
The question is - (a) is the above anything to do with "the via KT7 chipset", and (b) if so (or if NOT), will the USB problem affect me?
I believe there are alternatives to USB.......PCI; and ethernet. According to my manual, I have - "Built-in Ethernet LAN" (10BaseT / 100BaseTX). Would that let me use an ethernet modem, or whatever?
Does anyone use non-USB ADSL modems? How are they? PCI modems are nicely priced - but how much processor power do they take? Is it a nuisance?
Thanks.
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Hi Sal, and welcome to the forum! We hope you find it useful and fun! ;D
I have a VIA chipset on an Abit KG7 motherboard, and I had no trouble with my Fujitsu USB modem, but I know one or two people who have had problems.
Sandra, in partucular, should be able to help you with this one, and I'm sure she'll read your post and answer soon. :)
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Hi Sal-5000 :) Welcome to Pals .. pleased you like it and I hope you have fun here .. we're a friendly bunch ..please stop by and join in :welcome:
Straight off ... you are not using the VIA KT chipset ... you have the SiS chipset for an Intel Celeron processor .. so you shouldn't suffer the possible problems associated with the VIA ... GOOD NEWS for you ;D
I use the onboard ethernet controller to connect to a router (a box that has the ADSL modem, a firewall and the ethernet hub - allowing me to connect up other PCs in a network) this runs fine and takes no CPU power
USB modems should work fine, occasionally there is a problem supplying power to the modem, sometimes associated with the VIA chipset, or too many other peripherals on your system (CD, CD-RW, DVD, HDs, printers etc)
I don't know enough about PCI ADSL modems to recommend any
Hope this helps you a little
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Hi Sal-5000 :welcome:
I believe Simon is right, Sandra has had problems with USB DSL modems in the past. I'm sure she'll answer you later :)
Ethernet DSL modems are a good alternative to USB and it sounds like you already have the right connection for one.
I have a PCI DSL modem in my fileserver at work and I don't notice it using too much processor power or slowing down at all.
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What's all that about - and does (a) anyone here use a USB ADSL modem, and (b) does / has anyone suffered from the above problem? Is it a TERRIBLE nuisance?
I don't know much about motherboards........ here's the specs of mine [ahem]....... Socket 370 ; Celeron 633 ; SiS 630 chipset ; PC Chips M758LMR. I'm reading this from the manual. God knows what it means.
The question is - (a) is the above anything to do with "the via KT7 chipset", and (b) if so (or if NOT), will the USB problem affect me?
Hi Sal,I hope that I can put your mind at rest.
As you have a SIS chipset the VIA thing doesnt affect you.I have only heard of it being a problem with VIA and USB modems.
I have a Fujitsu USB modem and had the problems you mentioned initially although much more severely.Mine would switch off if I went off a MSN page or opened my mail :o
The way I got around it was to buy a PCI USB card (I got a NISIS one as some others used VIA chips on them too ),I fited that and disabled the onboard USB ports and it has worked fine ever since.
Regarding the USB v PCI modem I dont think there would be much difference and would be tempted to sign up with the best deal for ADSL that you can get which offers free connection and modems etc.If there arent any when you get around to signing up then get back to us and someone may have a better idea of which is the better option.If you are going to be networking at a later date you may even want to consider forgoing the modem and going straight for a router :-*
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Thanks for all the replies!
I've just discovered the excellent http://www.adslguide.org.uk/ site - it contains a LOT of information.
I'd read somewhere else that PCI ADSL modems used
bits of the PC's resources to operate.... but I now see that USB models do the same - so I may just as well go USB; especially since my motherboard seems to be OK.
The site mentioned above gives the PCI MRi - PDSL01 (Conexant 3805 Based Card) a very good review, though.... got to read-up further.
Anyone with Nildram (GetADSL)?.... I like the sound of them. I see a few of you are with Pipex. I'm essentially looking for a 3, or even 1 month minimum contract - not 12 months. But I've got that side of things in hand.
I'll get there eventually!
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Best of luck with it Sal ... hope you get it sorted soon, its definitely worth doing
Please let us know how you get on :)
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Yes ADSLGuide is very good - that's why we link to it at the bottom of the page :)
I've heard good things about Nildram, but don't actually know anyone that uses them. On the other hand I know several people who are all very happy with their Pipex accounts ;)
Good luck with your search :D
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Yes ADSLGuide is very good - that's why we link to it at the bottom of the page :)
I've heard good things about Nildram, but don't actually know anyone that uses them. On the other hand I know several people who are all very happy with their Pipex accounts ;)
I saw the link to ADSLGuide, below - that's the one I followed!
I've just had a look through 'ISPreview', and Nildram isn't very well represented there (1 post). Pipex fares better; though not exactly Floodpost-City!
It's a tough one. Re the hardware - I read a post in the ISPr Pipex forum where someone said he bought a router for around £28.... this sort of thing does my head in, you know!
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I've just had a look through 'ISPreview', and Nildram isn't very well represented there (1 post). Pipex fares better; though not exactly Floodpost-City!
That's not necessarily a bad thing Sal - at least there's few compalaints about Pipex. I've been using then for about 10 months now, with very few problems. They are also offering a good deal at the moment, as regards free modem and no set up fees, but I'm not sure how long that is running for.
Edit: The free set up offer has now finished, but the set up fees are still very cheap, compared to some others.
See here for details. (http://www.xtreme.pipex.net/adsl/sales/solutions/solo2go/index.shtml)
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Hiya Sal-5000: I use a Zoom 5510 usb modem with a powered 4 port hub (get them from your local computer fair for about £15.00) this takes the load of of your machines USB port.
On plusnet ADSL and they seem to have got their act together now, after a dodgy couple of months.
Hope this helps a bit.
Best of luck with your search.
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I've just had a look through 'ISPreview', and Nildram isn't very well represented there (1 post). Pipex fares better; though not exactly Floodpost-City!
That's not necessarily a bad thing Sal - at least there's few compalaints about Pipex. I've been using then for about 10 months now, with very few problems. They are also offering a good deal at the moment, as regards free modem and no set up fees, but I'm not sure how long that is running for.
Edit: The free set up offer has now finished, but the set up fees are still very cheap, compared to some others.
See here for details. (http://www.xtreme.pipex.net/adsl/sales/solutions/solo2go/index.shtml)
Mustapha - I've taken a note of your 'hub' post.
As for Pipex - yes; the 'solo2go' offer was just too good to resist, so I placed an order not 5 minutes ago.
You mean that they were offering a *completely* free setup, before this?!
Amazing. Still, the one I applied for is brilliant. OK; I wasn't originally looking for a 12-month contract, but what the hell.
Looking forward to it!
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(https://www.pc-pals.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apax34.dsl.pipex.com%2Fsmileys%2Fwoo.gif&hash=19af55fe8b9ef97ccbf75ce85edf9a4e1d24d87f) :welldone: Sal!! You'll not regret it, and soon you'll be flying! ;D ;D
P.S. I made a small edit to your post above, just so the quotes made sense. ;) :)
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There's another one to mark off my list of people I like :(
Flaming BT. I WANT BROADBAND. Humph >:( :'(
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Yeehaa bril Sal ... another to the Pipex fold ;D you'll soon be in the fast lane ... and Pipex offer some good setup guides on their website ... to help you through the setup stages
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Greetings again.
I was away from my PC for a couple of weeks, and came back to find my Pipex account active and ready for use! Had to pick up the modem at the sorting office (Alcatel Speedtouch).... like a big, purple mouse!
What a difference to dialup - I'm still getting used to it.
Only one slight problem (!) - despite the fact that I don't have the dreaded VIA chipset on-board, I'm experiencing what I think *may* be power-related quirks.
After surfing the net for half-an-hour or so, the PC starts to 'freeze' a bit. That is, the connection seems to temporarily pause, accompanied by the mouse-pointer freezing in its tracks. After a few seconds, normality returns. As time goes on, these symptoms become more pronounced.
The 'WinMX' filesharing program suffers the worst......... after half-an-hour, these problems get quite bad, with LONG periods of 'freezing'. Even the system-clock seems to be affected, as it tends to stop during these freezes, eventually lagging many minutes behind real-time. When I quit WinMX, time goes back to normal.
'Mustapha Phagg' mentioned the following :-
"I use a ... usb modem with a powered 4 port hub (get them from your local computer fair for about £15.00) this takes the load of of your machines USB port."
Am I right in thinking that this hub is a device which (a) plugs into the mains, and (b) the modem plugs into THAT, as opposed to the PC's USB port?
And, if so, would that alleviate my problem, if it is indeed the cause of my woes?!
Or, can anyone comment on what the problem *could* be? Thanks for any help!
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A powered hub has a mains plug to supply the power to each of the usb ports it has.A lead connects from your pcs usb port to the hub.Your modem then plugs into the hub,you must remember to switch the power to the hub on before it will work.
Funny you should mention the clock running slow,mine did that and I installed that atomic clock thing to keep it correct.I never noticed it slowing down in the way you describe though.Mines never been too happy whether on dial up or adsl with too many things running at once especially on winmx.
Make sure in your power settings that its not set for the pc to control it as it may just be the power management thats cutting in after a preset time :-*
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I've also seen mentioned somewhere (ADSLGuide?) that the drivers for the Speedtouch are regularly updated. Perhaps you have older drivers Sal?
I'll see if I can find a link for you and post back :)
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You should find a new driver here (http://www.speedtouch.com/support.htm) Sal.
I hope it works :)
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Hi Sal,
If you're still having trouble with WinMX after doing what Adept suggested, it could be that you need to re-configure WinMX to ADSL, if you've not already done so.
An easy way to do this is to go into Settings and click the Set Up Wizard button. Make sure you configure it for ADSL.
Just another thought - which Firewall are you using? I seem to remember having trouble with one of them while using WinMX with Pipex. Think it might have been Zone Alarm, but can't be sure now. What was happening was that while using WinMX, eveything else got slower and slower, then eventually ground to a halt. Changing the firewall solved this. I'm now using Sygate, which I can confirm does work with WinMX, and is available free HERE (http://soho.sygate.com/default.htm).
Of course, try what Adept said first - he has an annoying habit of being right. ;) :)
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Thanks!
Adept - According to the Diagnostics panel, the drivers that came with the CD are version 201.2.0.0, and the latest update as featured on the SpeedTouch site is at version 'R2.0.1.2' ...... so I assume it's the same. If anyone disagrees with that, let me know!
Simon - I configured WinMX to ADSL as soon as I got it. In fact, it's not just WinMX that does this...... I've also tried SoulSeek (just as bad), Direct Connect (quite bad), Shareaza (haven't used it enough yet to make a determination), and Kazaa Lite (not as bad as the others, but still does it).
Sandra - Power-management is set-up OK.
I use the Agitnum Outpost firewall, which I'd always heard was particularly good at ensuring this sort of thing doesn't happen! Though I don't like doing it, I'm going to try filesharing with the firewall OFF over the next couple of days, just to see if I can definitely blame it. If it's firewall-related, I'll try Sygate.
LATER ------ I composed this a few hours ago, but couldn't access the site (temporary downage?). Over the last 2 or 3 hours, I've tried peer-to-peering with Outlook switched OFF - and I can only conclude that *it* was responsible for the 'freezing', as it never happened once!
Well I never! I wonder what was causing it...... Outlook features quite a few plug-in modules; maybe they were taking up a lot of resources. Anyway, I'll install Sygate and see what happens.
Ta again!
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That's great news Sal. I hope it stays solved for you. Sorry about the outage last night. :'(
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Hi Sal,
It must have been Outpost that I had the same trouble with (apologies to Zone Alarm!). I've tried most of the free ones, which is why I wasn't sure which one was problematic with WinMX. I'll remember that now, in case anyone else has the same trouble. ;)
Anyway, you shouldn't have any further problems once you got Sygate up and running. :)