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View Full Version : [Help Request] ntl modem problem?


zigge
28-09-2007, 19:22
ok, i've been a subscriber to ntl (now Virgin, of course) for many years and still have the original Terayon modem I received from them many years ago. [edit: i'm in the cambridgeshire area - ex-cambridgecable customer]

Just recently, my connection has been somewhat flaky - at it's worst, every minute I get a 30-60second 'pause' (usually resulting in a time-out or disconnect to whatever gameserver I'm connected to at the time). At its best, I can get 5-10mins before this happens. It's making the connection unusable really, and reminds of my old dial-up days! During these 'pauses', my modems 'cable' light is usually on, though occasionally i can see it flashing quickly. All other lights are on as they should be. My current guess is that the either the modem is dieing or the cable line/connection is dodgy.

For extra info, the modem is connected to a Linksys router which controls my network.

I spoke to the virgin tech people (in india, i'm guessing) and they are sending out an engineer in two weeks. I am wondering:

1) whether the engineer will still examine my setup, given that it's not hard-wired into a PC.
2) is this likely to be a modem issue, and if so, could I buy a new modem and connect it all up? I realise you have to register the MAC address with virgin - is this the pain-in-the-**** I expect it to be? [also, some recommendations as to which modem to buy would be appreciated!]
3) any advice as to what I can do, try etc would be greatly appreciated.

thanks, in advance, for any replies/advice...

fatassmichael
28-09-2007, 19:32
:welcome: to the forum zigge, Most likely, the tech will take one look at your modem and swap it, they should also take a look at your signal levels.

MovedGoalPosts
28-09-2007, 20:01
Elsewhere on the forum there are posts that the Terrayon modems have been made obsolete by upgrades to the Virgin Media Network. Most engineers will take one look and replace it.

To check that the modem replacement is working correctly you may be asked to connect the modem direct to a single PC. VM don't "support" networking kit and thus this just confuses their diagnosis process.

Whatever you do. don't attempt to buy a replacement modem. Cable modems now are rented to you as part ot your subscription. You can't buy legitimate ones, that will operate on VM network.