I am indebted to Jonnie
who very kindly sent some details last night of how to get online with a broken hub. After two days offline I was beginning to go mad - in the way that pathetic types do when there is the tiniest bump in the road. Armed with the details I headed home last night - only to remember that when the new wireless thingy arrived last year I did something quite out of character. I put the old broadband gear in a box somewhere in case the wireless thing broke down.
Within a minute - without all the usual swearing - I found the box containing the kit...and would you believe EVERY wire I needed was in the box. No searching round for that vital widget. How uncommon is that?
I am hoping this small piece of good fortune is being repeated around the land.
RSS feed
Email us
Listen to PM
Glad I prompted your memory Eddie. After Carolyn told us of your untidy desk last week, I'm even more surprised.
Incidentally - the tip I gave to Eddie was reminding him of good old dial-up. Remember the little melodies and squeeling we were once treated to when the modem was dialing up.
Most ISP's worth their salt do offer a backup dial-up connection, but if that is not available there are a few free ISP's that will allow anyone access at around 1 pence per min - or whatever an 0844 or 0845 number costs these days.
Sometimes it's good to be uncharacteristic, isn't it? I've done similar things in my time. Glad you're now out of the IT doldrums.
Now, Mr. Mair, I wanted to share something with you and the other froggers before I get back to Real Life and all its issues .... Last night I was fortunate enough to be in the audience of a programme to celebrate 40 years since the Frost Report won the Golden Rose of Montreux.
I appreciate that Mr. Mair, along with many froggers, were, at best, in short trousers at the time of the original programmes, but they were immensely influential and responsible for bringing us the delights of the Two Ronnies, Monty Python, The Goodies, and many other comedy classics, as well as influencing some of the greatest comedy writers both then and now.
Sir David and Ronnie Corbett hosted the programme, and studio guests included Barry Cryer, David Nobbs, Dennis Norden, Nicky Henson and Sheila Steafel, with video contributions from John Cleese, Michael Palin, and lots more.
Do look out for it! It will be broadcast during the Christmas period, we were told. And in case you haven't the faintest idea what the Frost Report was, think of that classic "Class" sketch, with the two Ronnies plus Mr. Cleese, then click on the link on my name which will take you to a ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ link about the programme.
Sadly no Eddie, I woke up today with a stinking cold and am feeling decidedly under the weather. However I will pop out and buy myself a midweek lottery ticket later just in case good fortune does pay a call...... I'll let you know how it turns out.
Big Sis (2), thanks for sharing, that sounds like an excellent evening out. I was but a mere babe in arms back then but I do know the Frost Report and am a big fan of many of those comedy greats that it brought us. Will definitely look out for that.
Don't forget that most "wireless" hubs have a plug for a bit of network cable. So you could have tried that approach also. Good to know it works.
My IT problems are slowly resolving. I have my payroll and accounts software back up and running so only now have to work out why Vista only lets me access theinternet when I've the wifi on and the bit of network wire plugged into the same hub!
Jonnie, I think its a firewall issue. But am not at home or normal work. So until I get to one or other venue I can't try my theory.
Last night I was all for taking Vista off and going back to XP. Today I am happier to leave vista running. But I have other critical sofwtare to install yet. i.e my computerised Eye exam chart (I know I will need a download for this, and am actually seeing the developer when he give a lecture on something different tomorrow) and my recall software.
Fiona (3) - I also am much too young to remember all that - besides we didn't have TV in the stable
But isn't it wonderful how Big Sis (2) can remember all that, taking into account her age and everything! :o)
Jonnie (1)
Dial ups are usually 4p/min on 0845 numbers. However, some ISPs offer 1p/m or flat fee (say £15/mo) for 1 or 200 hours - effectively unmetered for email and browsing, obviously no good for gaming or viewing movies (which I don't in any case), with some other terms and conditions. With searching you probably could get a 1p/min deal.
I know, as due to noisy line BT will not fix (on the boredband), I'm stuck on dial-up on my main phone line :-(
Was it you that fixed the Blog as well Eddie ? I have held off making this comment in case I jinxed the d*mn thing, but could you thank all the people who worked so hard to put the 502 monster back in its box. Must have been a nightmare being bombarded with complaints from all directions whilst trying to do their job, but I suppose that's hardly a first for someone working at the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ !!
Who knows Stewart? I still regret spending out money on Vista for my laptop - which only 9 Months later will run the programs that XP could - and not any quicker really.
Without turning the blog into an IT forum I'd suggest trying a repair - clearing the DNS settings etc ... on the wireless and LAN settings in the network folder. - and temporarily disabling all firewalls.
As regards to Eddie - these Routers (not really hubs) are in general not that reliable. I know of several people this year who have had failures - including our own Gillian.
The little USB modems are more reliable - though very basic - so always keep one handy in a drawer. As Eddie has found out, they may just come in handy one day.
Still amazed that the blog works!
Thanks Deepthought.
I didn't check and told Eddie I thought it was 1p.
Thank goodness he didn't have to resort to using it - he may have sued - unless he is on a similar salary to Mr Ross - and if not, why not?
However imagine spending all that money and then getting a 502!
Fiona - the secret with the lottery is only to buy winning tickets.
Sid
All very techy stuff here today.
Big Sis (2) - I shall certainly look out for the programme. Do you remember which came first - The Frost Report or TW3? And who was the lady with red hair who sang on one (or maybe both) of them? I'm sure her name began with M, but I'm stuck. Please help remind me. What with advanced techy stuff and retro programmes, my brain doesn't know if it's coming or going.
It's just stuck.
Oh Variable Steed, I was in nappies at the time, but saw the reruns some years later ;o)
YOU MIGHT THINK the blog is working, but even after 5 minutes it relegated me to the malicious league. Now I've forgotten what I was going to say, so at least you've been spared that.
Sara: TW3 came first, and the lady in question was Millicent Martin.
Variable Steed: The reason I know all this is that I'm mugging it up for Mastermind ;o)
Sara (11) - It was Millicent Martin - she appeared in a recent programme looking back at TW3 etc - still looks great.
Big Sis (12) - Yes, of course. Unfortunately I can just about remember, but I wasn't allowed to stay up and watch!
Big Sis (14) - "mugging it up for Mastermind." You do know that you will have to talk to John H, don't you?
Ah Sid (10) so THAT'S where I've been going wrong all this time, thanks for the tip :)
So Horsey (5), you would have been but a mere foal in arms back then.
Variable Steed: I have no issue with that, for I intend quizzing him on matters in my turn and I think I can stand up to the Welsh Wizard.
Incidentally, I'm wondering about your comment about MM: "she appeared in a recent programme looking back at TW3 etc - still looks great" It's the use of that word 'still' that puzzles me, for TW3 ran from 1962 to 1963 (I'm mugging all this up, remember!), i.e. three years before the Frost Report, which would lead me to believe that you were already out of your nappies and into your short trousers at the time ...... I, of course, watched the reruns ;o)
Big Sis - My Granny said she was good looking - I was just bringing it up to date! :o)
Variable Steed: D'you know what, I think your nose is growing ......... ;o)
You can also sometimes solve router problems by resetting the router. Mine has a wee hole just made for a straightened paperclip.
Unplugging power and waiting 30 seconds before replugging is also a sometime fix.
also from your browser, try
which is a common default location for the router. You may be prompted for a user name and/or password. Try admin for both. It works for me. then just scroll down and save again or you may have to dig out the network username and passwored given you by your service provider ....
And Stewart and Jonnie, it's widely believed that Win XP was "too good" and Vista is a poor second to it. I do know M$ is extending 'support' for XP beyond original planned period. I have to say I've found Ubuntu (GNU/linux) to be better (and quicker) than both and the computer's power consumption is lower as well.
Good luck to all those lost in cyberspace.
xx
ed
Eddie
Can we take it that in accordance with what now appears to be common practice, the Bank of England are standing four-square behind your indebtedness to Jonnie..?
Ah the good fortune that is acquaintance with the ever-helpful Jonnie :-)
Appy - what can I say?
What a lovely compliment :-))
I think it is wonderful that the word 'wireless' is coming back into fashion..
Now to reclaim that exceptionally evocative word 'frock' and make it cool for a new age...
Bedd Gelert @ 25
"Frock"
Steady...
Ed (21) Resetting the Hub (you can tell who my ISP is!) is always a good first step if you're having problems with connection speed or wireless connectivity. In the interest of keeping fellow froggers safe online, I would recommend that the Admin password is changed when you have a spare moment. Most routers tend to have the same admin password these days, so it's not always as good a firewall as you might imagine. I would also recommend that those who are using wireless connections do a couple of other things:
1. Change the wireless security from WEP to WPA. WEP is pretty much laughed at nowadays, and can be broken in a matter of less than a minute. WPA ias much more secure, and allows you to set your own password for the wireless network.
2. Once all the laptops/PCS that share the wireless connection are set to use WPA, write down the network name (sometimes called SSID) and password on a piiece of paper, and stick it to the back of the router.Next, go into the router configuration page, and set the network to not broadcast the network name. This will not prevent your pcs connecting. It will stop a "drive-by" connection from someone just looking for a free wireless connection.
3. As for passwords, the best sort of password has UPPER CASE, lower case, numb3rs, and special characters (*&^%$£"!_+) in them. Try replacing letters with characters or numbers that are similar. Make the upper case letters somewhere in the middle, rather than the beginning of the password.
Here endeth the IT lesson....
FFred,
Good advice all round, but it's hard for me to imagine anyone getting on my net as a 'drive-by' ;-)
xx
ed
Breaking into an empty house is a fool's errand.
;-)
Yup, another router failure here too. We had one replaced foc by the manufacturer last year, apparently they have a lifetime guarantee. This one gave up a few months ago, but we did manage to breath life back in to it. IT? Grrrrrr