Erratic DSL response

donnai · 04-01-2006, 07:35 AM

First visit to the Tech Support Forum - hoping to use it in the future for other issues.
I have a Westell 2200 DSL model connection to a Windows XP PC using Verizon DSL. Modem/connection works fine during the day. In the evening it becomes very erratic. Slow occasionally but sometimes non-existent. Have worked with Verizon and gotten the following responses all in one evening:

you have spyware and must take your machine to a store to repair;
you have a firewall that is stopping it from working;
you may have a technical issue - call tomorrow if it still exists

the next morning i wake up and it works fine. That evening it slows up again and sometimes works and sometimes not at all. I'm at a loss as to what to look for. Any experience on here with DSL service and what I should look for? Have heard comments that DSL is not the best - did I make a bad choice with DSL instead of Comcast - trying to avoid Comcast at all costs but that is my only other option.

**johnwill** · 04-01-2006, 01:59 PM

Well, the fact that it works properly during the day, and only acts up in the evening sure points to a problem with the ISP. I suggest you signup with www.dslreports.com and run their packet loss tests. You can post a link to the results here, because that's something that will let us pinpoint if you have a problem. Do it once during the day when it's working properly, then once in the evening when it's screwing up.

**JamesO** · 04-02-2006, 07:30 AM

Sounds like you get the standard boiler plate crap from the support group, spyware, firewall, yadda, yadda, yadda.

What I really do not understand is why they do not just start with the modem signal levels, as these have to be good in order to move forward. The Verizon support group can access and review these signal level remotely if your modem is in syn and connected. Verizon can also run a remote loop test with a few keystrokes as well. RCL line test as I recall?

You need to access the Westell web interface and capture the modem signal levels and time and date tag them for reference.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/6096

Westell also offers a really good logger program that will log the modem signal stats every 2 seconds so you can really see what if anything changes with time with your modem signal levels.

Download and install the diagnostic utility from this link:

http://www.westell.com/pages/support...=B90-220010-04

Other question is who else is on your DSL connection at night? If you have other users in the house, they might be saturating your connection bandwidth. Gaming, P2P, etc.

JamesO

04-01-2006, 07:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
donnai Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Erratic DSL response First visit to the Tech Support Forum - hoping to use it in the future for other issues. I have a Westell 2200 DSL model connection to a Windows XP PC using Verizon DSL. Modem/connection works fine during the day. In the evening it becomes very erratic. Slow occasionally but sometimes non-existent. Have worked with Verizon and gotten the following responses all in one evening: you have spyware and must take your machine to a store to repair; you have a firewall that is stopping it from working; you may have a technical issue - call tomorrow if it still exists the next morning i wake up and it works fine. That evening it slows up again and sometimes works and sometimes not at all. I'm at a loss as to what to look for. Any experience on here with DSL service and what I should look for? Have heard comments that DSL is not the best - did I make a bad choice with DSL instead of Comcast - trying to avoid Comcast at all costs but that is my only other option.

04-01-2006, 01:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,822 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Well, the fact that it works properly during the day, and only acts up in the evening sure points to a problem with the ISP. I suggest you signup with www.dslreports.com and run their packet loss tests. You can post a link to the results here, because that's something that will let us pinpoint if you have a problem. Do it once during the day when it's working properly, then once in the evening when it's screwing up. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

04-02-2006, 07:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
JamesO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Posts: 2,289 OS: 98SE, W2k Pro, XP Pro	Sounds like you get the standard boiler plate crap from the support group, spyware, firewall, yadda, yadda, yadda. What I really do not understand is why they do not just start with the modem signal levels, as these have to be good in order to move forward. The Verizon support group can access and review these signal level remotely if your modem is in syn and connected. Verizon can also run a remote loop test with a few keystrokes as well. RCL line test as I recall? You need to access the Westell web interface and capture the modem signal levels and time and date tag them for reference. http://www.dslreports.com/faq/6096 Westell also offers a really good logger program that will log the modem signal stats every 2 seconds so you can really see what if anything changes with time with your modem signal levels. Download and install the diagnostic utility from this link: http://www.westell.com/pages/support...=B90-220010-04 Other question is who else is on your DSL connection at night? If you have other users in the house, they might be saturating your connection bandwidth. Gaming, P2P, etc. JamesO