disconnect every 5 minutes

edo · 06-03-2006, 12:37 AM

Ok I have this weird problem, every 5 minutes I get disconnected.
It's probably not a virus because all 3 computers have the same problem even if the other ones are switched of.
We have a Bellsouth telephone and At&t internet.
At&t says it may be the wiring inside our house, which is 20 years old.
They want to come check but if it's inside the house they will charge us 200 dollar to repair it.
Bellsouth says the same thing, the line is ok, but they can only help us on the telephone line, which is without a problem according to them.
But they'll send sombody over too, for a fee, if it's in our wiring inside the house.
The weird thing is that it does this every 5 minutes on the dot.
I have timed it myself and it goes of at:
[my observation:
00:23
00:33
00:39
00:44
00:49
]
Anyway, is there any way to ping my connection to my house and find out where the problem lies?
This all happened after a big storm so I think the phone outlet on the corner might have blown a fuse or something?.
It's just weird that it does this every 5 minutes on the dot!
I will even give you my phone number if you need it, I'll e-mail it if you want me to.
Anyway I called the Bellsouth people and they said that we get about one third of the connection that we pay for, about 600 kbps as opposed to the 1.5Mbps we are supposed to get.
They will send a mechanic to fix it but if the problem lies within our inside wiring they want to charge us 200 dollar.
I just don't want them to charge me 200 dollar if the corner box has blown a fuse something, even though I can't imagine anything like that causing a disconnect every 5 minutes like that on the clock!
It's like someone is leeching the very connection up!
Like someone on this block is using it all up or something?
Idunno please answer this question for me or provide any test to test my connection stability.
This all started to happen after one day a storm happened in the afternoon, when electricity had surged, I could tell, becasuse the alarmclocks were all blinking, like when the power goes of and resets those.

thanks,
Edo

**johnwill** · 06-03-2006, 12:24 PM

Take the modem and a computer next to the service entrance. Disconnect the interior wiring and connect directly to the incoming line at the teleco junction box. If it fails there, it's their issue or your modem.

edo · 06-03-2006, 12:38 PM

We live in an appartment, and we don't have a service entrance.
Where should I find the teleco box at, like, outside?
there is a little box there on the wall, but I think that it's cable or should it be in there too?

edo · 06-03-2006, 01:34 PM

There is a box in the neighbours patio that says Aviso could that be it?
But I can't try that right now anyway because it's raining

edo · 06-03-2006, 11:25 PM

Ok I called at&t again, and they run a check on the phone line connection.
Either they restarted something or the unplugging the modem did it, but anyway, problem is solved and you can consider this thread resolved even if I don't know how.
Thanks.

KableTechie · 06-03-2006, 11:41 PM

There are a # of Situation which can result in an intermittant problem.

1. Cable wire is a low grade .59 Wire. Standard is .60 Wire Coax Copper Cable. (apartment may need a MDU (Multi Dwelling Unit) rewrire in that case the Cable Company needs to schedule permission with the landlord to tear down the old cable and install new. This should be costs to either the landlord or the cable company. No costs to you.

In your case you have DSL make sure all other phone lines have the required filter which will filter out the Internet signal vs the phone line signal.

However if you are using Cable internet you can follow next few steps.

Located inside of your apartment somewhere there should be a splitter seperating the cable lines to each room in the apartment. Located either behind a wall plate, in the service room, attic, basement, crawlspace, ect.
The cable line running to your modem should be off the same split with a dedicated line.

Hopefully this will help solve your problems and good luck.

06-03-2006, 12:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
edo Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 70 OS: xp	disconnect every 5 minutes Ok I have this weird problem, every 5 minutes I get disconnected. It's probably not a virus because all 3 computers have the same problem even if the other ones are switched of. We have a Bellsouth telephone and At&t internet. At&t says it may be the wiring inside our house, which is 20 years old. They want to come check but if it's inside the house they will charge us 200 dollar to repair it. Bellsouth says the same thing, the line is ok, but they can only help us on the telephone line, which is without a problem according to them. But they'll send sombody over too, for a fee, if it's in our wiring inside the house. The weird thing is that it does this every 5 minutes on the dot. I have timed it myself and it goes of at: [my observation: 00:23 00:33 00:39 00:44 00:49 ] Anyway, is there any way to ping my connection to my house and find out where the problem lies? This all happened after a big storm so I think the phone outlet on the corner might have blown a fuse or something?. It's just weird that it does this every 5 minutes on the dot! I will even give you my phone number if you need it, I'll e-mail it if you want me to. Anyway I called the Bellsouth people and they said that we get about one third of the connection that we pay for, about 600 kbps as opposed to the 1.5Mbps we are supposed to get. They will send a mechanic to fix it but if the problem lies within our inside wiring they want to charge us 200 dollar. I just don't want them to charge me 200 dollar if the corner box has blown a fuse something, even though I can't imagine anything like that causing a disconnect every 5 minutes like that on the clock! It's like someone is leeching the very connection up! Like someone on this block is using it all up or something? Idunno please answer this question for me or provide any test to test my connection stability. This all started to happen after one day a storm happened in the afternoon, when electricity had surged, I could tell, becasuse the alarmclocks were all blinking, like when the power goes of and resets those. thanks, Edo Last edited by edo; 06-03-2006 at 12:42 AM.

06-03-2006, 12:24 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,636 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Take the modem and a computer next to the service entrance. Disconnect the interior wiring and connect directly to the incoming line at the teleco junction box. If it fails there, it's their issue or your modem. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

06-03-2006, 12:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
edo Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 70 OS: xp	We live in an appartment, and we don't have a service entrance. Where should I find the teleco box at, like, outside? there is a little box there on the wall, but I think that it's cable or should it be in there too?

06-03-2006, 01:34 PM	#4 (permalink)
edo Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 70 OS: xp	There is a box in the neighbours patio that says Aviso could that be it? But I can't try that right now anyway because it's raining

06-03-2006, 11:25 PM	#5 (permalink)
edo Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 70 OS: xp	Ok I called at&t again, and they run a check on the phone line connection. Either they restarted something or the unplugging the modem did it, but anyway, problem is solved and you can consider this thread resolved even if I don't know how. Thanks.

06-03-2006, 11:41 PM	#6 (permalink)
KableTechie Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3 OS: Windows XP 64BIT	There are a # of Situation which can result in an intermittant problem. 1. Cable wire is a low grade .59 Wire. Standard is .60 Wire Coax Copper Cable. (apartment may need a MDU (Multi Dwelling Unit) rewrire in that case the Cable Company needs to schedule permission with the landlord to tear down the old cable and install new. This should be costs to either the landlord or the cable company. No costs to you. In your case you have DSL make sure all other phone lines have the required filter which will filter out the Internet signal vs the phone line signal. However if you are using Cable internet you can follow next few steps. Located inside of your apartment somewhere there should be a splitter seperating the cable lines to each room in the apartment. Located either behind a wall plate, in the service room, attic, basement, crawlspace, ect. The cable line running to your modem should be off the same split with a dedicated line. Hopefully this will help solve your problems and good luck.