Troubleshooting

Why does my connection fail when I try to connect to UBC Dial-Up service?

There are a few things that you should check when dealing with this problem:

• Are all the telephones that use the same line hung up?
• • Your modem will not be able to connect if there is no dial tone.
• Has the cord been kicked or knocked out place?
• • Make sure the cord is attached properly to the computer and the telephone jack
• Are you using the correct phone number to connect to the internet?
• • Interchange users should dial 604-822-1331.
  • Netinfo users should dial 604-822-4477.
  • If you are a Netinfo customer who has purchased additional hours, those additional hours are only accessible using the Interchange line, which is 604-822-1331.
• Did you try re-entering your username and password?
• • If you press keys while the dial-up connection box is loading, sometimes it adds characters to the end of its saved password.
• Do you have dial-up time left?
• • Logging in to the Manage Your Account section of the Interchange website allows you to keep track of exactly how much dial-up time you have used over the current 30-day billing period.
  • Once you are logged in, you will see detailed information about your mailbox and file space usage and limits, your dial-up usage and limits, your refresh dates, expiry dates, current balance and email forwarding status.
  • For more detailed information about your dial-up usage, click on the "details" link in the Dial Up Usage section to see how much time you've used this month or in the two previous months. Also you will see detailed information regarding your disk space limits on your mailbox space and file space.
  • Your refresh date is the designated date that your account returns to zero*. Since billing is on a 30-day interval, your refresh date will change from month to month.
  • *If you exceed your quota, the amount exceeded will be added on to your usage for the next 30 day interval.
• Finally, if all else fails you may wish to simply delete the dial-up connection from your computer and re-create it following the setup instructions (this is a Windows solution only).
• • To delete your previous connection, open Control Panel on your start menu, then click on Network Connections.
  • Your dial up connection should be one of the icons shown, simply select the icon and press the delete key.
  • Follow these instructions to re-add the connection

Why do I sometimes get disconnected when I am downloading from the internet?

Many users of the internet sooner or later experience the frustration of getting disconnected from dial-up internet access while they are in the process of downloading large files. Downloading large programs can go very slowly, depending upon the speed of your modem, your computer and the time of day you are downloading. Disconnections that arise during large downloads such as these are not necessarily the fault of your ISP (Internet Service Provider); they may be due to unrelated problems on the internet.

Basically, the internet is a network of networks with data moving from one server to the next. When you lose your connection to the internet while downloading a large file, usually what has happened is your file transfer has been "hung up" somewhere along the network, which in turn causes a time-out of data being sent between a server on the network and the server from which you are downloading. A time-out, in this case, is when a computer automatically terminates the file transfer or connection when it detects that no data is being sent after a predetermined period of time. This halts the process of transferring the data all the way down the line, including to our Interchange or Netinfo servers.

Once the Interchange or Netinfo servers detect no data being transferred to your home machine, your dial-in connection is automatically dropped by our servers timing out, ostensibly to save any more of your download time from being wasted. No sense staying connected while not receiving any data, especially if you are trying to budget your dial-in hours.

The time of day you are downloading files is another factor that could have an effect on file transfers. The Internet has its busy times, not unlike rush hour traffic. Generally, the best time to download large files in terms of transfer speed and success rate is 7 a.m. Saturday morning, when the Internet is not too congested.

If you are using a World Wide Web browser (for example, Internet Explorer or Firefox) to download files, it may not be the best tool for the job, especially if you are transferring large files such as programs. Web browsers are designed to perform at optimal levels while accessing web servers. While browsers can also access FTP (file transfer protocol) servers, they do not generally do it as well as FTP programs designed specifically to access FTP servers.

If you are doing a lot of file transfers, we recommend using a file transfer utility such as WS_FTP for Windows. Or if you use the Macintosh platform, try using Fetch. It is still best to use your Web browser to find the Web address of the actual download site, but then use WS_FTP or Fetch to actually download the files.

You can download WS_FTP for the PC at www.wsftp.com or Fetch for the Mac at www.fetchsoftworks.com .

Also see the following related topic:

Why does my modem systematically disconnect after XX minutes? How can I solve this?

The most common reason for this has to do with the modem drivers that are installed on your computer. You can visit your modem manufacturer's website to download the latest drivers for your modem. Installing these may solve your problems. You can also try adding a modem initialization string to help resolve some issues. Call waiting can also cause your modem to disconnect as the call waiting beep interrupts the modem signal. Below you find a list of things that may cause your modem to disconnect.

• Modem Solutions
• • Check and update modem drivers (visit your modem's website for more information)
  • Update firmware (Visit your modem's website for more information)
  • Add 5 commas to the end of the Netinfo/Interchange phone number
  • Change init string: Control Panel -> Modem -> select modem -> Properties -> Connection -> Advanced -> Extra Settings enter S10=10 and/or S25=200
  • Lower connect speed: Control Panel -> Modems -> Select Modem -> Properties -> Connect Speed
• Other Possible Solutions
• • Check phone cords
  • Phones with memory sometimes draw power and interfere with the modem connection
  • Disable call waiting (dial #70, before the Netinfo/Interchange phone number.)
  • Unplug everything from the modem; remove power cords from around the modem/cable
  • Check that disconnect after XX minutes is not selected
• Init Strings
• • S15=128 should prevent slowdowns in your transfer speed.
  • &F restores factory defaults
  • &B0 sets variable transfer speed (that's a zero, not capital-o)
  • &B1 fix transfer speed to serial port speed (one, not the letter l)
  • &H1 sets hardware flow control
  • &H3 sets hardware and software flow control
  • &K2 enables compression
  • &N0 variable connection speed