For the last couple months my internet connection has not been working correctly. I have Charter Cable that is rated at ~30kbps. However, it rarely goes to a link or page the first time when asked to. I can type in an address and the computer will just sit there and do nothing but spin the logo in the upper right corner. Sometimes for 2-3 minutes and bring up the IE page not found page. Other times it will stall and then suddenly connect to the page. Or it will load the page SUPER slow. It is completely random, but 8 out of 10 times it will not connect to the page correctly. I sometimes click on a link 20-30 times before it connects to it. On the rare occasion that the connection is working for a few minutes, I can go about as fast as I can click the mouse. Everything loads beautifully. Not very often though. What the hell is wrong? Should I have Charter come out and fix it or ditch them? My father in-law has the same connection 2 miles away and it usually works flawlessly. He is having some problems now as well.
I am running ME with IE 6.0. I had this same setup for over a year and it ran perfectly awhile back. I have tried re-formatting, re-installing software.... blah blah blah. Nothing works.

But I would DEFINITELY recommend upgrading that loser OS you are running to at least win2K or XP. Are you using a router? If so, read on.

CASE 1: I was assisting one of my clients setup a new wireless router on his cable system. Configged a wireless laptop running 98, no problem. Connected his office laptop running 2K, no problem. Tried connecting his main desktop PC running ME and never got it to use the routed connection. Did the release/renew IP and it would connect to the router but would time out going to any webpage. The damndest thing was you could connect that PC directly to the modem and it would surf the internet fine.

CASE 2: another client with a wired cable DSL router had numerous problems getting his ME desktop to surf the web. He was using SBC DSL and the router that supported the PPOE protocol. All configged and the machine would not get out at all. It would pull an IP fine but it would not access the web. Plug it in directly to the modem and voila! access was restored. he battled with the SBC tech suppport (BTW, they only support routers THEY sell) and in desperation gave up. A few months later his machine crashes, and he upgrades to XP. Out of curiosity he pulls the router out of the closet connects it back up and the machine (now running XP) gets out fine.

Because of these two most recent issues with ME and knowing what I know about the inherent issues with it, I now advise any ME folks to upgrade to a newer OS. Why continue to fight yesterdays problems with an older outdated OS anway?

Good luck with it
Mike

Thanks for the help. My computer is used for the internet and that's it. ME has worked perfectly since I have had it. The internet has always connected and worked flawlessly until recently. I doubt it is the OS. Something to think about though.

I absolutely hate XP... had it for about a day and got rid of it. Overkill for my computer and application. 2000 is outdated just as ME is. What's the point? We'll see what Charter has to say today. Thanks for the help.

I think you need to have someone who knows networks and troubleshooting drop by and look at it for you. Charter will be no help, their techs are computer illiterate. Where are you located?

might not be an OS issue especially if others in your area are having similar issues. Probably need to check connectivity and ping times while the problem is evident.

Another easy way to determine if its a local PC or network issue is to temporarily connect another PC to your modem and see if the problem persists. Again, this would have to be done while you are experiencing the issue.

One thing that people tend to overlook is low power on the coax line going to the modem. This is one of the first things they ck when they roll a truck out to your house. What you should know is that any other devices connected to that coax cable will degrade the signal to the modem. So if you have a splitter setup connecting a TV or VCR, you might try disconnecting it and seeing if that makes your connection more stable. If your cable LED on your modem is on steady during your slow thruput periods, this is probably not going to make any difference.

I must say I am surprised to hear that you are happy with Windows ME. However if it serves your purpose and you find performance and compatibility acceptable, then there's no need to upgrade.

you might want to see if your coax running to the cable modem is bad. but since the guy down the street is having problems maybe its the dns server? when ever my cable is acting wierd i will goto start> run > command the type in ipconfig

ill try ipconfig /renew and see if i can get a ip. if i cant i know its something on their side.

Actually, my coax is a little chewed up outside where my dog has been chewing on it. It has been that way for awhile, but she may have done some more damage to it. I will change it out and see if that fixes it. Thanks for the help.

Ipconfig doesn't work on Win9x or ME. At RUN type in winipcfg

The release and renew buttons will do the rest.

And yes, a chewed up coax cable most definitely will screw up your connection.

<-----has two Labs tha love to chew.

Thanks, I fixed the coax, but it did not help at all. If I click on a link multiple times in a row the cable light will go out on the cable modem. The connection will be lost for a few minutes or until I reset the power. Maybe a bad modem?

it most likely is a line problem. a weak signal (low power) or a noisy line (high power) can both cause your modem to get knocked off the network.

Used to happen to me here all the time.