Internet connection problem

Hardware:

I have a new *( less than a month ) HP Pavilion a1220n; 514 Pentium 4;
2.93 Ghz; 512 MB memory; 200 GB hard drive; DVD+RW. My provider(s)
is/are Cable Vision - Optonline and I also have MSN which I kept. OS is
windows XP home edition.

My old computer is also an HP Pavilion XL918; Celeron; 1 Ghz; 30 GB
hard drive; 128 MB memory; CR=RW; Cable Vision' Optonline and MSN;
Windows XP home edition; service pack 2.

The Problems:

1. I attempted unsuccessfuly to set up a home network. Bought a Link
Cable 4 port router and followed each step exactly. No connection could
be made. Pinged, did everything. Returned the router and bought a
different brand *( Netgear 4 port ). Never succeded. Each router CD
reconfigured. Disabled forewalls and security.Tried ethernet cable,
tried Belk Cat5EXVR crossover cable, now ordered Detto file transfer
with USB. *( Dettos tech rep told me that one router had an internal
firewall which no-one ever told me about ). Finally just copied to CD
and transferred.

2. Dozens of phone calls have been made and hours spent talking to tech
support at: a. Cable Vision b. MSN. c. Both router manufactureres. d. HP
e. Microsoft ( windowes XP ). As ludicrous as it may sound no-one has
been able to solve the problems. A new problem cropped up which is
actually an old problem on the old computer. My internet connection is
very erratic. I get dropped sometimes repeatedly. Sometimes I can stay
connected for hours. Now the problem has fairly well settled into a
routine expectation. I cannot boot up and go on the internet without,
each and every time, unplugging the modem and replugging it. This
resets the modem. When I go into "my computer" and click the "repair"
button I get the error message: " Repair cannot be completed, ARP cache
cannot be cleared ".

I had this exact same problem on the old computer. I searched around on
the internet and found far too much and far too technical advice about
ARP caches. I also ran a " repair windows" software program and
eventually the old internet connection problem went away. Now it's back
again on the new one.

I have downloades some "free" registry repair software. It found 139
errors. Corrected 120 of them then suggested that I place an order for
software to "fix" the rest of the problem !!! Immediately after running
it Norton signaled that it had captured a "Trojan Horse" and quarentined
it I removed the invader.???????

It seems that everyone involved points the finger elsewhere and plays
the "hot potato". Cable Vision says , not us. MSN says, not us.
Microsoft Windows says, go to HP they loaded the Windowes, as the OEM
it's their responsibility. And besides if you want to talk to us that
will be $59 per half hour or $99 per hour. HP tech support is over on
the other side of the world, hoplelessly inept and exceptionally
difficult to even understand. The router manufacturers tech support
spent over 1/2 hour on the phone with me and eventually just gave up
with no resolution. She was absolutely the most helpless of the lot. I
had to just terminate the conversation with two tech support persons
who were totally lost and floundering.

Conclusions:

Cable Visions tech support fortunately hasn't been outsourced and still
tries to help. It seem that somewhere the IP address resolution is
malfunctioning or erratic. I already switched modems *( Now Motorola
Surfboard SBV5120 ) and various tests by me and Cable Vision say we
have a connection. However, CV does say there seems to be something not
quite right. They speculate that my problem may be in the Windows XP
program. The problem possibly is:

a. Cable Visions transmissions. Sometimes I stay connected for hours
and sometimes every 5 minutes I'm dropped. * (Sometimes when I reboot I
can connect and sometimes I cannot without unplugging the modem ).

b. There may be some internal Winxows XP problem.

c. There may be some inernal HP hardware problem that hasn't manifested
itself yet. But I ran Windows " system restore" numerous times and still
have the connection, dropping problem.

d. The two router CD setup wizards reconfigured and changed something.

What does not appear to be the problem:

a. Norton Anti Virus. I can boot and connect with it enabled OR
disabled.

b. Some virus, spyware or trojan horse. I ran Norton Anti virus which
did detect one virus but removed it and gave the computer a clean bill
of health.

________________________________________________________________

Any assistance or advice will be most welcome. Perhaps someone
recognizes this problem.

Thanks:


Bill Tibbe


--
wetibbe