Frustrating computer problems

[Karen G]

We've set up our wireless network in our house with a new Belkin N1 router attached to a computer in one of the bedrooms. My husband's Apple Macbook picks up the signal with no problem anywhere in the house. My desktop computer is on the far end of the house from the router and has a Belkin N1 wireless card. It shows the signal strength as "very good."

I cannot access TUG the usual way I used to--tugbbs.com. The page won't load and soon I'll get a message that I may not be connected to the internet or there's a problem with the server. But if I go to tug2.net and click on forums I can get here. Also, I have AOL 9.0 on my computer and have a lot of emails stored through it on my computer. It won't load for me now. It will get through two of the steps of loading but won't get through the third. I can access AOL 8.0 by just typing in aol.com but I can't get to my saved email files.

Does anyone have a clue as to how this could be fixed? I don't seem to have any problem connecting to other sites--just the two that I use the most often!

 

[Don]

Is it an external router? If so, can you move it closer to your desktop; maybe that will "fix" things. If not, which computer is the more important of the two, the one in the far bedroom or yours? I would set up the wireless equipment on the more important of the two and work around things with the other.
These are just ideas. I have never had wireless so I don't know the ins and outs of these systems.

 

[DaveNV]

Karen, in most cases, a router isn't smart enough to know which websites you're accessing. All it knows is whether you're a recognized computer on your network, and which gateway port you're using. If you can access the Internet at all, you're good to go. The fact that you can run certain software and do as you wish means the router is working normally.

The idea that certain websites don't work but others will sounds more like a computer cache or software firewall issue. I'd suggest first clearing the cache (delete temporary files, cookies, and such) then rebooting the computer. Reboot the router, too, to ensure your connection is as current as possible.

If you still get the same results, then check your software firewall settings. Depending on your operating system, certain programs are not allowed to get through the firewall until/unless you specifically grant them permission to do so. That's likely the issue with your new AOL software.

The issue with signal strength changing is related to the quality of the connection, wiring in the walls, and interference between your computer and the wireless access point on the router. If you have an antenna on the abck of your machine, try redirecting it to give a clearer path to the router. But if it's showing "very good" but drops whn you try doing stuff, reboot the router AND your Internet source (cable modem?) to make sure you have the strongest signal possible. You can test thigns by temporarily moving your computer closer to the router to see if the issue corrects itself with a stronger signal. If the computer needs to stay where it is, and if the issue isn't correctable, look into adding a signal booster antenna for the router, which will increase the strength of the signal your computer receives.

As for the TUG sites that load vs. those that don't, check the security settings on your virus protection software, as well as the security level on your computer. If things are too restricted, it can block certain sites from properly displaying on your machine.

If all else fails, (presuming this is a Windows based computer) try doing a System Restore to a date prior to when the router was installed. It'll put your software back the way it used to be, but keep the hardware settings as they are now. It may resolve the issue.

Failing all of this, contact Belkin's tech support and blame them. Even though I don't think they are the culprit, they'll have techs on staff who can walk you through troubleshooting your system.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[Karen G]

Thanks, Dave and Don. I tried some of your suggestions. We moved the router and cable modem to my computer and I deleted all the temporary internet files

We were afraid to do the system restore because we didn't know if it would delete the software we'd just installed for the router.

We checked the firewall and added AOL.9 as a website that was okay to go to.

At first I could get to AOL 9.0 but not anymore. It goes through the first two steps to connect and won't go to the third step and actually connect. I can type in aol.com and get version 8.0 with no problem.

I still cannot get to tugbbs.com--even trying to go to tug2.net first. On tug2.net I could get to the review pages and classified but not the forums. Once I actually did get to the forums but could not post, now I can't even get to the forums. I'm using one of the other computers in the house to type this message.

 

[DaveNV]

Hi Karen,

I don't know AOL software, but I wonder if it's possible the conflict is due to having both 8 and 9 installed at the same time? Maybe the one is overriding the other one? Do you maybe have to uninstall 8 before you can use 9? If not, and if it's okay to use them both, then maybe uninstalling, rebooting, then reinstalling 9 will let it install correctly? What does AOL tech support say? Maybe the 9 version isn't compatible wih your operating system, or maybe it needs a patch of some sort?

I have no idea why the TUG pages won't load right. They're similar in their design, so maybe the router is blocking the IP addresses for the tug2.net pages for some reason? Have you checked the router logs to see what it says? You should be able to access it via your browser by entering the IP address of your router into your browser window.

Maybe the TUG issue is a login thing, where you're blocked because you arent logged in to those pages? Are you clicking a link from the tugbbs.com site, or trying to access a shortcut or bookmark you saved directly into the other site? Obviously, I'm guessing here. I have no idea why it wouldn't work for you. Maybe write to a Moderator and ask them? Surely you aren't the first to have technical issues with the Board.

Doing a System Restore won't uninstall the router software. It only reverts the Windows software to an earlier time, and affects drivers and such. And if you try it but it doens't work, you should have the option to revert back to the current install.

Hope this helps,
Dave

 

[Karen G]

I don't know how it happened or if it will stay this way, but all of a sudden after deciding to try one more time to connect to AOL 9.0 I got a message that said "AOL will now install the files needed to connect" so I clicked yes and it did something and then said to restart my computer.

When I did it connected and I could also access tugbbs.com from AOL.

I had been deleting a lot of unwanted stuff in "My Documents" in anticipation of maybe saving them on a disk and getting rid of this computer altogether. Now I'll see what it does tomorrow.

I've been praying a lot that somehow the problem would be resolved, so my prayers were answered!

 

[DaveNV]

Well, there you go. So it seems the issue was with AOL after all. Glad to know it wasn't something more severe, and that it's now fixed.

Happy surfing!

Dave

 

[Karen G]

Bummer! AOL9.0 won't load again! It was doing so well yesterday. I'll wait and see what it does tomorrow. At least I can get to 8.0 to send and receive messages, and I can still access TUG.

Karen

 

[DaveNV]

I'd say you should stop fussing with it, and call AOL tech support. It's their program. It ought to work. You're paying for their product, they need to make it work on your machine. You've wasted enough of your time on it.

Good luck!

Dave

 

[Courts]

I'd say you should stop fussing with it, and call AOL tech support. It's their program. It ought to work. You're paying for their product, they need to make it work on your machine. You've wasted enough of your time on it.

Good luck!

Dave

Don't know if this is relavant, but years ago when I had Win 98 and tried using AOL I was told to upgrade Internet Explorer because it was so integrated with Windows. Once I did things worked great.

Do you know if this is still the case with IE and Windows Dave?


.

 

[DaveNV]

I don't use AOL, so don't know what it requires these days. If it's a Windows XP machine, AOL should run in either IE 6 or 7. If it's Vista, it may need only one version or the other (likely 9, since it's the latest version.) Karen has both 8 and 9 installed at the same time, and I don't know if they're independent, or integrated somehow. Whether AOL 9 will work in a particular IE version is unknown. That's why I suggest Karen contact AOL - they can tell her what software is required to make it work. The fact that it DID work yesterday is confusing - what's different on the computer? Presumably, nothing has changed. So the program should still work. But apparently it doesn't. Sounds like a software conflict to me.

Not to bash AOL, but you remember the old joke:

Q: "What do the letters AOL stand for?"

A: "Almost On Line"



Dave

Don't know if this is relavant, but years ago when I had Win 98 and tried using AOL I was told to upgrade Internet Explorer because it was so integrated with Windows. Once I did things worked great.

Do you know if this is still the case with IE and Windows Dave?


.

 

[Glynda]

AOL

After updating to AOL 9.0 on my Windows XP system, I had a lot of problem signing on to TUG BBS through AOL, and I had uninstalled all old AOL versions. A shut down and reopening of AOL often allowed me to enter, or I just went through IE without opening AOL. Now that I have Vista, it hasn't happened.

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks, Glynda. So maybe AOL 9 is designed for Vista? Karen, are you reading this? If you aren't running Vista, maybe staying with 8 is smarter?

I still say a call to AOL tech support is a good idea, if only so you can learn what to expect from their program.

Dave

 

[Karen G]

Hi, Dave,
The reason I haven't contacted AOL tech support is that I don't have that service. They charge a monthly fee for that according to the website and I just use them for email, not to connect to the internet.

I uninstalled the AOL 9.0 that was on my computer and reinstalled it. I still have the same problem of it not opening and not allowing me to get to TUG.

So I think I'm just going to uninstall 9.0, use 8.0 for my email, and forget it.

The frustrating part is that when we were in Washington state on Comcast internet both 9.0 and TUG were accessed on my computer with no problem. Now that we're in Nevada on Cox internet I'm having these problems. Nothing against Nevada, though--we love our new location!
Karen

 

[Glynda]

AOL and Vista

I believe that AOL 9.0 came out before Vista and was intended for XP. Now there is a separate 9.0 version for Vista.

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks for the clarification, Karen. And Glynda, your AOL knowledge helps a lot. If 9 was released for XP, then there is no logical reason it shouldn't work.

Karen, if this has worked for you in the past, and doesn't work now, and at least part of the issue is you've changed ISPs, then that's definitely a phone call to make. Your local ISP could be the issue. The fact that it worked once, then not the next day, combined with your varying signal strength of your network may be related to how your router is working. And THAT could be related to your ISP. Since you can't call AOL for help, the next call to make is to your ISP. I'll be curious to hear what they have to say.

Troubleshooting problems like this can be a hassle, since it's like doing brain surgery by telephone...

Dave

 

[Don]

Dave, you might have hit the nail on the head several entries ago with you commented on a possible Ver. 8 and Ver. 9 conflict while installed at the same time. Karen, set a restore point and remove Ver. 8, and see if Ver. 9 works. If it doesn't you can restore back to the present settings.