Virgin broadband problem [solved]

[Biggsy]

I was suposed to be getting an upgrade/boost to my ADSL broadband service on Friday night.

By email they warned that I might be without broadband and phone service for 15 mins to 4 hours, but I'm still not able to connect to broadband over 36 hours later.  Phone is OK.

Tried two modem/routers that should be compatible.  The "internet" or "broadband link" lights come on on the routers, but the connection doesn't actually work.  Checked the cables, switched everything off and on: doesn't help.

Tried the helpline, but gave up after ages of being in a queue.  I can't face that again until they're less busy.  Terribly frustrating and nerve-wracking.

Is there any way of telling if the problem is at "their end" or "my end"?  The service dropped before I did anything, but I fear I may have made things worse buggering about with the alternative router and computer settings, etc.

(This message posted via dial-up).

ps. There are no "service issues" in my area according to Virgin's announcement line.

[clifftaylor]

Have you checked what connections you *should* have via the start menu??

[Biggsy]

I don't know what you mean, I'm afraid.

ps. Nice pudding.

[Biggsy]

Whereabouts in the Start menu?

[clifftaylor]

Start / control panel / connections

[Biggsy]

To eliminate any buggering up I might have done, I've now restored my system (C drive) from a backup to how it was before the problem started, and I've reconnected the router that I was using originally.  Still no broadband service.

I can connect to the router.  The router Broadband Link Diagnostics reports everything is "up" except:

"DNS Communication: Unable to contact the Domain Name Server"

What does that mean?

[fred the great]

I'm  even less of an expert but my internet technician just 'pinged" the server(s) until he got a successful connection.

I just failed totally before he came and I'm unclear as to what he actually did to solve it

[redshift]

The Domain Name Server is what translates your 'something.co.uk' in the address bar into a number which your computer can then use to address the information it sends.  If you cannot communicate with the nameserver, you will have difficulty reaching anything other than a numerical address.

Last time I looked, Virgin's DNS numbers were 194.168.4.100 and 194.168.8.100.

If you connect to the router using your browser, can you tell it those DNS numbers, save the config, and reboot?

[Biggsy]

It only bloody works!    (Didn't even need to reboot after entering the DNS numbers).

Thank you very much indeed, Redshift.

And thanks to everyone else as well.

[clifftaylor]

ps. Nice pudding.

Ooooh, you are awful !! *shove*

[frankly frankie]

Last time I looked, Virgin's DNS numbers were 194.168.4.100 and 194.168.8.100.

Last time I looked, they were NTL's DNS numbers ; -)

[redshift]

Heh.  True, very true.   

[Biggsy]

So I was going through NTL?  Handy!

Anyway, "Obtain DNS information automatically" is working again now, so it would have been OK if I'd just done nothing and waited... a long time.

[hellymedic]

Ummmm.... Didn't Virgin take over ntl a while back, or have I totally lost the plot?

[frankly frankie]

Acting on the advice of some magazine or other, I altered my DNS lookups to the 'open' ones at
208.67.222.222 [edited, ta Tim]
208.67.220.220
and did get a noticeable speed increase.  Maybe because my previous settings were crap, I dunno (I'm not on Virgin BTW) (well, not recently anyway ;- )

[TimO]

Acting on the advice of some magazine or other, I altered my DNS lookups to the 'open' ones at
208.67.222.22
208.67.220.220
and did get a noticeable speed increase.  Maybe because my previous settings were crap, I dunno (I'm not on Virgin BTW) (well, not recently anyway ;- )

I think you mean 208.67.222.222 for the first one (resolver1.opendns.com).

Generally you want to use a DNS which is "close" to you, which for most people means the one operated by their ISP.  Since there are normally lots of DNS requests made, ie every time you type a new URL into your browser, then you want this to be returned ASAP.

Having said that, we had a machine operating in ESOC (European Space Operations Centre) and they wouldn't give us access to a DNS, so we pointed the machine back at the Imperial DNS, in the UK.  It worked OK, and wasn't noticeably slow (although it only needed to know the IPs for a handful of machines anyway).