Bad tech support. BAD! BAD!

Post #48,111 by ben_tilly 8/5/02 8:12:21 AM Reply	Bad tech support. BAD! BAD! You assume that it is the network card, and you assume that a simpler solution will not work. And then jump to a much more complicated solution. At least try the easy solution. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But in much of the country it will, and is easy enough to test. Cheers, Ben "Perl is like vice grips. You can do anything with it, and it's the wrong tool for every job." --Unknown
Post #48,129 by Andrew Grygus 8/5/02 10:14:39 AM Reply	No, what I assume is . . . . if he's someone who posts here, he's already power cycled everything. Even some of my customers have enough sense to do that (though admittedly, not many). [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]
Post #48,231 by folkert 8/5/02 5:50:00 PM Reply	Well... I'll give you that.... It should be reasoned that if they do post here... BUT... on more than one occasion... I have seen even VERY good troubleshooters troubleshoot RIGHT past the simple fixes and assume the more complex ones... and I admit... even I have done that.... ----hush-hush---- shhhh.... don't let that out... So, it always does help to at least "mention" the easy fixes... as we all know those "Dam, I coulda had a V8" moments happen. `greg - Grand-Master Artist in IT, curley95@attbi.com -- REMEMBER ED CURRY!!!`
Post #48,249 by ben_tilly 8/5/02 7:17:21 PM Reply	Another bad assumption First of all Bryce posts here. Secondly we all have different skillsets. What is common sense for one is unlikely to be for everyone else. For instance I don't work with hardware much. Sure, I know to try power-cycling everything. How? Because I know someone who had a lot of problem getting everything set up with her cable modem, and when I was going to get one I asked the guy who got it working, "BTW what was the problem you mentioned with Kim's modem?" "Oh, turns out that you have to power-cycle the modem every time you want to change what it is connected to." So I know it. Now. But didn't 6 months ago. And I don't assume that people know what I just learned... Cheers, Ben "Perl is like vice grips. You can do anything with it, and it's the wrong tool for every job." --Unknown
Post #48,303 by static 8/6/02 1:47:55 AM Reply	I told a tech off for suggesting that. What happened is that when he suggested power-cycling it, I said "that shouldn't be necessary" and he agreed. This was a DSL modem that took 90 seconds to boot, did the PPPoE itself, had a basic firewall capability and a 4-port hub built-in. It didn't fix the problem, anyway. Power-cycling computing hardware "just to see if it fixes it" is a Windows mentality. Curiously, when I flashed my 802.11b Access Point, the readme file said to power-cycle it, but by the time I read that, it had finished flashing and was running the new firmware! Wade. "Ah. One of the difficult questions."
Post #48,334 by ben_tilly 8/6/02 7:19:50 AM Reply	This isn't a case of Windows mentality The issue with many cable modems is that there is no way built into the modem to cause it to do basic reinitializations (like "figure out what name the hardware that is attached to me expects to hear itself addressed by") is to start from scratch. So if you switch what you have plugged into the modem, then you need to power-cycle or they will forever talk past each other. Once it is up, then barring a hardware change you can leave it that way for months. Cheers, Ben "Perl is like vice grips. You can do anything with it, and it's the wrong tool for every job." --Unknown
Post #48,355 by admin 8/6/02 10:20:38 AM Reply	Not only that... ... but my cable modem doesn't even have a power switch. So if something changes to the point where it needs reinitialization (like when Comcast changed to their own network from @home), I have to unplug it, then plug it back in. :-) Regards, -scott anderson "Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
Post #48,410 by a6l6e6x 8/6/02 2:42:27 PM Reply	Also, a power glitch can put the cable modem into limbo. Had that happen once. A short power disruption left the Motorola cable modem in a weird state that made it look like there was no cable signal. The Road Runner tech support guy suggested power off/power on before sending out a repair guy. Good thing! Duke Energy (the local power company) is notorious for power blips so my cable modem is now on a small UPS. Alex "Television: chewing gum for the eyes." -- Frank Lloyd Wright
Post #48,419 by Andrew Grygus 8/6/02 3:01:00 PM Reply	Happens to hubs too. I've had to power cycle 10BaseT and 10/100 hubs that jammed because of a power fluctuation. Everything looks fine, but some (or all) of the ports don't work. [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx]

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