My sister's having problems with the USB DSL modem and her laptop. Unfortunately I only have the info I've gained over the telephone (she's not exactly a tech geek, to say the least) and will be going over there next weekend to try to fix it.
the modem is a Acatel Speedtouch 330 (USB). The laptop is a HP thing, bought under a year ago but, well, she ignored my advice.
It seems she had been getting disconnected quite often for the last few weeks previously (worked fine before), but now it isnt even connecting properly. The ISP support reckon the username and pass is coming in garbled, that is when the connection makes it that long. They suggested getting a PCIe USB card, because apprently some USB just breaks after a while of doing what it is within spec?
The modem has two LED's, one for USB connection and one for DSL signal: the USB LED is rapidly alternating between green (good) and red (bad), the DSL LED stays green. Checking device manager showed it thinks the modem is getting it's 500mA, but she told me Device Manager was "flickering" - unplugging the USB cable stopped that. The modem is the only thing connected to USB, and the LED pattern doesnt fit in with the documentation troubleshooting[.PDF].
I'm tempted to think the ISP tech is about right and the problem's all in the USB hardware, but I find the thought of a brandname laptops USB being unable to cope with spec, plus inbetween the connection going from 'flakey' to 'effed' there was some nasty dialer spyware (i got her to remove it with adaware then suggested reinstalling speedtouch/isp software, then unaware of the prior connection issue)
the modem is a Acatel Speedtouch 330 (USB). The laptop is a HP thing, bought under a year ago but, well, she ignored my advice.
It seems she had been getting disconnected quite often for the last few weeks previously (worked fine before), but now it isnt even connecting properly. The ISP support reckon the username and pass is coming in garbled, that is when the connection makes it that long. They suggested getting a PCIe USB card, because apprently some USB just breaks after a while of doing what it is within spec?
The modem has two LED's, one for USB connection and one for DSL signal: the USB LED is rapidly alternating between green (good) and red (bad), the DSL LED stays green. Checking device manager showed it thinks the modem is getting it's 500mA, but she told me Device Manager was "flickering" - unplugging the USB cable stopped that. The modem is the only thing connected to USB, and the LED pattern doesnt fit in with the documentation troubleshooting[.PDF].
I'm tempted to think the ISP tech is about right and the problem's all in the USB hardware, but I find the thought of a brandname laptops USB being unable to cope with spec, plus inbetween the connection going from 'flakey' to 'effed' there was some nasty dialer spyware (i got her to remove it with adaware then suggested reinstalling speedtouch/isp software, then unaware of the prior connection issue)
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