Trouble with Net [Resolved! HUZZAH!!]

[Kalon Ordona II]

Hi, everyone, this is coming to you from my library. xD
My net is down, and I'm not sure when we'll get it fixed. My older brother tried to reset it; I told him he probably didn't know what he was doing, and it turns out I was right. Anyway he might have broken it. My computer-smart sister is still working to see if it can be fixed, but technical support feels that it's probably broken, since they're not receiving any data from our modem. It's funny, though, 'cause the Ethernet connection is still there, and so is the Power and DSL. So, I dunno; we'll see what happens.

This won't really mean that I'm away for a while. It just means I'll have to make good use of my libraries and flash drive. xD
Bear with me, I guess. In a way, this might be a good thing, 'cause I'll be forced to do all the work without distractions, and then bring it to upload here whenever I get the chance.

I'm almost done with my Character Sheet for Emoria, and I'm almost done with the histories for Irrihyánë. (PMing Dax and Gunneh and folks like that. It's coming along marvelously!!)

Right, so there it is. Have fun everybody! Hopefully this won't be too much of a handicap for me, especially since I work at the library anyway.

[Bird of Hermes]

I hope you get it fixed soon.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Me too. ^^
Fortunately the weather is very nice where I live, so I can also walk to the library close to home. xD

[Kathryn Lacey]

This should be moved to the Absence and Leave forum.

Anyway, sorry your brother ruined your Net. I happen to actually know a lot of people who think they know what they're doing when they really don't.

My best friend's ex-lover promised to change her oil. Well... he ended up dumping her transmission fluid instead, so a mutual friend basically smacked them ((the ex and another person who was "helping")) down and fixed everything for her. XD

But yeah. Hopefully he knows better for the future.

What do you mean he was trying to "reset" your Internet anyway?

[Loki]

What do you mean he was trying to "reset" your Internet anyway?

There are three key tools an inexperienced person uses to fix any given problem.

1) Adhesive (i.e. Duct Tape/Super Glue) for things that move when they shouldn't.

2) Lubricant (i.e. WD-40) for things that don't move when they should.

3) Hammer for anything else that doesn't fall under those two categories.

I think it is safe to assume that the problem wasn't a matter of moving parts or lack thereof, which leaves one last option...

[Kathryn Lacey]

First: hahahahaah

Second: What I really meant was... I didn't know one could 'reset' internet, and I never knew there was cause for it.

[Loki]

Unless I'm mistaken, I assume he meant reset the router. That is just a matter of unplugging it for a minute or so then allow it to boot up again. Routers can get bogged down whenever receiving a lot of information from several sources (happens all the time whenever I'm downloading files via torrents) and powering it down allows it to clear those connections.

At least that is how I think it works. I'm not 100% sure if those reasons are entirely accurate, but it always works for me.

[Kathryn Lacey]

With that in mind, how often should I unplug my router? When I get DSL, I'm going to be using a router for my laptop. I've never used a router in the past, so I'm not really sure how it all works.

[Loki]

It's something that only needs to be done when necessary. Typically it is the first course of action that should be taken if you notice your internet starting to become sluggish or not responding at all. More often than not that will fix the problem, which is fortunate because it is the easiest and cheapest fix (hell, you're technically saving money by doing this since you are unplugging something for a moment.) If that doesn't work that it is a problem with your computer, the internet provider, or the hardware in between.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Sorry it was in the wrong section. I was in a hurry to let you guys know as soon as possible. ^^

It was resetting the modem. We were apparently just supposed to unplug the power an re-plug it back--which my Mom apparently knew and told us, but someone didn't hear that bit. <.<
He actually got a toothpick and pushed the little reset button inside the modem.

So I guess it's official... never let him do technical stuff, even if he appears to know what he's doing.
(Sorry, Bro.)

Anyway we'll see how it goes. The modem might be broken or it might not. We might just get a new one, since we were renting this one from USFamily.net or something like that.
Or maybe my sister (who taught herself HTML, CSS, and other computery stuff) will have it fixed. We'll see.

[Loki]

He actually got a toothpick and pushed the little reset button inside the modem.

Again, I'm only a partial techy. I know a lot of the basics, but get a little hazy with the details of more advanced things. That said, what I believe that button does is resets the router completely. By that, I mean it is likely in the state is was whenever you first took it out of the box as far as programming is concerned. Whereas unplugging resets the connections, pressing that button reformats the router.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yup, we know that, now.

[Loki]

So have you tried finding the disk that came with the router to try and format it again? I assume that is what your sister is doing, but I figured I'd check just to make sure.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yes, that was her plan. No word on whether it's worked yet. She might be hesitant to try. We think that all it does is install what we have already. But we'll see; it might work, and it's definitely worth a shot.

[Kalon Ordona II]

So the solution is in sight, 'twould seem. Reestablishment of internet access for yours truly is on the horizon. ^^

Right now I'm taking as many trips to the library as I can, but hopefully I'll be done with that and I can go back to sitting at home with all my files and plenty of time, plus the internet, at my beck and call. O the freedom. xD

I guess it's ...nice... to lose things once in a while, so you don't take them for granted.

[Weiss]

Speaking from experience, what your brother did wasn't at all wrong. Generally speaking, internet modems are a plug and play device. You don't usually need to format them with discs or anything of the sort, and even if a disc comes with the hardware, you can usually toss it aside unless it contains particular features for networking.

Doing a soft reset on the modem should have prompted the device to reestablish the connection between itself and the ISP. After doing so, resetting the router (via unplugging it, waiting for ten seconds and then plugging it back in) should have done the same for the router, prompting it to check for a connection with your modem and reset the connections to the PCs on your network.

Sometimes doing only those steps will fix the problem, but sometimes it won't. The next step is to reset (repair) the connection on each PC. To do this, you simply navigate to your Control Panel => Network Connections and then access the current network in use. Mine is simply labeled "Local Area Connection", but this may very from OS to OS or PC to PC.

After double-clicking on your connection, the dialog box for that connection should appear. Within the dialog box should be two tabs, General and Support. Under the Support tab, there should be a button that says "Repair". Clicking this button will reset the connection between your PC and router so that the router can reassign each computer on the network to the correct local IP address (e.g. - 192.168.0.3).

If the problem is with your existing network, that should solve it. If that doesn't work, it means the problem is likely either human error (incorrectly connecting this or that) or a connection problem between your modem and ISP.

[Guest]

*standing ovation for Weiss*

Well the way I see it (from a common sense "duh" standpoint), you can continue to wait for a full-on (but unnecessary) repair or new modem, or you can do what Weiss said and jump on in the pool.

Or.... just keep using your library. I used to work in one (work at Barnes & Noble now >.< ) and I used their computers all the time to do my radical web surfing.

Anyway, hope to see you back completely Kalon.

[Kalon Ordona II]

Yeah, I'll give Weiss's suggestion a try. Thanks, Weiss! ^^

*copies to flash drive*

[Kalon Ordona II]

It wasn't a "soft reset" that he did. He didn't unplug the power, wait a bit, then plug it back in. He actually pushed the "reset" button, inside a little hole. It put it back to factory settings, or some such.

At any rate, I no longer have to worry about it, because.....


MY NET IS BACK!!
YAAAAAAAAAY!

We got a new modem. It's more new and shiny and has fun little starter thingies for setup. ^^

Huzzah! Nay, a thousand Huzzahs!

[Kathryn Lacey]

Yay! I'm happy for you! ^^_^^

[ImmortalSin]

Glad you got it fixed Kalon!

[Loki]

Welcome back!

[Weiss]

A soft reset is when you use the little reset button in the hole.

Anyway, glad it's fixed and all that.

[MoiraofWords]

I personally thought soft reset was unplugging the stuff, hard pushing the reset button.

[Kalon Ordona II]

I was of the same opinion myself. But hey, I don't claim to know much about it either way. xD Main thing is, I don't have to worry about it anymore, and I know for future reference: DON'T let ANYONE push the Tiny Reset Button of Doom. ^^

[Weiss]

A hard reboot (also known as a cold reboot, cold boot or cold start) is when power to a computer is cycled (turned off and then on) or a special reset signal to the processor is triggered.

A soft reboot (also known as a warm reboot) is restarting a computer under software control, without removing power or (directly) triggering a reset line. It usually, though not always, refers to an orderly shutdown and restarting of the machine.

-- Wikipedia; "Booting"

A hard reboot is when you remove the power from the device. A soft reboot is when you trigger a proper reset using software controls (often in the form of a reset button on devices that do not have interactive software, such as cell phones, modems or routers).

Furthermore, you were having a problem before he triggered the reset, correct? Blaming it on the button is rather misguided. Preemptive judgment could lead to an inability to fix problems in the future where pushing the reset button is the appropriate solution.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle!

[MoiraofWords]

Go Joe! Now we can defeat cobra as we reset their hardware!

[Kalon Ordona II]

No, there wasn't a serious problem before the reset. They just thought that it might need to be reset, and they figured it couldn't do any harm.

It was "blamed on the button" is because, when we called technical support and went through a whole hullabaloo, it was concluded by them that, since they were receiving no data from our modem no matter what we did, it is possible that the modem was damaged when the reset button was pressed.

That scenario was doubtful on both ends, but since no solution presented itself, we were essentially forced to assume that such was the case.

Pushing the reset button on a modem, judging from this recent experience, is only needed when a customer is no longer using the modem, and it is being returned to the factory, or rental service, or company, or whatever. The point seems to be to return the thing to the factory settings when changing hands.

That being the nature of the operation--or seeming to be--it registered in my mind as more final, hence the term "hard reset," in contrast to the simple recalibration caused by a "softer" reset via disconnecting and reconnecting the power supply. This could be another interpretation of the terminology--albeit a less viable one, perhaps, seen from the angle of 'hardware vs. software.'

The thing is, your example of the difference between a hard and soft reset is in specific reference to rebooting a computer, not resetting a modem. While it is likely that there is a correlation, I never like to make assumptions.

And actually, as I type this, I come across another explanation. It is entirely possible that pushing the button in the reset hole should not have had the effect it did on our modem. If that's true, then it WAS broken in the process.

Whatever the case, the mis-correction of the problem happened in the first place because the person involved was too impatient to thoroughly check the proper procedures before taking action.

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