Is it really possible for Tesco to be this rubbish?

[WriggleJiggle]

Am about to start an abusive phone call campaign against Tesco Broadband. Keep phoning them telling them we have a problem - I suspect the modem is dead as it only works when you bash it on the table a few times .

3 times they have promised to send out the special 'vista broadband' disc because they refuse to believe the modem is broken.

Now the internet keeps disconnecting because 'USB cable is connected but ADSL line is down'. Suprise suprise it then manages to work again after I've restarted the computer and bashed the modem a few times.

Am I right in being p**d off as Tesco or is it really possible that there is a problem with the ADSL line (whatever that may be). And if so, how do I solve that?!

I think they are pretty much all as crap as each other when it comes to intermittent connection problems.

There are a lot of problems with drivers for devices like modems for Vista.
Drivers are the files that communicate with the modem, and you need different ones for Vista. Incredibly, loads of companies seem to have been caught on the hop, and are still only just producing buggy stuff (I know, Vista was hardly unexpected)

Your driver may have bugs in it, and they want to send you a newer version. Re-starting the computer and it working the first time, may also be a symptom of that.

I am doing a lot of modem testing at the moment, and we are running into this kind of problem all the time with Vista.

In fact, your software sounds a bit like ours on a bad day. Please do not be too harsh on your supplier. There is a team of sweating engineers somewhere in the world, working overtime to try and fix your problem.

I know I should be nice to people, but it has taken them a whole month to send out the disk (a mixture of not sending it for some obscure reason and sending it to the wrong address), and now I've installed it I just want it to work.

My MN surfing time is constantly under threat as dd rarely sleeps and d? will be appearing shortly. I hate wasting it faffing around waiting for the computer to work.

what you need to acsertain is whether it is a hardware problem or the software.

you know your modem is working fine if the lights are at green when you start your pc or laptop up.

if the modem seems ok then you need to update your diver software for the modem.

I'm guessing the modem is probably a speedtouch adsl (aka thomson), the manufacturer name will be stated on the modem as well as the model number.

you then can go to the website either www.speedtouch.com or whoever the modem came from or you can google then name and moDDdel number and the fact you want its driver.

eg "speedtouch 330 driver"
gives you a result which takes you to
www.thomson-broadband.co.uk/codepages/content3.asp?c=7&ProductID=471

just download and it should work, as it did when I downloaded it for my Dad's new Vista pc, last week,
I wouldn't wait for Tesco go straight to the modemmanufacturs solution as they will have the better resources and trained personnel to deal
good luck!

sorry, forgot to say if you go throughall this and still nada the your modem prbably is screwed, however try it in a differnt usb port to.
it support isy're mainly a process of elimination to gett to the root, so if yougo through the stuff in the last post it gives you the ammuntion to tell tesco that you've tried and tested everything andits still fecked,
if tesco is still being nippy then move to another isp if not under mim contract as another isp will send you a new modem

Thanks for that. I'm sure it is the modem that is at fault as whilst waiting for the disc to arrive I downloaded the driver from the speedtouch site myself. That didn't make much difference, so I installed the driver Tesco eventually sent out - that hasn't made any difference.

Am now going to look for a different ISP to use because I'm sure others probably provide a cheaper service and will give me a new modem to go with it.

I still keep getting the message 'ADSL line down'. Are ADSL lines to do with BT or the ISP?

That would be the BT line, I think.

OK, you have eliminated the driver. Other possibilities are:

• the modem has a hardware problem -> you need a new modem

• the modem has a software problem -> a firmware upgrade could fix that. Not so likely if the modem is not a new product.

• there is a bug in the program on your computer, that you open when you want to make a modem connection -> you need help from Tesco 2nd or 3rd line support.

• there really is a problem with your line. I think BT could test your line for you, and tell you if ADSL can work for your house.

Not just Tesco, Talk Talk too. Been 9 months and still not on the internet at home. Had new modems and been talked through various procedures, passed on to different de[partments and they still don't know what is wrong! At least I haven't had to pay for it!!!!!