Help. cant get to stay connected on my laptop.

[jmpuddleduck]

Ive just had a new basic laptop for my birthday. I have to use dial up as we have no broadband. I can get connected, but the connection then drops 1-10 minutes later, or the other day it was showing connected but not able to display page. I have no idea about computers, and am worried the laptop I bought is not working ? anyone help please ?

no idea, but bumping it for you!

errm.. ..there could quite likely be a timeout on the connection either imposed by your computer or by your ISP.. ...what's your new computer running? XP, Vista,OS X (a macintosh), or more unlikely Linux.

For Windows XP you need to go to Control Panel, Network Connections, right click on the connection you're using (the dial-up one), select properties, then on the options tab there should be a ' Hang up if idle for ...' and you can choose how long.

It could also be a dodgy cable/phone line. When you dial up to the internet you'll see a little window saying something like, "Dialing" then "Connecting" then eventually, "Connected to MyISP at 33Kbps" or similar.. ..what's the connection speed showing as? If it's really low then it could well be a dodgy phone line/cable.

Too late to be thinking about these things...

Geekboy is right... you may need to call BT and get them to turn up the 'gain' or your line if your speed is very low... as for the timeout.. this should only kick in if you are doing nothing for 10 mins.. I assume it kicks you out even if you are using the internet?

Thankyou for the bump 3andnomore, Geekboy and opinionateddad, It is vista home basic (I think), It works ok on this computer (windows xp)usually, but our connection is slow 21.6kbps today, and thats normal for here, Yes, I just get connected, sometimes it lets me see a few pages, others it just disconnects almost immediately. I was hoping to be able to browse on Mumsnet downstairs in the warm

sounds like a bad line.. report to BT and get them to turn up the 'gain'... be persistant... they basically increase the line voltage (they turn this down to minimum to save power and money!!)...

Had same issues here years ago (when modems were the rage) and it took me from 22k to 48k+

If you are on any kind of extension wiring, try plugging in to the master BT socket. If you get the same result, then see if BT will increase the line gain.

Yep, I tried plugging it into the master socket and still the same. I dont know if BT will be able to do anything with the line as we live offshore, the line serves about 6 houses and the nearest exchange is quite old. But you think its more likely to be the line than the new computer, I do hope so.