My computer keeps disconnecting from the internet every 2 to 15 mins. It worked fine yesterday. There is no error messages. I have just scanned using Norton AntiVirus 2002 (fully updated) and Ad-Aware SE. They found nothing. I am on Virgin 576 kbps broadband with a speedtouch USB ADSL modem. I am running XP SP2.

Probably ISP difficulties.

is the connection active?

There are two reasons why your connection could be disconnecting.

The first is that perhaps Virgin's routers have reached their contention ratio and are straining, or the router might be being dealt a few blows from pings etc. This basically means that the connection is ISP side.

The second reason is just purely down to the configuration of software on your computer, If you have multiple e-mail accounts its usually advised to set the e-mail program to "Use the current connection" and "Not create a connection".

The same can be said with the browser too. check that your connection is also a true connection to Virgin and not some Dialup that has snuck on an taken over your internet connection.... otherwise you might find yourself hit with a heafty bill even though it's not your fault.

i heared that virgin users get disconnectod if they are on dial-up, but i have never heared it on broadband

I have a similar problem. It's a 56k dial-up connection, and sometimes it works fine, sometimes it doesn't.
I am wondering how one can recognize whether it is all just a matter of equipment getting old. This modem is some 4 years old -- how does it die? Little by little or at once?

Ive been having a major broadband problem recently with virgin, “my ADSL modem wont initialize my ADSL line” ive called up virgin umpteen times to explain that this was occurring and that “sometimes” it would work. After a few calls and constantly complaining they decided to get a BT engineer out to have a look at the problem. He came out the other morning, but my modem recognised the line then :rolleyes: , he did a few tests anyway and I passed with flying colours apparently. Now that he’s been and gone and ive been doing some work and the [censored] thing has went a few times (had to resort to dail up). Ive called up Virgin to explain that this has happened again and the guy I spoke to thinks it’s an intermittence problem (so hes going to get the BT guy out again – I think). I mean i don’t think its virgins fault that the modem isn’t synchronizing with the line and when it does it takes ages (hours). Ive also tried changing cables and filters just incase they were faulty but everything’s just the same!!
Im soo pissed off!

My connedction works now. It was an ISP prob I think, as it cleared up after a day

hmmm mine is working for now, but im scared to reboot/turn off my pc incase it takes a while to sync lol

Heres some information about DSL setups that might or might not be handy to you Alty.

Firstly if your connection to your ISP suffers a fault during it's handshake phase, either from a filter not being properly connected or from other devices on the phone line (Notibly coordless phones that can generate static or Standalone fax machines) then it can cause either the handshake to fail or the connection to fragmentate.

This usually means that you have to wait for your ISP's router to re-issue a lease to your computer. (Leases are a method of establishing if the connection is fresh, or if it could be stale, people don't usually need to worry too much about them, however if they are issued and your connection fails it can just add problems to reconnecting).

Usually the wait can be 1/2 hour to 12 hours, which I had to wait one time for. When I had it happen a few times I went out and purchased a router which I leave on even when the computers not on, so the connection doesn't have to go through the handshaking.

CONCLUSION:
Make sure your computer doesn't travel four miles of cable before it reaches the filter, make sure the filter is plugged directly into the phone port. Don't have other devices on the internal network of your house without filters and be careful of Faxes, Coordless phones and answerphones because they can cause problems.

If you get that fed up, get a Router, just make sure it's compatible with a BT line.
Sample of BT's configuration:
VPI number: 0
VCI number: 38
Authentication: CHAP
Modulation: G.DMT
Encapsulation: PPP over ATM (PPPoA)
Virtual Circuit Multiplexing (VC-MUX)