[nfbcs] Slow speed internet connection and error messages whendownloading email

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Sat Apr 4 16:08:26 UTC 2009


It's really hard to know what is happening since we're not there, but there are a few things that come to mind.

First, the problem you had with the gateway and the problem you have with this computer might look the same but could 
well be different.  The first thing I would try to figure out is what software came with your Dell that might be running.  
Sometimes there are demos and trials, and sometimes there is antivirus and internet security software installed already.  If 
you didn't pay for it it could still be there and it might run for a specific amount of time before it requires a payment.  
Trying to run two antivirus programs could certainly slow things down, or it could be that settings on what has been 
installed by Dell might need to change.  Another possibility is that your machine is trying to do a lot of updates and they 
are not completing.  For example, a new computer will still often require updates from Windows, and some other 
companies have updaters loaded.  

While this is probably not the problem, some e-mail programs such as Outlook Express have "timeout" settings where 
they give up if response is too slow when downloading e-mail, but this would not result in the kind of messages you are 
getting.

Here are some things I would try.

Do you know anyone with a computer device of any kind whom you could have come over and try your connection to 
see if the connection works?  It wouldn't have to be a full computer, as long as it could do some kind of download just 
to be sure that the connection was good.

Do you have a way of having someone trying your machine without your screen reader?  This is probably not the 
problem, but it's worth checking since Vista and the version of JFW that are compatible are pretty new.  One can't 
assume everything is perfect there.

If Dell has already installed something like Mcaffee and you are not going to use it, remove it.  If it is an entire security 
suite and not just antivirus, be sure that you at least have whatever firewall that is in Vista turned on after it has been 
removed.  

If you haven't done so, turn your computer on and just leave it go for an hour or so to let any updates it could be trying 
to do complete.  

It seems unlikely, but some of your symptoms sound like some of the malware that is out there.  There is sort of a fine line 
between malware and viruses, and I had some on one of the computers here that was finally removed by Super 
Antispyware while Symantec seemed to notice it but do nothing about it.  There is a professional version of Super 
Antispyware that will remove threats without requiring payment for two weeks or so.  There is also a free version but I 
believe it only detects.  

You might also need Dell to take a look if nothing here works, but they will also want some assurance, probably beyond 
your ISP's word, that your internet connection is all right.  

Hopefully, something here will put you on to the problem.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>> [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Tonia
>> Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 7:12 PM
>> To: nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>> Subject: [nfbcs] Slow speed internet connection and error 
>> messages whendownloading email
>> 
>> 
>> Please help!  Any and all suggestions would be much 
>> appreciated.  I'm extremely frustrated and at a real loss for 
>> what to do right now.  Here's my problem.
>> 
>> I just got a new Del Inspiron desktop computer with Windows 
>> Vista Home Premium and MS Office 2007 Home and Student.  
>> However, I had this same problem with the old computer (with 
>> Windows XP Pro and Office 2003 Pro). I have high speed BB 
>> internet service through Insight and I use Windows Mail for 
>> email (but I used Outlook before).  I've had the same issue 
>> with both computers.  It just sometimes seems to be much 
>> worse with the new one.  I realize some of that could be the 
>> learning curve for IE 7 and windows Mail; but I believe it's 
>> much bigger than that.  
>> My internet connection speed seems to be really slow (much 
>> more so with the new computer) and frequently drops offline.  
>> For example, I tried downloading AVG a couple days ago but 
>> couldn't because the transfer rate was so slow and eventually 
>> timed out.  The transfer rate started out at what I guess is 
>> decent (250 kb) and then quickly dropped way down and 
>> fluctuated between 5 kb and around 40 kb.  I tried 
>> downloading the AVG 3 times with the same result. I also have 
>> a similar issue with downloading email.  It generally takes 
>> numerous attempts and several minutes to finally get my new 
>> messages in my Inbox.  I continually get error messages 
>> before they finally download.  While the error numbers often 
>> change, they usually look like:
>> 
>> Your server has unexpectedly terminated the connection. 
>> Possible causes for this include server problems, network 
>> problems, or a long period of inactivity. Account: 
>> 'mail.insightbb.com', Server: 'mail.insightbb.com', Protocol: 
>> POP3, Port: 110, Secure(SSL): No, Socket Error: 10053, Error 
>> Number: 0x800CCC0F
>> 
>> I've talked with 2 different levels of tech support with 
>> Insight and a tech came out to switch out my modem today, to 
>> see if that might fix the problem.  They all insist that 
>> everything looks good on their end, with the connection and 
>> modem; and that the problem has to reside with my computer.  
>> Today, the tech concluded that it was a software issue; 
>> saying that I must have downloaded some kind of software that 
>> is causing interruptions in my internet connection. Although, 
>> I don't have the solution, I tend to disagree with that 
>> conclusion.  As I said, this is a brand new computer that 
>> I've only had for a week; and the only software that I've 
>> added to it is Jaws.  Yesterday, I did download AVG on 
>> another computer and copy on to this one; but that didn't 
>> change anything.  Plus, I had the same issue with my old 
>> computer.  I never really dealt with the problem then though; 
>> because I assumed it might partly be due to the computer 
>> being a Gateway mini-tower and being a few years old.
>> 
>> Assuming Insight is right, in that it is a software issue, 
>> any ideas on what sort of software could be interfering?  Or 
>> any other ideas on what the problem might be or what I could 
>> do to resolve it?  For those of you who have Insight as your 
>> ISP, have you experienced similar issues?
>> 
>> Sorry for such a long description but I felt it necessary to 
>> adequately explain what is going on.
>> 
>> Very frustrated and eager for possible solutions,
>> 
>> Tonia
>> _______________________________________________
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>> ema%40insightbb.com
>> 



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