Internet Withdrawal

I'm having serious internet withdrawal.

Yes, I am on the internet at this particular moment. I'm "borrowing" my neighbor's wifi. I don't know which neighbor or, depending on who it is, I might ask their permission.

I took a few minutes at work to check email during the week, but it was busy, so I didn't have much time.

The trouble started when I installed a perfectly legal download of Adobe Creative Suite. I downloaded all the files, started the installation, and went to bed. When we got up in the morning, my husband looked at the computer and said that one of the installs didn't complete correctly. He shut down the computer and we left. That evening, we still couldn't connect to the internet. All the lights on the modem were on, and one of them was amber. I called Cox, and the guy said our modem was six years old and probably dead.

Next day, we went and got a modem, but unfortunately, we bought one that didn't have input for coax cable. However, my husband started running virus scans and Avast found something. Nothing else found it. That started him freaking out, but after he cleaned the computer, the modem worked again. After a little while, though, all the lights came on and it no longer worked.

I made another call to Cox, and the person could not tell me if modems go in and out like that when they're dying. He did tell me he was surprised that our six-year-old modem still worked at all. He said that it's like dog years, and a six-year-old modem is like an 80-year-old person. Apologies to any octogenarians, I'm sure.

This afternoon, we bought another modem, a Motorola with a coax input. I called Cox and gave them all the model information, then I hooked it up. All the lights came on properly, the PC light flickered, just like normal. No internet, though. I ran the set-up CD that came with it. It said I didn't have enough RAM (it only recognized 32MB when I have 6GB), it wouldn't install the USB drivers, it seems to be trying to connect as dial-up half the time. The computer still can't connect to the internet, though. When I hook it up through our wireless router, all its lights come on, but I can't even connect using my laptop. Perhaps it's something simple, but I've been on with Cox twice and Motorola once since I plugged everything in, and nothing is working. I've tried everything I know to try, and I can't make it work.

The Motorola guy had me run a test and said that the Cox signal was too weak, so my last call to Cox was to give in and schedule a technician to come out. Of course, no one can come until Monday, and they only have four hour windows, like 7-10am or 4-7pm. We both work, we just had a week of vacation at the beginning of the month, Tim had Thursday off as the holiday, and I had an FPRA board meeting and a doctor's appointment last week, and an FPRA general chapter meeting this coming week, and I have a lot to do. So, it's just not feasible for us to leave work early or come in late waiting around on a technician. Especially because if the signal is weak, that's not our fault. I even double checked to see if I saw any little tooth marks from the cats. I know they chewed my laptop power cord and I don't know what else, but the cable is not as accessible and I saw no evidence that it had been chewed. The fitting on the end seems secure.

It's either something very simple, or it's their signal, or it's a combination. Anyway, the guy said that I would have to call again later in the week, because he can't schedule anything that far in advance.

Of course, this would have to happen right in the middle of my very first online giveaway! At least I've been able to get on and approve the comments as they've been coming in. I'm very grateful that I'm getting some entries. Please be patient with me if they're not approved as quickly as you might expect.