Help needed please with Microsoft update/Zonealarm/Sunbelt problem

redmandarin

After months of problems - slowness to connect to the internet and intermittent "explorer cannot connect (and sometimes "operation aborted") dialogue boxes", I've changed my firewall today from Zonealarm to Sunbelt (the problems started with a Zonelabs update and also with the Microsoft update that people have been having trouble with).

So I need to know two things:

1. When Sunbelt first attempted connect (to Virgin broadband) a box appeared which said "dial up number changed" and asked if I wanted to connect to this "new dial up number". Concerned about this, I said no and it wouldn't connect to the internet, so I said yes and it now connects.

Is this normal? Is it connecting to the "real" Virgin broadband OK?

2. Plus, although I'm getting a faster initial connection to the internet, its still sometimes doing the same "explorer can't connect" messages, when I open new pages. In order to cure this, would it be ok remove the Microsoft update, (as suggested as an option by Martin)? Would this interfere with Microsoft's subsequent updates that I've downloaded - and the "fix the Microsoft update problems" patch that I downloaded, as recommended by Martin?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you can offer guys.

fwor

I don't think what you're seeing is a result of the MS update problem, as all of the reports I've seen (and my own personal experience of the problem) say that you would get no Internet connectivity at all - that doesn't match your symptoms.

If your broadband modem is a USB one then it's not unusual for it to appear to be a dial-up modem if your OS is WinXP - so the "new dial-up number" when Sunbelt first runs is probably Ok.

I would avoid removing the MS update, as it is necessary to fix a major security vulnerability in Windows.

redmandarin

Thanks for your help fwor - great advice. :beer:
Do you have any idea why I keep getting lots of the "explorer can't display" or "operation aborted" boxes, then? And how might this be fixed? Thanks.

fwor

A couple of things to try: If you haven't already, download and install the latest drivers for the BB modem from the Virgin website.

Also, try using a different browser temporarily - Firefox is a good one - to see if IE has got itself in a mess.

Another possibility is that the modem is intermittently losing sync with the equipment at your ISPs end - you should be able to see if this happens if your modem has a link status light on it. Obviously this can only be fixed by your ISP.

redmandarin

Hi guys,

With reference to the last post on this thread by fwor, (Hi fwor, if you're online - the modem has two status lights - one marked USB and the other, ADSL).

I'm now about to download the latest broadband drivers from the Virgin site.

Just a quick query - sorry if it's an obvious one (I don't want to do anything I'll regret later!).

In add or remove programs, do I just uninstall the "SpeedTouch USB software" program?

Thanks.

DCFC79

redmandarin wrote: »

Hi guys,

With reference to the last post on this thread by fwor, (Hi fwor, if you're online - the modem has two status lights - one marked USB and the other, ADSL).

I'm now about to download the latest broadband drivers from the Virgin site.

Just a quick query - sorry if it's an obvious one (I don't want to do anything I'll regret later!).

In add or remove programs, do I just uninstall the "SpeedTouch USB software" program?

Thanks.

when i download and install the latest drivers for an item i dont uninstall the old 1 as i think the new will overwrite the old 1 but i could be completly wrong

redmandarin

Thanks, DCFC79.

That's what I thought, but the Virgin site says, "It is recommended that you uninstall any previous drivers from your computer and unplug the modem before installing the new drivers".

So, should I uninstall the "SpeedTouch USB software" program, before installing the new drivers?

espresso

redmandarin wrote: »

Thanks, DCFC79.

That's what I thought, but the Virgin site says, "It is recommended that you uninstall any previous drivers from your computer and unplug the modem before installing the new drivers".

Do what they tell you to do.

So, should I uninstall the "SpeedTouch USB software" program, before installing the new drivers?

It is the drivers that you are updating, so no point uninstalling the program. The drivers allow the hardware to communicate with the software program.

............

redmandarin

Thanks espresso. As you can see, I'm still a novice at this. I've only ever installed and unistalled programs before, so I don't know how to uninstall the drivers.

Please can you advise?