Losing Ping?

[XP4Life]

We are totally desperate at this point.  Any suggestions, comments, etc., would be GREATLY appreciated.

Long story short...

My parents bought a brand new Dell computer (Window's Vista).  On their OLD computer, Internet connection was slow (Motorola SURFboard... Comcast cable Internet), but computer was from 2001, so we figured that was why.

Unplugged old computer, plugged in new computer.

Computer won't connect to Internet.

Spend 3 hours (I kid you not) on phone with Comcast.  They walked us through different diagnostics.  Change USB to Ethernet.  Nothing worked.   Told us to call Dell.

Spent another 3 hours on phone with Dell.  They walked us through SAME diagnostics.  Nothing worked.  Told us it was a Comcast issue.

Comcast came out once.  Comcast came out twice.  Hooked up a black box to our computer.  Told us we are "losing ping" (whatever that means).  They checked lines in the house, they checked lines out of the house.  Told us it was our computer.

Took computer to WORK, hooked it up there, it works absolutely wonderfully.  Internet connection PERFECT.

Comcast coming back tomorrow.

Do you think it's my parents computer, or Comcast?  (My mother, bless her heart, is convinced that it is the computer, even though it works perfectly with another connection.)

I'd like some info to ease her mind, as I have to go over there and deal with Comcast yet once more! 

[Geek-9pm]

Simple question.
Can you beg or borrow a friends laptop and take it overt there and try it? It it does not work, consider dropping Comcast. They should have brought out another new modem and a laptop of there own and not rely just on there test equipment. Don't ask me why, I will really go a a tirade.

[Broni]

Since the computer works fine at work, must be Comcast.

[XP4Life]

Simple question.
Can you beg or borrow a friends laptop and take it overt there and try it? It it does not work, consider dropping Comcast. They should have brought out another new modem and a laptop of there own and not rely just on there test equipment. Don't ask me why, I will really go a a tirade.

Actually, they "said" they were going to bring one.  Convieniently, they forgot. 

I do have a brand new netbook that I will be bringing along with me tomorrow to test, and hopefully show that it IS their problem.

Oh, and they STOLE our personal modem (my dad didn't know that my mom had purchased it years before, and let them take it, thinking it was rented.  I'm pretty sure they have that info on file at Comcast, but anyways...) and gave us a brand new one, that they tested and said was "fine". 

[XP4Life]

Since the computer works fine at work, must be Comcast.

That is what I thought, but clearly, I think Comcast is taking advantage of my parents since they are obviously NOT the least computer saavy, at least with terms and jargon.

[Broni]

Comcast definitely sucks.

[Geek-9pm]

Comcast definitely sucks.

Boni I am not trying to disagree with you. I have noticed that the competence and honesty of the people the service providers sends out has some relationship to how they perceive there customer.

My experience with ATT DSL shows this.
When I made clear that I have gone through the standard script many times, then they start turning me over to people who know what they are doin. Took six months until a savvy tech showed  me the DSL modem was a piece of trash.

Maybe that might be the case with Comcast.   

[Zylstra]

Comcast has a lot of Modem trouble...
Actually, most DSL and Cable Internet Service Providers have modem troubles...

The reason why is simply because the modems are incredibly cheap. I mean, made with the cheapest parts, and very little quality testing.

Also, with Comcast, the cable line can have a habit of getting interrupted, either because the cable itself has a problem, or there is a device connected to it at the same time causing interference. Ask them to test the actual line, not just troubleshoot your computer and modem to death.

[ale52]

I just troubleshot a Comcast problem last week.  Guess what it was...

Alan <>< 

[mroilfield]

Let me tell y'all about an experience that I had with Comcast.

Since I work overseas and am away for weeks at a time my wife records all the shows we like to watch so that I can see them when I get home. So a few days after I get home one time I am happily sitting on the couch watching some of the recorded shows and I figure that since my wife and kids are in bed already I will finish the show that I am watching and then call it a night.

I did this thinking that I would be able to get up the next day and resume watching the other recorded shows. BOY, WAS I WRONG!!!!!!

I was the first one up the next morning and decided to start one of the shows while making breakfast. I turned on the TV and Cable box and the program guide looked like something out of the 80's or like a 3 year old designed it. Well I didn't think much about this at the time. Any way, I hit the DVR button to pull up the list of recorded shows and low and behold the list was blank. All of the shows had been deleted. This wouldn't have been very bad except for the fact that it was about 3 weeks worth of shows that I hadn't watched.

So once my wife got up I went to our room and checked the DVR in there to see if the kids shows were there or not and they were gone also.

Now this is where the geniuses at Comcast come into the picture.

I give the local Comcast office a call and let them know the program guide is screwed up looking and that every thing on both my DVRs had been erased. I get politely informed that the program guide isn't messed. They changed it to make it "Better". I also get informed that there is no way they can remotely erase my DVR so some one in my house must have done it. I explain to the person that I was the last one to go to bed and they were all there and I was also the first one to get up and I didn't erase anything. So this person then ask if I am married or have kids. I say yes I am married and I have a 7 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. So this person then proceeds to ask if my wife deleted them. I repeated that I was the last one to bed and the first one up so no she did not delete them. Even if she would have got up in the middle of the night and done it I would have woke up when she did the one in the bedroom. I then get asked if one of my kids erased them. So once again I go thru the fact that they were all in bed before me and got up after me.

I then get told that there is no way Comcast can retrieve anything that I deleted from my DVR. So I repeat that I didn't delete anything. So this person has the nerves to say that if me or my wife didn't delete every thing then it must have been one of my kids. That was the wrong thing for him to say. I asked to speak to his supervisor and he said he was the supervisor so I asked once again to speak to his supervisor and this time he reluctantly let me.

When the supervisor gets on the phone I tell him what the problem is and we pretty much go thru the same thing as with the other person except the supervisor didn't accuse my kids of doing this after I told him that they didn't do it. Needles to say I didn't get any help and I proceeded to let them know exactly how ticked off I was.

I wasn't really up set over the shows. I was more upset over the fact that they repeatedly accused me and my family of doing this. If any of you have Comcast and have ever wanted to erase every thing on you DVR it is a very long process and not something that could just be accidentally done on two different DVRs on the same day.

I did eventually speak to some one at a regional office for them and got an explanation. Apparently each local office can decide how their program guide looks and my office decided to change theirs and when this happens it resets and erases all content on any DVR and Cable boxes in the area. I was also apologized to by 3 different people about the way my local office handled my call and the fact that they would accuse children of doing something that they should have known was done by them. While on the phone with them they placed a conference call to my local office and had me listen in to the conversation. Since I had given them the names of both people that I spoke with they both got chewed out pretty good and told that they could either learn the systems they represent or find a new job. They were also told if they ever get caught treating a customer the way they did me they would be fired immediately. After they hung up with my local office I thanked the person I was talking to and told them they made me feel better now that I knew there was actually some one in the company that cared.

I never did get any of the shows back nor did I get anything free out of the deal for my frustration but at least I got satisfaction that the first two people I talked to got what they deserved.