The Reverend

Intel www.intel.com has a setup so that you can find the latest BIOS "flash" for your board, and then "flash" it (update it) with the latest. Sometimes this can be wonderful, other times you'll find yourself shopping for a new motherboard (or at least having a tech 'flash' it back to the old BIOS 'sets'. Which means using a 'redlight' (infrared) to wipe it out, then another expensive gadget to retrain the silly thing ...and even then its a shaky process at best. I've been using nothing but Intel MBs for years and they all "flash" without incident. (But none of them are ever older than two years max ...so that helps). Rule of thumb is if the BIOS isn't friggin you up don't fix it, because what you gain is hardly worth the risk. In the case of Intel, the gains I was after was due to the fact that Intel discovered a whole new way to route the BIOS for efficiency, speed, etc ...so I "went for it." I didn't need a diskette either, I used a downloaded file right off the HDDs and that worked fine (and I held my breath for about 30 seconds as the "flash" routine did it's thing. SO ...how lucky do ya feel? You don't have enough info posted for me to even tell if a flash is available for your kind of BIOS (Intel has only used a set number of BIOS 'sets' on all their boards ...except the 'el cheapo' ones of course. Usually the model # CLEARLY SHOWN on the motherboard is all the info you need to find the right "flash" (if available) at the Intel site. And ...I would send an e-mail (be prepared to wait a week for a reply) before attempting the flash. (Many times they'll call you and talk ya through it to be sure their boards don't get a bad name)! I pray this helps a bit...

I am using G4R @1201.0MHz - - which is well known for problems galore. I wish they would let me have at G11 or anything with a frequency of 1305 or 1355 or whatever it is. ....it's 3:14AM so my mind is numb. Later!

It really bites to spend a small fortune for "higher" and end up with slower ...and then have to fight 'tooth and nail' to make DirecWay get that! They actually told me that 150 'down' during the day was the best I could expect from their "Commercial/Business (best) setup. What a 'crock'!!!!! I said, do the letters F.O. mean anything to you? Reply, "Well, DirecWay did not guarantee that you would even be able to ACCESS the Internet." My reply: "Okay, and I never promised that I'd pay your godforsaken bills!" ...and so far I haven't. I just ran a down speed test ...too embarrassed to post the sucker , (but there are two others online as well so it isn't totally accurate ...and got a 982 'overall' ...so, at best I would be getting a bit over 1.0Mbps 'tops' for all I've invested when I should be (at least) in the 1.2 range (to be at 80%. I don't get it. You are pulling 1.5 with a 4000 eh? I could never get mine over 750 on a clear day ...and my site is primo, ....in fact, everything considered is better than primo ...maybe I should buy some junk stuff and replace the good? lol.. I've got a primo site, primo wire, primo machine with everything better than perfect (even the ohms are balanced in the cabling!) ...Signal Strength that hangs out at 97 most of the time ...yet the sucker refuses to get up and go. I can't accept that my old "hotter than hades" 4000 can outdo a DW6000! But it seems that I need to reform my thinking. Wonder how much it could cost to build a laser to fry G4R? Hmm...I still have my twin DW4000's ...maybe it is time to 'drop back' and use the DW6000 in the Jeep Cross Country Motojam ...I'll drag the sucker along the entire trail(s) while we 'rock-climb'! Perhaps there is one STUPID little item that I've overlooked? I mean really, when the installer was hooked into his laptop, we were pulling a downspeed a www.toast.com of a solid 2004 over 30 times. Eight hours later the receiver/transmitter "smoked" ....got it replaced but it's no faster than it was when the cables were moved from his laptop to the network ...which were about 750 down before everyone "got tweaked out." We never did figure out where the speed went until it was discovered that the "radio" was giving up the ghost slow but sure. (When it was replaced, everything needed realignment ...and it's been a fight to keep it aligned every day since the last installer left (which makes four now). All idiots. I tore the dish apart, bought all new nuts and bolts, and replaced everything to prevent "slippage". The .98 dish that I got was made out of junk ...now it is bomb-proof and stays where ya put it no problem. (According to my measurements, that "radio" isn't sitting exactly at the distance it should be from "the sweet spot" of the dish ...it's over 11mm too far away ...but that's something I can mess with without really trashing a warranty ...(not that the warranty is worth beans ...the whole thing is $1500 out the danged window. (...and I had high hopes for the system, and it just can't do what I needed it too ...unless it can get up over 1.2Mbps and stay there (minimum)! I'm not 'belly-aching' ...I am just really "put out" and rather irritated (at myself mostly). I am going to disassemble everything and start from scratch ....and that includes the danged dish and pole too. (It isn't "perfectly" level ...but it surely is going to be)! Cables are fine, they "ping" perfectly and are even 'twisted-rolled" all the way, etc. It just blows my mind ...and out of four fully Intel-based high end machines we use, each one gets the same speed even if plugged directly into the modem with NO firewall or 'net' gear. Barebones or fullblown makes no diff in speed. But ...I've got the rest of my days to figure it out. Most likely I'll need all of them eh? heheh... See ya in about four days... Cheers Oh heck ...here are my numbers "as she sits" :::.. Download Stats ..::: Connection is:: 925 Kbps about 0.9 Mbps (tested with 748 KB) Download Speed is:: 113 KB/s Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/ Bottom Line:: 17 times faster than 56K you can download 1MB in 9.06 second(s) Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/cgi-bin/auth_check.cgi?num=252525 With nobody but me 'on the dish' I can get about 1088 if I hold my mouth right ...and remember this sucker is DirecWays BEST AND FASTEST system ....on paper anyway. I AM &%#*@^! heheh.... (shame on me)

Hey ...I upgraded from a DW4000 Professional to a completely new setup. A DW6000 Commerical System with a .98m dish, a DW6000 Business modem, all on a 88foot run of "top quality" cabling. I had to pay $1,000 up front, then an additional $347.00 after taxes (and so did everyone else I know that bought into it ...like almost every WalMart out there ...(stateside that is). What is hateful is that you guys are talking speeds I've never seen (yet), and this is supposed to be DWay "fastest" system? grrr.... You are using DWay 4000's (basic) really? ...and are pulling speeds over 800? (My BEST so far is 1088 'down')! CLEAR DAY -- Early Morning -- No Net Congestion. Phew! Oh well ...welcome to DWay 'hell' once again. Back on the phone for me and more 'hate-mail' to DWay. My DW4000 Pro never gave me better than 750 'down' on the BEST days (for over year it was more like 650 on average) ...so I am confused here. DWay lies, installers lie ...who else is lying? lol... Cheers!

As far as cable lengths go, if you are OVER 125 in length you should be running the 'best' wire' (most installers use RG6 ...which is a standard and excellent 'wire'). If you have a run OVER 125 feet then you should place a signal amplifier (on the RECEIVE wire only!!!) no closer (or farther) than 25 feet from the dish ...otherwise it loses the ability to boost your signal. You DON'T want the signal amp unless you are in excess of 125 away or you'll frig up the DW6000's "finals" circuitry. ...and don't use an inline signal amp on your transmitter or you will fry the transmit side of the "radio" in a matter of seconds. You can TRY grounding your dish and then making it 'run' to your home electrical ground rod, but that's usually not necessary because it rarely forms "a loop" unless you live in an area with relatively little moisture in the ground you are setting on. (Personally, I don't believe in making a lightning rod out of my dish when it just makes NO difference in my performance if it is grounded or not). In the newer setups, the coaxial cable uses the outer 'webbed' wire (the shielding) as a ground anyway, which is attached to a grounding block on the building that is grounded to a copper rod (that's law), which serves as an excellent 'ground to earth' to prevent the buildup of any static the dish might pick up on windy days and and 'the like'). You should REALLY be getting faster speeds than what you have stated, so it's time to start "playing" with things until you find the right combo that works for you. Everyone is different! No two systems will behave the same ...ever. Don't be afraid to try 'sighting in' your dish for a higher Signal Strength. (I fiddled with mine and got it up to a 97 ...the installer left me with an 88 ...he had an IQ of 60 too). If you rummage around all the sites about speed you'll the combo that works best for you ...just plan on it taking a few weeks, or even a month or two before you stumble onto what works best. DWay says to not have anything "checked" in your browser settings. I discovered that by 'ticking' both Proxy boxes (Tools | Intenet Options | Connections |LAN Settings) that it brought my speed up by over 200kbps ...so those suckers have been "welded" on). lol Try it ...it may be the same for you. They also say that in your LAN settings you should have 192.168.0.1 on Port 87 (well ...I tried 86 and got another 50kbps out of it ...dunno why, but I did). On DW4000's you can use either 83 or 85 (if I remember right). I always did better with 83 for some reason. 85 was 'crawling' slow.... I had to stop paying DWay for one month to get their idiotic attention concerning my speeds, and just recently I have been able to keep it up around 1,000kbps (it was getting bad, like hanging around 150kbps during the days and improving a bit at nights, and I was fit to be tied) ...but my contract says "up to" 1.5Mbps ...so even now (with their alleged repairs) it's still short of 80% of the stated full speed (80% is the real life figures) ...forget the advertised numbers when it comes to satellites. (at least with my personal experiences it has been that way). And so ...I am writing them every day and generally being a major pain until something good comes of it or they send a hitman to get rid of me. I don't have any trouble using my DWay for 'live' online classes (giving them or just speaking) so your wife shouldn't either. It doesn't use as much bandwidth as you may think. (About 170MB per hour for my usage habits/averages while "going live"...). *If anyone sees something here that is outright wrong as could be ...please clue me in ..I'm still experimenting with DWay! Cheers!

PNY cards (high end) are fine, and so are ASUS. But for the bucks why doesn't NVIDEA 'get the Winners Cup'? It's used in all major Graphics Studios (Disney, Industrial Light and Magic, etc...). More 'bang for the buck' too. Y'all cornfuse me at times.... Cheers.

LCCU might work ok for DW4000 systems, but in my experience (moved up to a Commercial Class .98m dish with a business DW6000 modem, I've found that NOT following the rules gets me better speeds. Like in the browser they say to not have ANYTHING checked. I have BOTH proxy settings checked and the usual info for LAN listed (192.168.0.1 Port 87 (86 will work just fine too ...for me anyway) ...I think my old DW4000 used either 83 or 85)? If I 'untick' the proxy with the DW6000 setup (with a live router handing out the DHCP addys ...I'll drop by 200kbps for some odd reason. (The router has an awesome hardware firewall that keeps my software firewall "on vacation" all the time. Very cool. There are several sites with "undos" for the LCCU (which all say about the same with a few 'curve balls' tossed in. If you can find DR TCP (a tiny utility), it will assist you in getting the best possible speeds (usually). Just make a backup of your registry and write down other settings (like in your browsers relevant areas in you don't remember them before applying any tweaks). Maybe this helps ...maybe not. Worked for me. Cheers!

My mountain home (stateside) is less than 600 feet from "high speed" lines. Do you think Verizon will install a 'run' of Optical Cable so that I can have the blazing speeds that you are enjoying? HA!!! I've been told it may happen in the next decade, but no way can they afford that much wire now? (huh?) Unbelievable! The Reverend

Remember that Windows has that danged Product Activation Code. When you change System Hardware, especially the whole danged computer, it is going to "buck you" about it. However, there is a neat trick that is worth trying that has worked for me twice now. In your C:WindowsSystem32 directory there is a file named wpa.dll. After you get the the old HDD stuck into your new box (computer), the Product Activation "nag" will start hollaring. So, just copy the wpa.dll file BEFORE you move it into the new computer, and then replace the wpa.dll file with your old one once installed (even though it is the very same file!) ...it just may succeed in "tricking" the WPA and you'll save yourself a small hassle. (However, in these days Online WPA Activation (NO telephone) takes less than one minute ...the days of having to call are long over for the greater majority). This is assuming you are using XP Pro or Home. I can't speak for the other O/S's ...sorry. These statements come with no warranty either expressed or implied. The Reverend

I have an older DLink 614+ and two other MUCH more modern routers that all offer way to "allow" tracert, ping and other Command Line 'thingies' to function. My guess is that yours is either disabled (turned off), or needs to be configured. Climb into your router (usually done via your browser by entering in 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.2.1 ...and just have a look-see around. Or call the Tech Support for that Router and they'll be happy to assist you. You have a "tech specific" question, I don't know your level of expertise, so forgive me for this very "basic" reply. Good luck and Cheers! The Reverend *I'll keep an eye on this ...I am curious as to what the prob is.

Dang man. My odometer just rolled over on 48,000 (I just turned 48). Sure wish I could be 18 again though ...I think. **You are only as old as you think and act*** The Reverend

Well now you have the excuse to get yourself one of those 3-fan, blue LED, High-end Power Supplies like I stuffed into my box! Makes a great nitelite too! (And it's so pretty)! you'll get great online deals at www.tigerdirect.com LOL <H4ter>. Sometimes a good whack will cure most anything! Cheers! The Reverend

Depending upon exactly what you want for results, go to your Command Prompt ( c: ), and type tracert /? then hit the enter key. It will list the command parameters and the four 'switches' that you can use with it. It's very self explanatory! Cheers! The Reverend

1.Have you tried disabling your firewall. 2.Has your ISP disabled the ability for you to ping. (Many are moving that way). Change the last number of your IP Address to one. If you can ping it the "problem is not in your set" 3.Is your HOSTS file intact? 4.Check your C:windowssystem32 for the hosts file. On mine (XP Pro) it's in the C:windowssystem32driversetc. Or just search for it in the windows dir through windows search... 5. Can you tracert? How about a netstat (working)? 6. You may have a HOSTS "hijack" on your system. Run SpyBot Search & Destroy (free) to check for that and hundreds of other nasties out there. I love it! Nobody should be without SpyBot. Nobody! 7. Your TCP/IP software may not be setup quite correctly, or your Winsock could be damaged. You can get excellent assistance for these things at another forum that I often work at (au gratis). They'll have you get a copy of HiJackThis!, and then use the log it creates to diagnose your system ...usually in just a few minutes tops. http://forums.net-integration.net or http://wildersecurity.com or MAYBE (sometimes) there is info to be had at http://maddoktor2.com (though it can get 'strange' in there. I wish you the best as there are several other variables that could cause your PC to go "pingless" ....including the need to reload your O/S. (last ditch effort there). Cheers, The Reverend

I am also a DWay user, yet I have a Commercial System (their best), and it has taken an act of war to MAKE them correct my speed problems. Being on Sat-Mex 5, you are 'sharing' bandwidth with so very many other users that the speeds you are getting will only continue to go down and down. I am assuming that you have done all the things that Tech Support suggest for 'tuning' your PC, and I assuming that you are absolutely pointing straight into the funnel on the Satellite. (Despite what they say, it is worthwhile to "tweak" the dish alignment in small increments until you achieve the best possible signal. I've had a tech out to my place six times, and finally we are getting a peak Signal Strength of 97 using a .98m dish and DW6000 Commercial modem. Wiring to and from the satellite must be perfect, and preferably less than 125 feet (otherwise you should have an inline amplifier on one of the wires). *If you are going to attempt realignment on your dish, please only do so if you are absolutely sure you are familiar with the proper procedures ...or you could easily "lose" your satellite (which can be just a tad frustrating)! The LCCU "one setting for everyone" isn't always the best settings to use. (For instance, I have Automatic Settings checked, and both of the lower boxes checked as well ...and it adds 200kbps to my download speed every time)! What I am saying is that in the IE browser I have both of my Proxy boxes checked ....and it is an improvement for my system. I'm using XP Pro SP2. I would check into PCPitstop.com and run the machine through the series of their tests to 'trick out' your settings ....every little bit helps! www.pcpitstop.com You can also do speed tests here, or at www.toast.net (for comparisons), yet this site (www.testmy.net) is MUCH more informative and accurate than any other I am aware of other than government run setups not available to the public. You may be able to talk DirecWay into letting you "point" your dish to an alternative satellite to get your speed 'up there' too. They can't turn you down if you press them hard enough (and have a clear shot to another one of their 'birds' up there. (To get their attention, I stopped allowing them to charge payments on my charge card ...and THEN they started paying attention to my 'bitchin' (excuse me). I will try to keep up with your post, assuming I can find my way back here! Cheers! The Reverend

If your load balance on the "radio" (transducer ---ie; receiver transmitter) is matched to the radius of the dish, then the little holes really do not matter if the dish is large enough. The reflectvity is of greater importance, and that is why everyone has moved away from metal and are now using teflon-coated copolymers (plastics). Yes, you can mount your "radio" and then experiment with distances until you get an 'ultimate' signal, but you are taking a HUGE chance of "smoking" your receiver if the gain is simply to much for it to handle. (Sorry, I can't seem to find the data on wavelengths/distances ...perhaps you could give us the P/N of the "radio" ...then at least it would be easy to find out what it is MADE for. What you are seeking to do is very possible ...but you have to stick to the book or you'll burn up your receiver in a few milliseconds ...for one. In Florida you should get by just fine with a .98 meter dish, or if you wish there is a larger 1.2meter available as well. (DirecWay makes these although the REAL manufacturer is NOT DirecWay. Any support arm can be adapted to the dish, (that much is a given), but you HAVE to have the accurate mathematics and 'points' in order to succeed. That much is extremely criticial, as there are a great many calculations to be made, and angles to be observed. It can easily turn into a nightmare for the novice person. It is a piece of cake for dish 'redesigners' ...such as if you merely wish to enlarge your dish ...they can take your present one and double the size for an fantastic investment ...no problem. (Reasonable rates too). Hope this helps ...I'll watch for your reply (if I can find my way back to this part of the forum! Cheers! The Reverend

Perhaps it is your power supply? It should be outputting +12vdc and -12vdc, and +5vdc and -5vdc. I have experienced similar problems from PS that just fried with no warning. (Especially the newer types with no transformers). If it's your motherboard, it would take a tech to test it accurately. At the very least the BIOS SHOULD be getting "juice" ...how do you know it isn't or that it isn't 'erratic' ...as in from a 'half-blown' Power Supply? Doesn't take too long to rig up a 'test' Power supply box just to see if that's the culprit. If it isn't, then I would first "reseat" my CPU and Memory Modules to ensure they are each making good contact with ALL the pins. And especially make sure your board is not covered in dust or has "hidden cobwebs shorting you out" ...which does STRANGE things to computers. *Wear a wrist static guard when fooling around in there!!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyway, I would check out our your power supply for sure ....and even make sure your power supply CORD/WIRE is in good condition as well. Sometimes the simple things cause the greatest headaches! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hey everyone! I'm back online because I e-mailed DirecWay and told them I cancelled their ability to charge my credit card until they fixed my Commercial System. Got an e-mail back saying they were seeking an alternative, and since then my speed has come up to nearly 1.2Mbps 'down' (supposed to get 1.5 but we all know that is not 'real life' speeds). Anyway, it's good to be back and have (nearly) the full capacity of my high-end Commercial System. Whew! When it DOES 'fly' ...she flies! Cheers! The Reverend

About one month ago I dumped $1,000.00 in DirecWay's latest and greatest Commercial System. Advertised as getting 1.5Mbps down and an "enhanced" 256kbps up, with a 800MB FAP Threshold, 100kbps "fill up the bucket' after a FAP, a DW6000 modem and .98 dish ...AND a two-year contract carved into stone by God himself ...or maybe it was Moses "faking it". Well, every since Day One my speeds (during working hours) fall to as low as 50kbps down ...sometimes less, and my 'ups' are not worthy of mention. A 56k will blow me away. After spending the last 30 days on the phone the Official Response by e-mail from DirecWay was that they would no longer take "trouble calls" from me based upon speed issues because they cannot control the speeds due to overcrowding of bandwidth on the satellites they are leasing. (In truth, it has been DirecWay who has sold FAR more Commercial Systems than the satellite(s) (like G4R) can handle, and so everyone with similar systems is getting the same results (and hairball treatment) as I am. (Or at least I haven't found any exceptions yet). I'm using G4R @ 1201.0MHz with their Commercial (full blown) system ...DirecWay "finest" (yeah right...). Today broke my back. Speed went down to 30kbps and I was told by their Level III engineers that I should be happy that I am getting that much. They also told me that DirecWay makes no guarantees that I'll get ANY "set" speed (so why bother advertising 1.5Mbps down if it's impossible for them to do?). They also said that DirecWay never guaranteed me that they would provide Internet (useable Internet that is). That's when I "lost it" and told the bastard, "Okay. And I never guaranteed DirecWay that I would pay them for the full two-year contract either, so give me the Cancellation Department if you know how to use a phone ...obviously you aren't able to use a computer." lol ...That one got under his skin. Cancellation Department was a real pleasure to deal with ...threats, threats and more idle threats. I told them to "go for it". (The very most they can do is keep the $1,000.00 and try to charge me for "usage fees", but I figure I don't owe them a penny seeing that my speeds have only been half-decent (read: able to log in) during the wee hours ...and I'm sleeping then. I've lost a considerable amount of money on this deal because I was depending upon the Internet to be the "backbone" of my endeavors ....well now, DirecWay destroyed that idea in less than 27 days ...so this Veteran goes into debt for a lifetime due to DirecWay ineptness, or should I be saying "misleading advertisements and promise making they had no intentions or capability to keep? (The sad part is that my income is derived from your (American) tax dollars, so that makes it triple-maddening as it effects everyone - - including the innocent. Hardly fair eh? But, that's the way the world operates these days, and I should have been "wise" to it, but - - I had to give it my best shot. (Next "shot" I take will be with a trusty 50mil)! heheh... Today, my official reply was that they might have stolen $1,000.00 from me, but my Credit Card has been "frozen" ...meaning they cannot charge me any longer and no doubt this will go to court, "mar" my Credit History (but my income is Federally insulated because I am a 100% Disabled Vet ((I'm an ex-Navy SEAL)) ...so they can go fly a kite if they think they can get money out of me. I fully realise that they are masters at taking people who don't pay and making mincemeat out of them, but I'm willing to bet (for a fact) that they cannot touch my income ...it's federal law and I know it because an ex-wife tried to "tap" my income two years ago and she found out that unless I owed "back alimony" or "back child" support ...my income could not be garnished, or "tapped" in any possible way (unless Uncle Sam somehow screwed up and overpaid me of course). That'll never happen.... lol. Anyway, I just wanted to pass this shit along to you fine folks before my connection gets trashed (which could happen any moment). DON'T BUY DIRECWAY!!!! Check out www.direcwaysux.com for "eye-opening" accounts from other DirecWay users, and the bottom line about what DirecWay truly is, and where it is going in the future. I'll miss this forum ...even though I've only been here less than a week! Dang... But hey, DSL will arrive someday and then I'll be back ...hopefull "rocking" when I do! In the meantime you may see me in the papers being arrested for blowing the satellite dishes off the tops of DWay Ground Control Centers! lol (just kidding of course). Y'all take care and steer clear of DirecWay if ya can, or at least get out from underneath them as soon as it is feasible. Seems to me that ANYBODY has a better deal (except dialup) ...and that's only because it just isn't fast enough for my needs ...I realise the same doesn't apply to everyone, so I'm speaking for myself. So, even though I spent a 21-year career fighting in the name of freedom against enemies Foreign and Domestic, then 'bought some lead' at the very end of it and became 100% disabled for life, isn't it a pisser that a friggin' Foreign-based company has the power to remove my only link with the outside world and trash it, just because I'm not getting what they promised by frigging Contract? The damned contract is ALL in their favor and NOTHING in the user's favor in the least. Or is it all due to the danged Greenback? Money, money, money ...someday it will be the death of us all, or so it seems. Either way, this situation 'bites' at best ....Reverend or not! (...begging your forgiveness for my 'ire'). Last but not least, DirecWay is not operating under a legally valid communications license, yet the BBB and other sources like FCC and such won't do anything to them. And why? Because DirecWay is the "backbone" of incredibly fast systems that are supplying satellite communications to several hundreds of federal facilities (just not under the name of DirecWay is all). Therefore, our government simply "overlooks" their dealings with the general "John Doe Public." That much is even MORE maddening. Politics at their usual level of disgusting patheticness right? Alright ...I'll get off my soapbox now. May God Bless you and yours, (it's been 'real')... The Reverend 01DEC04 (signing off) ...so don't bother posting a reply to me as I am simply unplugging the modem to avert "usage charges" in addition to whatever else they try to slam me with... I will try to get word to this forum via some other method (I don't know of anyone with Internet in this entire area)! ...to let you know how everything eventually turns out. My money is on me though. I'd rather die than pay DirecWay another red cent. Stupid? Perhaps, but that's me, and I've had my fill of DirecWay. ***If the "master" of this forum would kindly retain my speed records showing how fast that I CAN run ...I'd be mighty thankful. I may need them at a future date ...dunno for sure. I have "snapshots" of all my "slow dates and times" ....I never bothered to record any of my top speeds, which were not exactly earth-shattering by a long shot.... I'll be back ...someday, and by then I will have gotten even and that's a promise. I hope everyone at DirecWay gets a peek at this post. And if you are from DirecWay, let me "flip you a birdie" before I go!

Early this morning I did a speed here (on this site). Here's the results: :::.. Download Stats ..::: Connection is:: 954 Kbps about 1 Mbps (tested with 748 KB) Download Speed is:: 116 KB/s Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/ Bottom Line:: 17 times faster than 56K you can download 1MB in 8.83 second(s) Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/cgi-bin/auth_check.cgi?num=252525 At exactly 11:00EST (although I'm in Costa Rica which is -6:00), my speed dropped off again ....as usual, and so once again I'll be spending the day on the horn to DirecWay while they fill me with lies (for the 28th day in a row ...but I'm not about to give them any slack from my end). Here's my speed test just taken a few minutes ago... :::.. Download Stats ..::: Connection is:: 280 Kbps about 0.3 Mbps (tested with 386 KB) Download Speed is:: 34 KB/s Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/ Bottom Line:: 5 times faster than 56K you can download 1MB in 30.12 second(s) Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/cgi-bin/auth_check.cgi?num=252525 I can warrant that by 3:00PM my speed will be less than that of a 56k modem. Sometimes it is 10down/128up ...and they call this their Commercial Business System? What kind of business can one run on a worthless system such as this? If I had a laser gun I do believe I'd be shooting satellites out of orbit for a hobby! grrr..... I wonder what their problem is today? Aliens friggin' with the satellites? Too much metal-flake in the cloud cover? Heavy solar activity from Alpha Centuri? The Milky Way Galaxy just slowed down it's spin by 3,000 miles-per-second? A bird is probably taking a dump in my dish (it's on a tower where I can't see it)? A helicopter is hovering in my line of sight, ...secret military operation that only DWay is aware of! PeeWee Herman messed up their COM Center again looking at kiddie porn ...I tell ya, they must have a database of "Wild Excuses" and trust me when I say I've heard hundreds of them over the past 20-odd days (and counting). Thanks for letting me "blow off" ....now it's time to kick some butt. Cheers! The Reverend

Say, please tell me what you know about the DirecWay update. I've been having WILDLY fluctuating speeds, (or nothing at all), and I've been on the horn to DirecWay ever since Christ was a cook on the USS Forrestal, but NOBODY (even their Engineering department eggheads), has mentioned anything about an upgrade on their end. I get answers like NASA is conducting experiments, Solar Radiation Storms, etc. (They think I was born yesterday I guess ....or they actually believe it themselves ...which wouldn't surprise me). I know they are installing new gigabit switches 24/7, but that's been an ongoing (useless) issue for about two months now. Please tell me what cha know? Thanks in advance should you see this again! Cheers! The Reverend

The above posts pretty much are telling you like it is. If your software is reporting that the Trojan is quarantined, then it cannot possibly be causing your problem. Sometimes slow response on a computer can be as simple as a heavily fragmented HDD, or perhaps the memory modules need to be taken out and reinserted (not making good contact), or the CPU (if it is in a ZIF socket) needs to be loosened then tighted again for better contact, or perhaps you just need to do a reinstall of your O/S right over the top of what you have. (Just did that for my son's machine and it fixed 1/2 ton of his problems. As for getting rid of your Trojan, steer yourself to www.trendmicro.com and let them scan you for free ...they'll delete (or give you the option to delete) your Trojan without trashing your system. Also, in this day and age it is wise to have software that is Trojan-specific. I use TDS-3 (from DiamondCS) and another called Trojan Hunter. Either of them are excellent at detecting Trojans, yet I prefer TDS-3. Both will also detect hidden ADS-Streams, but again TDS-3 is more accurate at doing that as well. (Trojan Hunter gives me oodles of 'false positives' on ADS-Streams. Anyway, either one of those programs will safely git rid of most every Trojan out there ...even if it is a mutex (unrecognized). Think it over as it is worth the investment ...I think there are a few "free" anti Trojan 'wares' kicking around too. You also can't go wrong using free programs like SpyBot, SpyWareBlaster and AdAware either. They go A LONG WAY in protecting (and detecting) crap that you DO NOT want on your system (like Adware, Spyware, Malware, Extortionware...etc). If your Trojan is quarantined, just use the program that did it to delete it. If it says it can't, take yourself to any of the aforementioned sites in the posts prior to this one, or use www.trendmicro.com. You'll be fine. Cheers! The Reverend

I have DirecWay very best Commercial 'plan'. $1,000.00 up front bought the DW6000, a .98m dish, and professional installation (which wasn't so professional). Monthly charges are $129.95. At about 6:00 this morning I knocked down this download test just for the fun of it... :::.. Download Stats ..::: Connection is:: 954 Kbps about 1 Mbps (tested with 748 KB) Download Speed is:: 116 KB/s Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/ Bottom Line:: 17 times faster than 56K you can download 1MB in 8.83 second(s) Validation Link:: https://testmy.net/cgi-bin/auth_check.cgi?num=252525 My uploads average (according to this site) about 124kbps. According to www.mydirecway.com I get speeds over 300 'up' (and I do have enhanced 'up - - so I dunno which numbers are closer to being the most accurate). Personally, I do not trust anything DirecWay has ...they used to be called DirecPC until a class action suit ripped them up ...then they changed their named (very quickly) to DirecWay to escape 'the heat'. Check out www.direcwaysux.com for an 'eye-opening' experience about the down side of DirecWay ...I've got a few posts on that site as well ....well founded ones too! The above is about the fastest I've ever logged at this site (maybe a tad faster at times. My account is SUPPOSED to give me 1.5Mbps down and 256kbps up (enhanced) ...but you can only plan on getting 80% of that in "real life." I've never had to reboot or power-cycle my modem except for two times, and both of those times were due to some sort of strange power fluxuations that I believe were nothing more than the lies of a DWay Tech Support agent. (I'm on a UPS that feeds me a constant 120vac/60cycles ....so I doubt I'm getting any 'flux'). Anyway, having to reboot your modems isn't normal, yes - DirecWay SHOULD be able to handle "streaming" feeds (or at least mine will provided the net isn't totally congested ...but then again I've got their PRIMO account). If DirecWay is telling you that you cannot view your lectures due to "network congestion", they are really saying that there are so many users there isn't enough bandwidth to go around because they have oversold their accounts. Satellite G4R @1201.MHz is supposed to have 10,000 users. DWay sold over 43,000 Commercial Accounts on that one frequency and doesn't have enough bandwidth to handle everyone "all at once". They claim they are installing "new switches", but ten billion switches aren't going to add bandwidth ...it's just another "shuck and jive" from DirecWay. I used to use a DW4000 (Professional account) and it would NOT handle streaming feeds at all ...especially if it was the least bit cloudy (heavy-grey clouds I mean). One thing to remember is that DirecWay is selling more contracts than they have the bandwidth for. That translates into slower speeds and less bandwidth for ALL users of Satellites G4R @1201.0MHz (owned by PANAMSAT) and the newest satellite Horizon 1 (or Horizon ?) ...anyway, I'm using G4R and during the day I may as well switch to dialup (yesterday my download dopped from around 1,000 to less than 30 ...and I was not a happy camper. DWay is killing my business with their BS. I was unable to even log into Google and their Tech Support sat there and said they found nothing wrong with my connection and that I was running "full speed". The conversation ended when I suddenly received a dial tone, which isn't unusual for them. Later that day, (after 7PM), the speed started increasing. By 2:00AM it was back to normal. So there ya have it. The whole trouble was network congestion, EVEN FOR THEIR BEST ACCOUNT THAT ISN"T EXACTLY CHEAP ...but it gets as slow or slower than a dialup "by day". Quite maddening and nothing anyone can do about it because that's the way DirecWay does business. To hell with the customer ...let's make maximum profit. (DirecWay is also called Hughes Network, an India-based company). You can bet their satellite service in India is "first-class" ...that's because we (other countries) are paying for it ...and that's the bottom line as it was told to me by a PANAMSAT CEO. There are far faster Satellite linkups out there, but who has 8 grand for the equipment and 2 grand a month to pay for the service? (Even then, the speeds never get above 5.5 'down' and 2.5 'up' ...or so I'm told. Cheers! The Reverend Hope this answers SOME of the questions.

I meant to say that there are too many users assigned to the Small Business and Commercial systems ....NOT "Pro" users. Sorry 'bout that ....it's late! The Reverend

The flat truth about DWay Pro is that I once had it (dual 4000 modems, small dish w/mount, and it cost $89.95 monthly. My download speed was about 700kbps 'tops' ...I don't think my 'up' was any better than 50kbps. Your FAP limit would be 500MB per four hours. Rain would wash me out at a Signal Strength of 71 ...90 was my highest (and I have a pretty decent satellite site). Overall it was a "set it and forget it" system. The modems do RUN HOT ...so I kept a tiny fan moving the air through them! (The modems are housed in twin boxes that have more holes for heat to escape than Swiss Cheese)! I have a four month old dish, modems, wiring, etc that was used for DirecWay Pro, then I switched to DirecWay Commercial (their very best/fastest system) on OCT25, 2004. That cost me $1,000 up front for a DW6000 modem, a .98m dish and "radio" (transmitter/receiver) and "pro" installation (they won't let you have it unless an idiot installs it). Price is either $99.00 a month for 1.2Mbps 'down' and 100kbps 'up' with a FAP threshold of 500MB, or the plan I bought into offers 1.5Mbps 'down' with an 'enhanced' upload of 256k (or higher ...sometimes THEIR speed site will say 300kbps or more, but it's inaccurate ...it's more like 128kbps I believe. FAP is 800MB every four hours and the 'bucket' fills up @ 100kbps per hour. With the Professional system the 'bucket' fills at 50kbps per hour ...or however that works other than being an excuse for them to screw their users out of bandwidth so that they can make even more money offa ya! True speed never gets much above 1,000Mbps with the Commercial system, and realistically, especially during business hours, it will drop pathetically to as little as 30kbps (which I experienced today and was not exactly pleased when they told me the problem was the "type of clouds" ...HA (my Signal Strength was a solid 97 ...which is my maximum). I imagine that their Commercial system that runs @ 1.2Mbps is similar in nature. (The 1.2Mbps system is also called the Small Business Package btw). Both Commercial systems are shooting satellite G4R @1201MHz. (I believe that the DW4000 Professional system is still beaming down from SAT-MEX 5 unless things have changed). The nice part about the Pro system is that if you get a .98m dish is that rainfade practically becomes a thing of the past. I am unsure if the DW4000's are still available for purchase though. Seems that I read they were, or were going to be phased out ...but they'll continue to support them of course. If you'd like a very well kept system that hasn't seen any harsh weather or "overwork" ...make me an offer. (It's still attached to the office and everything is in "primo" condition)! Personally, I would rather take a buttermilk douche than buy into DirecWay again (and I'm a male). The problem is that they are overselling the available bandwidth. When there should only be 10,000 users, they've sold 43,000 systems and counting!!!!! Good grief!!!!. In other words, there are so many danged Pro and Commercial users (on G4R anyway), that getting online during the day has gotten to be a real challenge over the past three weeks or so ...and no amount of Tech Support can help you when it is "net congestion to the max" that is knocking down your speed. They'll lie about, put you on hold until the phone company disconnects you ...etc. I'm stuck with it because there just isn't anything else in my area of the world except 56k's that run less than 20 ...so "they got me good." I'm pretty much limited to nights if I wish to get anything done at a decent speed. You'd have to ask a DW4000 user if they are experiencing similar behavior (I wasn't one month ago, then again, one month ago my new system was "cooking" too ...so there you have it). Do as you wish, but I wouldn't recommend DWay to my worst enemy. If you wish to read about DirecWay in livid detail from about 370 disgruntled customers, please visit www.direcwaysux.com ...they'll tell you about everything you'll want to hear (and wish you hadn't perhaps)? On the flip side, there are thousand of people who are completely happy with DWay. Me ...I am not happy in the least. I feel that I've been burned badly without any recourse. And that my friend ...is frustrating as all get out! The Reverend

For fantastic Video Cards I would not buy anything less than a mid-high end NVIDEA card with Dual Outputs (for running twin monitors). Our Graphics Computers are all loaded with a variety of NVIDEA's and they are all top performers. We trialed one ALL IN WONDER card then sent it back ...it couldn't keep up with the NVIDEAs and only offered 1/3 of the features (such as the transparency effect and about 24 other "must have" features). Anyway, after having purchased and installed 24 NVIDEA AGP cards (dual output) I am sold. Even if you get a 128MB you'd be getting a half-decent one, but the 256 and up are obviously an artist's dream come true. We also have three VERY high end PNY's, yet that is the top end of NVIDEA (I think...?), and they are very, very costly. You can only justify the cost of a PNY high-end if you have the cash-flow to make it pay for itself. Hope this helps! The Reverend