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Thread ID: 72157	2006-09-01 15:19:00	Slingshot Broadband connection problem	Siani (7815)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
482006	2006-09-01 15:19:00	Hi all. I have been helping a family friend set up their broadband connection and have struck a bit of a problem. They have signed up with slingshot and were sent a preconfigured router, which they need to connect to via usb as they have an old computer with no network thingies. So we plugged it all in as instructed, all the drivers etc, and I can ping the router, but that is a far as we get. They have received a phonecall from slingshot saying that their connection is good to go, but since there seems to be no problem communicating with the router, is it likely that this is not the case? TIA.	Siani (7815)
482007	2006-09-01 18:03:00	firewall blocking you ?	drcspy (146)
482008	2006-09-01 21:57:00	Hi all. They have signed up with slingshot and were sent a preconfigured router, which they need to connect to via usb as they have an old computer with no network thingies. Go down to Dick Smith and buy a PCI 10/100 network thingy and install it in the PC then use the router on Ethernet. $15.26.	pctek (84)
482009	2006-09-01 22:12:00	Sorry, but have to ask this: Did you ring Slingshot helpdesk? I joined Slingshot broadband two weeks ago and have had a few problems - each time the helpdesk was very good. Sometimes got straight through, other times had to wait 5 or 10 minutes (put on speakerphone so no problem). Also, I assume they loaded the driver(s) from the modem/router CD...?	Strommer (42)
482010	2006-09-03 01:24:00	Go down to Dick Smith and buy a PCI 10/100 network thingy and install it in the PC then use the router on Ethernet. $15.26. I've got one of those thingies to try and put in today. We'll see what happens. :P I have had this computer connected via usb before when I had it at my house. The slingshot router is a different model, however, but as I said, I could ping it. Yes, rang the helpdesk, and they said same thing about PCI card, and ethernet connection. As far as the usb connection goes, firewall was turned off. All the drivers loaded, device working properly etc. Just couldn't get on the 'net. Ah, well. *rolls sleeves up for another go* Thanks for the suggestions.	Siani (7815)
482011	2006-09-03 01:45:00	Did you try to ping any IP on the net? Routers get quite touchy if they have the wrong (or no) DNS numbers. I have been with Slingshot for just over a month, am using Xtra router :D. No major problems so far (except for once last week when I was having trouble connecting. Ended up being a DNS issue. Both Slingshots and Xtras DNS servers were down or dead slow, so used an international DNS server I know the IP of). Have kept that IP in my configs :)	Myth (110)
482012	2006-09-03 02:39:00	I'm a bit fuzzy on that DNS stuff. I thought I was doing good to ping the router. The router came preconfigured by slingshot. Can you explain further?	Siani (7815)
482013	2006-09-03 07:09:00	Ok.. this site (en.wikipedia.org) will explain it way better but essentially what a DNS server does is convert a domain name (for example google.com) to an IP address (216.239.39.99). All servers/domains etc online have an individual IP address and it is this address that other servers etc use to find it. Kinda like the mailbox at your house has a number (whether you can see it or not). The postie knows where to deliver the mail (most times anyway :p ). Likewise the DNS server will know that google.com is on a specific server and take you there (using the IP address). So if you type www.google.com into your address bar of your browser, and the DNS numbers in your router are wrong or non-existant, it wont know where to start looking. Clear as mud?	Myth (110)
482014	2006-09-04 13:33:00	Ah, ok, I understand that. That's sort of what I thought it meant. Thank you. Anyway, the problem is solved. The router was set up ok. Slingshot had just provided a dodgy filter, aand the router wasn't preconfigured at all. I had gotten stuck on the fact that the letter sent with the router said it had been preconfigured "with your username and password" (yes, it was in bold in the letter.) So I had been trying to access the router using the name and password. After half hour wait on the helpline, I got some mumbling kiwi boy, who said there should have been another piece of paper included that told us how to set up the router. Didn't seem to believe me when I said there wasn't. He also wasn't keen to do anything about the fact that it had taken so long to get going because they had sent an incomplete self-install kit, or about the non-functioning filter they supplied. Apparently, I can "buy one for 10 bucks online". :groan: The ethernet card will have to wait. It is having driver issues, but the usb connection is working fine, and the couple who's computer it is have never been online before, at all, so it is plenty to get them into trouble. ;) Thanks all.	Siani (7815)
482015	2006-09-04 22:48:00	That's pretty poor service. :( I haven't used Slingshot myself but I haven't heard anything as bad as that about them before. You might like to send them a letter detailing your experience because if they don't know about it then they can't take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again.	FoxyMX (5)
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