Ahmed Azhad’s Website

This entry is about the problems I faced when using BSNL DataOne. Today is a holiday here, unfortunately the internet is down and there is nobody at BSNL who can help me. They can help me tomorrow morning it seems, but then, I’d be at work since tomorrow is a working day. Why can’t they keep this connection working when it’s needed the most?

I’d be focussing on 2 problems which can cause ADSL outage: 1. Out of Sync & 2. Couldn’t get channel number: Transport endpoint is not connected.

1. Out of Sync

This is a problem I faced since I got the connection. It is more frequently faced when it rains and may last 1 day after rains. Not much the technicians could do, but there was one technician who seemed to fix the problem for a 3 month period. Now it occurs less – only on some rainy days. Note that there is no static sound heard on the phone – if you hear static, it is obviously a severe line problem.

Symptoms and Signs:

1. Internet working 1 minute and not working the next minute. You may get as less as 5 seconds online time between disconnects lasting 5-30 seconds.
2. You may notice the DSL light going off completely – blinking at regular intervals – blinking at irregular intervals – fully off – with the cycle repeating.

Resolution:

1. Call Telephone Exchange OR Register a complaint.
2. Try a different modem/router/gateway.

Trying a different modem may help. What I have experienced is that the BSNL WA1003A (a Type-II) modem does better than Linksys WAG200G and holds on to the connection longer (~30 seconds). The Linksys modem keeps on trying repeatedly working only for 5 seconds under the same situation. Ofcourse this will wary depending on the severity of the problem.

I thought the ISP could help by reducing the speed at which the modem Syncs/connects (something which the consumer has no power over).

Now the above problem occurs less frequently for me and I notice that my modem syncs at lower speeds now (3000-6000 kbps Downstream) compared to earlier when it used to sync at 7000-8000. I had suggested this to a BSNL engineer/technician – to reduce the sync speed – but she had said that it wouldn’t make any difference. Could someone experienced in these problems please comment.

3. One could change providers if it is an option (ask neighbours which provider is good).

2. Couldn’t get channel number: Transport endpoint is not connected

The one that’s happening to me now. Somehow I feel that this error commonly occurs during holidays. It does occur rarely on weekdays but resolves within 20 minutes – 5 hours.

Symptoms and Signs:

1. Modem DSL light is on continuously. If it has an internet light, it’ll be red/orange/off instead of the usual colour. No websites will open (DNS error/Page not found).

Resolution:

1. Call Telephone Exchange OR Register a complaint. If it is a holiday, expect it to get working the next working day.
2. Use alternate methods of access (GPRS/mobile phone).

Comments:

An internet search doesn’t reveal much on this error. I guess consumers in other countries have 24 hour support and don’t have to endure this problem long enough for them to look in the modem log and find it.

Why does it occur? Any technicians/engineers stumbling on this blog, please comment. Users noticing this error, please comment with your location.

Anything we consumers can do to fix it? Any alternate VCI/VPI numbers to use in such a situation? And why does it occur? I always imagine that this error occurs when someone negligently or deliberately removes a wire or jack.

Mass Effect is a Role-Playing Game released by Bioware. During the setup (or first run), the game tries to validate the CD Key by contacting Bioware through the Internet.

I noticed that having Vista’s ECN capability enabled can cause the validation to fail. Luckily, most users don’t face the problem as ECN is disabled by default. To check whether ECN is enabled, type in a Command Prompt:

netsh interface tcp show global

So, for those of us who use Vista with ECN, try disabling ECN for the first run of the game. This can be done by opening a Command Prompt as Administrator (done by right clicking on Command Prompt and choosing to Run as Administrator) and typing the following command:

netsh interface tcp set global ecncapability=disabled

Then run the game till it displays the Game Menu.

If you wish, you can re-enabled ECN by typing:

netsh interface tcp set global ecncapability=enabled

The same process may be required while installing the expansion for the game. The problem is most likely due to one of the intermediate routers in the Bioware network not supporting ECN. Mentioning this problem as it can be one of many problems which you could face. The problem is being discussed in the Bioware Community Forum.

Problem detected by using Sysinternals TCPView – SYN SENT not being acknowledged by Bioware Server.

A new security vulnerability has been found affecting mainly home routers with uPnP enabled. It was discovered on 12th January 2008.

Most home routers have uPnP enabled by default. They also come with the default IP addresses which are usually one of the following: 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.254, 192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.254. The router can be affected by visiting a website with a Shockwave Flash file designed to change router settings.

The Simple Solution:
* Turn off uPnP in your router *
This won’t affect normal use like browsing. Those who use P2P applications may have to set the port forward manually.

Please read this FAQ for more information.

This is a difficult to solve problem I faced when trying to fix my home desktop. As mentioned in the title, the computer reboots, provided no username is clicked to login. If a username is clicked before the time period, the system will run Explorer and it would work fine.

It took a lot of work to find out the cause, using “msconfig”, disabling all services and enabling one by one to find the culprit.

It was due to a program in the Services named as Automated Surfer (C:\Windows\system32\srvany.exe). On doing a scan from Jotti’s Malware Scanner site some antivirus programs showed that it was a trojan. The results are posted below.

So deleted it from the services using regedit.exe and deleted the srvany.exe file. Now the system is fine. A file with the same name does appear in some other computers (I think it is part of some Resource Kit) so be sure to check the MD5 before deleting it.

Please write a comment if you face the same problem.

File: srvany.exe
Status: INFECTED/MALWARE
MD5: c9b18abe9063a33e77f6be81cc8df0c5
Packers detected: -
Bit9 reports: No threat detected

Scanner results

A-Squared Found Riskware.NetTool.Win32.Calc-SETI@Home.b
Dr.Web Found Program.SrvAny

Operating System: Windows xp SP2

In India, the traffic lights are switched off for the night, from 10pm to 6am (or 7) in the morning. No traffic jams and the city is much like a highway.

So is the internet for those using AirTel Mobile Office. I made a new record with my AirCard again. This time, uploading at 15 KB/s (120 kbps). Starting from my usual 6, made my way upto 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and then 15. It lasted less than 10 seconds on 15 KB/s when something slowed me down to the usual 11-12 KB/s. Someone else woke up?

The record was made in Chennai city in the Thousand Lights area.
Data Card: Sierra Wireless AirCard 775 Class 12 EDGE
Signal Strength: -56 dBm to -59 dBm
Provider: AirTel Mobile Office

Update

This record has been broken. The current maximum was a 17KB/s burst around 7:50am. Traffic averages around 16.33 KB/s or 130 kbps. I remember reading that practical EDGE speeds would be between 100-130kbps. Finally on the higher end of the range.

Congratulations go to AirTel Chennai for providing speeds over my minimum requested QoS of a peak throughput of level 5 = 16000 octets/s (128 kbps).

This week, I had planned to reinstall the home desktop CPU. It was running at 85°C. Way too hot for a Pentium-D 2.8 GHz which apparently should run at a maximum of 64°C. I guess I should be thankful for Intel throttling which surely has prevented the CPU from frying. Ilango, who is one of my friends in Chennai, asked me to reinstall it, and to make sure the heatsink pins make a click sound.

So, I opened it up, and found spots where the thermal grease was not properly coated. With ample funds in hand, rushed to the Richy Street in Chennai, ready to buy some Artic Silver (which I heard is the best and quite costly). Most vendors did not have any in stock – no arctic silver and no material close to thermal paste. They were offering me heat-sink and fan combinations which cost Rs. 150-250. Since my heatsink had a copper bottom and the fan was ok, I didn’t buy any.

Finally, one shop offered me some content in a syringe costing Rs. 5. It contained zinc(II) oxide material. Looked Intel original, so bought it.

Applying it was tricky. I ended up getting more than half the material on my fingers. Sticky stuff – no wonder it’s called grease. Luckily the zinc is not toxic. Not as bad as super glue, but being a sticky grease, tough to get it off.

After re-installing, temperatures are down. The heatsink wasn’t properly installed before. One of the pins had splayed (due to the small holes in the motherboard) and didn’t lock. Still planning to replace the grease as I lost most of it on my fingers. I’ll try to post some snaps of the stuff then.

You may want to refer to the wikipedia page on thermal grease to learn more on how to apply the stuff.

Mid-April 2007

Caught speeding in Chennai on the highway at 5 am. Sounds odd right. No traffic policeman would be active at night you’d think. Well, that’s cause it isn’t any normal highway – it was the internet highway. You can see a snap below.

This is much better than BSNL DataOne Unlimited – they only allow 8K/s upload bandwidth. The same night, my AirCard made a record upload speed of 14.4 KB/s. The average is what you see in the snapshot above.

Wondering why I call this speeding? Throttling happens in Chennai also. At times, speeds will be below 3 KB/s. But I don’t think download speeds are much affected. Browsing speed is good unlike in Puducherry. I hope AirTel doesn’t degrade this superb service in Chennai.

This article describes a problem faced when using the AirTel Prepaid Mobile Office monthly pack in Puducherry. The pack costs Rs. 375 per month but speeds are variable and very slow at times. What I know is that the speed change is not due to congestion. I suspect it is due to bandwidth throttling.

April 2007
6:50am: I wake up and think about checking mail. My favourite P2P client shows that speeds are good, around 10KB/s. But there is no guarantee with Mobile Office. Anytime, speeds can drop to 2-3KB/s.

I use a Class 12 GSM/EDGE data card for internet access on my laptop. It is the best GSM has to offer. At one time, I got 17KB/s (=142 Kbps) download and 10KB/s (80Kbps) upload which lasted for 7 days in December 2006. This is the capability of the card. You may want to check out a review on the Sierra Wireless AirCard 775 on my MSN Live Space.

So, hoping the good speeds will remain, I started checking mail.

6:59am: Speeds become an unbearable 2KB/s. I am unable to continue browsing. All browsers (IE, Firefox, Opera) show page not found.

7:25am: I quit my P2P application and am able to browse at very slow speeds.

What is interesting to note is that whatever speed change, it happens at the 59th minute. And it may happen at any hour, followed by good speeds after the same minute of the next hour (sometimes it may take more than an hour for speeds to return). Calling AirTel 121 is no use. They claim they offer speeds of 40Kbps (which works out to 40/8 = 5 KB/s).

Below in a snapshot of a graph from a P2P application showing the change in upload speeds. The change is abrupt and expected at particular times. This is different from the minor, often unnoticeable changes due to congestion.

2KB/s = 2 x 8 = 16 Kbps
3KB/s = 3 x 8 = 24 Kbps
The signal bars are 5 bars out of 5 at all times.

Is this (16-24 Kbps) the unlimited internet which AirTel has to offer? This is way below the minimum speed (40Kbps) they claim to offer and therefore is a problem with their service. We need better quality of service (QoS).

I hope someone can give more information about this problem. Both AirTel technicians and users of Mobile Office are welcome to discuss this issue.

Welcome to azhad.net – my new website. My old Ductape homepage was not appearing in the top searches that made it necessary to get a domain.

A couple of delays in getting started, due to being busy with other matters and some mistakes but here it is atlast. Still planning a theme change and more posts, so do come back after a while to check how it looks like.

Many thanks to Ahmed Siyah for his help in setting up this website. Bye4now… Azhad.