mengwong - EarthLink DSL LiveChat transcript

Welcome to Earthlink LiveChat. Your chat session will begin shortly.

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'Nancy S.' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?
<me>@earthlink.net: Hello, Nancy S.
Nancy S.: Hello. How may I help you today?
<me>@earthlink.net: I believe my ADSL connection is not as fast as advertised.
<me>@earthlink.net: Previously, I was on the 3mbps plan. However, when I tried running a http://www.speedtest.net/ i found that i was getting only about 300kbps.
<me>@earthlink.net: I upgraded to the 6mbps plan, and now I am getting about 600kbps.
<me>@earthlink.net: In both cases, I seem to be getting 1/10 of what I should be getting.
<me>@earthlink.net: You may be thinking that i am confusing kilobits with kilobytes, but I am quite certain I am interpreting ther esults correctly.
Nancy S.: I am sorry to know that. let me check this for you.
<me>@earthlink.net: i have tried all of the usual things, including turning the modem off and on, turning the computer off and on, turning my router off and on, turning my fridge off and on, etc.
Nancy S.: Is that the upload speed or the download speed?
<me>@earthlink.net: that is the download speed.
Nancy S.: Click on the link below to check the speed.
Nancy S.: http://toastnet.com
<me>@earthlink.net: i will do so, thank you, please hold.
<me>@earthlink.net: hm, i do not see a speed test at http://toastnet.com/
<me>@earthlink.net: i do see one at http://performance.toast.net/
Nancy S.: On the left side click on Internet Speed Test.
<me>@earthlink.net: all right, i will do that now.
<me>@earthlink.net: Loaded 877,885 bytes in 13.785 seconds from Yahoo! server.
<me>@earthlink.net: Your Results: 509Kb
<me>@earthlink.net: Avg Results: 2111Kb
<me>@earthlink.net: Comcast: 3143Kb
<me>@earthlink.net: are you suggesting i should switch service providers to Comcast?
Nancy S.: Have you clicked on Run Test?
<me>@earthlink.net: Yes, I clicked on Run Test. That is how I got to the Results I shared with you above. But if you would like to walk me through the test step by step I will be happy to do that.
Nancy S.: What is the length of the phone cable connecting the modem?
<me>@earthlink.net: the phone cable is about 5 meters long. it goes directly from my wall to the dsl modem.
<me>@earthlink.net: it is not plugged in to the filtering unit.
Nancy S.: The phone cable should not be longer than 6 feet. Is the cable 5 meters long?
<me>@earthlink.net: i am downloading the f-16 jets, with ADDR, and my speed ersult is now 520Kb.
<me>@earthlink.net: i will switch to a shorter cable that is less than 6 feet long. if this does not improve the connection speed, can you tell me what the next step in your troubleshooting list is?
Nancy S.: The speed depends on the interfering devices and the distance from your location to the central office. If the phone cable is long it adds up to the distance from the central office.
Nancy S.: You also need to do the following to improve and upload and download speed.
Nancy S.: Click on Start>Run>Type %temp% and click Ok.
Nancy S.: Click on Edit>Select all and delete it.
Nancy S.: Click on Start>Run and type prefetch.
Nancy S.: Click Ok.
Nancy S.: Click Edit and select all. Click Delete.
Nancy S.: Double click on Recycle bin and delete it from there also.
Nancy S.: This will take care of it.
<me>@earthlink.net: i see. these instructions assume that i am running a windows xp desktop, but i am running an OS X desktop. furthermore, the instructions to delete prefetch may improve the user experience and perceived speed, but they do not improve my actual line speed.
Nancy S.: As you are using a Mac Operating system, I will transfer you to Mac Technical support.


Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
'Rodger V.' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?
<me>@earthlink.net: Hello, I am troubleshooting a DSL line speed problem.
<me>@earthlink.net: I was given some scripted instructions to delete my Prefetch folder, but those instructions only apply to windows XP.
<me>@earthlink.net: also, i doubt they have anything to do with improving my DSL line speed, but I got transferred to you when I said the magic words "I'm running OS X".
<me>@earthlink.net: and now, here we are.
Rodger V.: Hello, I see you've already been chatting. Please give me a moment so I can read the previous chat and pick up where you left off.
<me>@earthlink.net: ok, thank you.
<me>@earthlink.net: i would just like to confirm that my bandwidth plan is actually 6mbps.
<me>@earthlink.net: and i would like to confirm that earthlink has instructed SBC to provision my line accordingly.
Rodger V.: I am sorry, actually there are no steps fro clearing TEMP files in Mac System , however regarding the ADSL issue, I am transfering your chat session to our ADSL technical support


Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.
'Anderson K' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?
<me>@earthlink.net: Hello, I am troubleshooting a DSL line speed issue.
Please wait while I transfer the chat to the best suited site operator.



'Kemp T' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?
<me>@earthlink.net: Are you able to look up my account and tell me what plan I am on?
<me>@earthlink.net: I don't know if I should be getting 1.5mbps, 3mbps, or 6mbps.
<me>@earthlink.net: according to http://speedtest.net/ I am getting 597kbps down and 253kbps up.
<me>@earthlink.net: Before I go outside to stand at the demarc point with a laptop in one hand and a DSL modem in the other, I want to first confirm that I am being provisioned correctly by SBC for 6mbps DSL.
Kemp T: I am sorry for the delay.
Kemp T: Please stay on hold while I go through the chat.
<me>@earthlink.net: Thank you.
Kemp T: You are welcome.
Kemp T: Yes, I understand that you are having slow speeds.
Kemp T: I will help you with the issue.
Kemp T: Please stay on hold while I check your account details.
<me>@earthlink.net: Thank you. I await your return with great excitement.
Kemp T: Thank you.
<me>@earthlink.net: No no, thank you.
Kemp T: Please let me know the security word on your account, which appears to be mother's maiden name, for verification purposes.
<me>@earthlink.net: the security word is Tetragrammaton.
Kemp T: Thank you for the information.
Kemp T: I could verify your account.
<me>@earthlink.net: ok
Kemp T: I see that you are having 6.0 Mbps speed.
Kemp T: Let us work together and resolve the issue.
Kemp T: Have you tried resetting the modem?
<me>@earthlink.net: if you read the above chat, you will find that i did reset the modem, yes.
Kemp T: From the above chat, I see that you have power cycled the modem and not recycled the modem. Am I right?
<me>@earthlink.net: Yes, that is correct. I have power cycled the modem. Do you want me to press the reset button on the modem?
Kemp T: Yes, but are you using that modem now, to chat with me?
<me>@earthlink.net: i'm afraid so.
Kemp T: Why are you afraid? I am with you to help you.
Kemp T: I will do my best to see that your issue is resolved.
<me>@earthlink.net: i see. well, if you would like me to press the reset button, i can do that, but that will terminate our conversation.
Kemp T: Okay, please try resetting the modem after the end of the chat so that we are not disconnected.
<me>@earthlink.net: very well.
Kemp T: Once you try that, I am sure that the issue will be resolved.
<me>@earthlink.net: I hope so too. I shall also assume that the problem is not with EarthLink, or SBC, but with my home wiring, and I will proceed to troubleshoot accordingly.
Kemp T: I also suggest you to remove the router that you are using and try connecting directly.
<me>@earthlink.net: that is a good idea. i have observed that the zyxel prestige 600 series has a UHP mode, so adding a linksys-type wireless router to the network may end up in a double-NAT situation with obvious performance implications.
<me>@earthlink.net: i have reset the Zyxel to be just a dsl modem and not a NAT router, so I don't think that is the source of the problem in this case, but it may be worth bringing up in the future.
Kemp T: Good thought.
Kemp T: I appreciate your sharpness.
Kemp T: Is there any thing else that I can help you with?
<me>@earthlink.net: no, thank you, I will do my best.
<me>@earthlink.net: Thank you for your time, and have a very nice day.
Kemp T: You are welcome.
Kemp T: I would like my best customer like you to know one of EarthLink's products that will help you to maintain your computer is in a protected state. I will take just few minutes ensuring you get the best information in the safety of your computer. Could I go ahead?
<me>@earthlink.net: No, thank you, I am quite happy with the protection on my computer.
Kemp T: Okay. I would like to give you the information about a software that ensures best performance from your computer.
<me>@earthlink.net: I will eagerly anticipating the end of our conversation now, so that I may go and press the reset button on the modem and experience blazing fast 6mbps EarthLink DSL.
Kemp T: Yes, that will be great.
Kemp T: I request you to go through the following information which will take few minutes:
Kemp T: <p>It's pretty common for a computer's system performance to diminish over time. Have you heard of PC FineTune? It's EarthLink's 1-click solution that allows customers to easily optimize their system for better performance. PC FineTune will defragment your hard drive, remove cookies and unnecessary files, fix errors in your computer's registry, and even detect early signs of hard drive failure, all in one easy-to-use program! </p>
Kemp T: <p> Right now, we're offering a free 30 day trial of PC FineTune, which you can continue at a low monthly rate of $4.95 with no commitment! It really boosts your computer's speed and performance. Do you want me to set-up your free trial now so you can check it out?</p>
Kemp T: Let me know your opinion about the software.
Kemp T: This is a very nice opportunity that you are getting a wonderful product for free for one month on subscription and you too have the liberty of discontinuing the same at any time.
Kemp T: I am sure that once if you subscribe you will never be interested to unsubscribe it at any time.

<me>@earthlink.net: That sounds extraordinarily exciting, but I am afraid I cannot render an opinion, as I have only an OS X system here, and no Windows PCs at all.
<me>@earthlink.net: I believe that where safe surfing is concerned, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as they say in the old country, and so I do not have any Windows machines in my house at all.
Kemp T: I am very sorry. I understand that.
<me>@earthlink.net: Perhaps in the future when I have more free time I will be able to enter the exciting world of worms, viruses, and protection software.
<me>@earthlink.net: For now, I am unable to afford that luxury.
Kemp T: Okay. Is there any thing else that I can help you with?
<me>@earthlink.net: I am planning to use a paperclip to press the reset button. Can you tell me which end of the paperclip I should use?
Kemp T: Please use the side that can easily go inside the hole. The end should not be too sharp as to damage the button.
Kemp T: But please try resetting the modem only after ending up the chat.
Kemp T: Do you have any other issue that I can assist you with?
<me>@earthlink.net: No, thank you very much.
<me>@earthlink.net: Is there anything else you would like to upsell me before I go?
Kemp T: I appreciate the patience which you displayed during the chat which would otherwise have taken a lot of time to solve. I feel glad to assist you.
Kemp T: Its is a great pleasure for me working with you.
Kemp T:
Kemp T: I request you to hold CTRL key and then click on the CLOSE button to end the chat.
Kemp T: Yes.
Kemp T: Have you heard that we now offer a service called Email by Phone? This service lets you check your email by dialing a 1-800 number from any phone, anywhere, whenever you are away from your computer. You can also reply to your email messages using the same phone system that reads you your incoming email!
I recommend you try it for free for the first 30 days, after which it is $4.95 per month with no commitment.
You should give it a try, it's a really useful service. Do you want to set-up your free trial?
Kemp T: Please refer to the above information.
<me>@earthlink.net: No, thank you, I am not interested in Email By Phone.
<me>@earthlink.net: Thank you again. The pleasure was entirely mine.