My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider (ISP)
who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.

Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable downloading/sending
messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But accessing (browsing) the
Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem at all.

The ISP technicians came to my place 3 times but could not find the problem,
in fact they knew little about Newsgroups. They finally suggested replacing
the router which was provided by the ISP. Well, I purchased a 'Linksys
WAG200G' router but the problem still persists.

So, I took my computer to a repair shop but the technicians could not find
anything wrong with my computer either. The technicians then connected my
computer to a *different* ISP and everything went fine - The access of
Newsgroups and downloading/retrieving and sending of messages went without
any problems.

Then I recalled that I still have some hours left on my old dial-up
connection from my previous ISP. I re-established this connection and as
with the different ISP connection, I am able accessing Newsgroups and
retrieving/sending messages.
(This messages is send using my dial-up connection).

I am not a technical person but based on the above I suspect that my
existing ISP has for inexplicable reasons decided to block the access to
Newsgroups.

I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but they
don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups connect
to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port 119 and
the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.

I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all this
is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.

Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and advise
if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am wrong
and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere else
and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the settings
of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either to fix the
problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract without
incurring any penalties.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.
TIA.

Hello Ibex

>I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
>they don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that
>Newsgroups connect to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using
>exclusively port 119 and the ISP is most likely blocking this from
>executing.

You didn't say where you were getting your newsgroup access from -- I
mean from which server. Were you using one provided by your ISP, or had
you subscribed to a service from a third-party provider and were trying
to connect to its NNTP server?

If as you say the ISP didn't seem to know much about newsgroups, it
sounds likely they're simply not providing a news server, or have
stopped doing so. Many don't these days.
>
>I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
>this is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>
>Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and
>advise if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if
>I am wrong and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies
>somewhere else and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.

Can you give us more information? Like name of ISP, name of the news
server you were trying to connect to, etc.

>And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
>evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
>settings of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP
>either to fix the problem or get them to release me from my
>subscription contract without incurring any penalties.

Try setting your news program to access this group:
(microsoft.public.windowsxp.general) from the server
msnews.microsoft.com . If that works, then there's no "blocking" being
done and the problem may be that you've been trying to connect to the
wrong news server or a non-existent one.

Let us know what you find out :-)
--
Nightowl

[Crossposted to Windows Live Mail newsgroup:
microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop]

You managed to post to WinXP General (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
newsgroup via the Microsoft newsserver (news.msnews.microsoft.com) using
Windows Live Mail as your News Client, and I assume you were connected via
your new ADSL ISP when you posted.

This leads me to suspect that you're only having problems when accessing
newsgroups via the newsserver your new ISP provides (which your ISP may or
may not own). What newsserver is it (e.g., news.MyNewISP.com)?

Can you successfully access newsgroups on the following newsserver? =>
news://news.mozilla.org/ (just click on the link; no password required)

Other free newsgroups: http://www.nyx.net/~bkraft/ & http://www.newzbot.com/
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Desktop Experience - since 2002
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/


Ibex wrote:
> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider (ISP)
> who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>
> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable downloading/sending
> messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But accessing (browsing) the
> Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem at all.
>
> The ISP technicians came to my place 3 times but could not find the
> problem,
> in fact they knew little about Newsgroups. They finally suggested
> replacing
> the router which was provided by the ISP. Well, I purchased a 'Linksys
> WAG200G' router but the problem still persists.
>
> So, I took my computer to a repair shop but the technicians could not find
> anything wrong with my computer either. The technicians then connected my
> computer to a *different* ISP and everything went fine - The access of
> Newsgroups and downloading/retrieving and sending of messages went without
> any problems.
>
> Then I recalled that I still have some hours left on my old dial-up
> connection from my previous ISP. I re-established this connection and as
> with the different ISP connection, I am able accessing Newsgroups and
> retrieving/sending messages.
> (This messages is send using my dial-up connection).
>
> I am not a technical person but based on the above I suspect that my
> existing ISP has for inexplicable reasons decided to block the access to
> Newsgroups.
>
> I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
> they
> don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups
> connect
> to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port 119 and
> the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.
>
> I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
> this
> is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>
> Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and advise
> if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am wrong
> and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere else
> and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
> And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
> evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
> settings
> of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either to fix
> the
> problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract without
> incurring any penalties.
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
> TIA.

"Ibex" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:842B2575-1A16-4A02-B2B9-(E-Mail Removed)...
> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider (ISP)
> who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>
> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable downloading/sending
> messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But accessing (browsing) the
> Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem at all.
>
> The ISP technicians came to my place 3 times but could not find the
> problem, in fact they knew little about Newsgroups. They finally suggested
> replacing the router which was provided by the ISP. Well, I purchased a
> 'Linksys WAG200G' router but the problem still persists.
>
> So, I took my computer to a repair shop but the technicians could not find
> anything wrong with my computer either. The technicians then connected my
> computer to a *different* ISP and everything went fine - The access of
> Newsgroups and downloading/retrieving and sending of messages went without
> any problems.
>
> Then I recalled that I still have some hours left on my old dial-up
> connection from my previous ISP. I re-established this connection and as
> with the different ISP connection, I am able accessing Newsgroups and
> retrieving/sending messages.
> (This messages is send using my dial-up connection).
>
> I am not a technical person but based on the above I suspect that my
> existing ISP has for inexplicable reasons decided to block the access to
> Newsgroups.
>
> I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
> they don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups
> connect to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port
> 119 and the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.
>
> I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
> this is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>
> Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and advise
> if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am wrong
> and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere else
> and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
> And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
> evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
> settings of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either
> to fix the problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract
> without incurring any penalties.
> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
> TIA.
You could resubscribe to dial-up just to be able to access Usenet groups
easily. That is what some users in North America do in case their high-speed
ISP does not provide Usenet to its clients. I am in NA and still using
dial-up exclusively.

--
Allan

> "Ibex" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:842B2575-1A16-4A02-B2B9-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
>> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
>> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider (ISP)
>> who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>>
>> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable
>> downloading/sending messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But
>> accessing (browsing) the Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem
>> at all.

Open a command prompt and try "telnet newsservername 110"... Replacing
newsservername with the address of your NNTP server.

You should get a welcome message similar to "200 Welcome to xxx news
service" If you don't, your connection to the server is blocked, or the
server is offline.

Try to ping the NNTP server as well.

"Calab" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:joh5k.10962$Jx.8243@pd7urf1no...
>> "Ibex" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:842B2575-1A16-4A02-B2B9-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
>>> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
>>> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider
>>> (ISP) who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>>>
>>> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable
>>> downloading/sending messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But
>>> accessing (browsing) the Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem
>>> at all.
>
> Open a command prompt and try "telnet newsservername 110"... Replacing
> newsservername with the address of your NNTP server.

Just to clarify, the is 110 or should it be 119?
>
> You should get a welcome message similar to "200 Welcome to xxx news
> service" If you don't, your connection to the server is blocked, or the
> server is offline.
>
> Try to ping the NNTP server as well.

How can I do this please?

Hi PA Bear.

"PA Bear [MS MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:eCCI#(E-Mail Removed)...
> [Crossposted to Windows Live Mail newsgroup:
> microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop]
>
> You managed to post to WinXP General (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
> newsgroup via the Microsoft newsserver (news.msnews.microsoft.com) using
> Windows Live Mail as your News Client, and I assume you were connected via
> your new ADSL ISP when you posted.

No, your assumption is incorrect. As stated in my original post "(This
messages is send using my dial-up connection)."
>
> This leads me to suspect that you're only having problems when accessing
> newsgroups via the newsserver your new ISP provides (which your ISP may or
> may not own). What newsserver is it (e.g., news.MyNewISP.com)?

The names of News Server are:
msnews.microsoft.com
news.aioe.org
and
privatenews.microsoft.com
The name of News Reader is Windows Live Mail.
The above are *not* provided by the ISP.
>
> Can you successfully access newsgroups on the following newsserver? =>
> news://news.mozilla.org/ (just click on the link; no password required)

Yes, I tried and could do this successfully. But only when using my dial-up
connection from a different ISP.
>
> Other free newsgroups: http://www.nyx.net/~bkraft/ &
> http://www.newzbot.com/

I am unable to access *any* NNTP based Newsgroups when using my ISP who
provides ADSL connection.
However, I am able to access *all* NNTP based Newsgroups when using a
*different* ISP who provides dial-up connection.
>
>
> Ibex wrote:
>> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
>> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
>> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider (ISP)
>> who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>>
>> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable
>> downloading/sending
>> messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But accessing (browsing)
>> the
>> Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem at all.
>>
>> The ISP technicians came to my place 3 times but could not find the
>> problem,
>> in fact they knew little about Newsgroups. They finally suggested
>> replacing
>> the router which was provided by the ISP. Well, I purchased a 'Linksys
>> WAG200G' router but the problem still persists.
>>
>> So, I took my computer to a repair shop but the technicians could not
>> find
>> anything wrong with my computer either. The technicians then connected my
>> computer to a *different* ISP and everything went fine - The access of
>> Newsgroups and downloading/retrieving and sending of messages went
>> without
>> any problems.
>>
>> Then I recalled that I still have some hours left on my old dial-up
>> connection from my previous ISP. I re-established this connection and as
>> with the different ISP connection, I am able accessing Newsgroups and
>> retrieving/sending messages.
>> (This messages is send using my dial-up connection).
>>
>> I am not a technical person but based on the above I suspect that my
>> existing ISP has for inexplicable reasons decided to block the access to
>> Newsgroups.
>>
>> I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
>> they
>> don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups
>> connect
>> to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port 119 and
>> the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.
>>
>> I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
>> this
>> is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>>
>> Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and
>> advise
>> if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am
>> wrong
>> and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere
>> else
>> and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
>> And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
>> evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
>> settings
>> of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either to fix
>> the
>> problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract without
>> incurring any penalties.
>> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
>> TIA.
>

Thanks for response, Nightowl.

"Nightowl" <owl@[127.0.0.1]> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello Ibex
>
>>I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
>>they don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups
>>connect to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port
>>119 and the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.
>
> You didn't say where you were getting your newsgroup access from -- I mean
> from which server. Were you using one provided by your ISP, or had you
> subscribed to a service from a third-party provider and were trying to
> connect to its NNTP server?

I access Newsgroups using Windows Live Mail as Newsreader and
msnews.microsoft.com as News Server and also use other News Server using the
same News Reader; My ISP did not provide these.

>
> If as you say the ISP didn't seem to know much about newsgroups, it sounds
> likely they're simply not providing a news server, or have stopped doing
> so. Many don't these days.
>>
>>I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
>>this is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>>
>>Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and advise
>>if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am wrong
>>and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere else
>>and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
>
> Can you give us more information? Like name of ISP, name of the news
> server you were trying to connect to, etc.

The name of ISP is MaxNet. The names of News Server are:
msnews.microsoft.com
news.aioe.org
and
privatenews.microsoft.com
The name of News Reader is Windows Live Mail.
>
>>And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
>>evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
>>settings of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either
>>to fix the problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract
>>without incurring any penalties.
>
> Try setting your news program to access this group:
> (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general) from the server msnews.microsoft.com
> . If that works, then there's no "blocking" being done and the problem may
> be that you've been trying to connect to the wrong news server or a
> non-existent one.

See above responses. The blocking occurs only when using MaxNet ADSL
connection. The blocking does not occur when using dial-up connection from a
different ISP. This is only a recent occurrence, I used to be able
accessing Newsgroups with MaxNet until about 3 weeks ago.
>
> Let us know what you find out :-)

If you have the Telnet client installed in your copy of Windows,
go to a Command Prompt and try

telnet msnews.microsoft.com 119

Do you get a banner reply from the NNTP server?
If not, your ISP may be blocking port 119, which is very unusual.
--
Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP


"Ibex" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:A65D9485-E892-4899-AD0C-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi PA Bear.
>
> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:eCCI#(E-Mail Removed)...
>> [Crossposted to Windows Live Mail newsgroup:
>> microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop]
>>
>> You managed to post to WinXP General (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
>> newsgroup via the Microsoft newsserver (news.msnews.microsoft.com) using
>> Windows Live Mail as your News Client, and I assume you were connected via
>> your new ADSL ISP when you posted.
>
> No, your assumption is incorrect. As stated in my original post "(This
> messages is send using my dial-up connection)."
>>
>> This leads me to suspect that you're only having problems when accessing
>> newsgroups via the newsserver your new ISP provides (which your ISP may or
>> may not own). What newsserver is it (e.g., news.MyNewISP.com)?
>
> The names of News Server are:
> msnews.microsoft.com
> news.aioe.org
> and
> privatenews.microsoft.com
> The name of News Reader is Windows Live Mail.
> The above are *not* provided by the ISP.
>>
>> Can you successfully access newsgroups on the following newsserver? =>
>> news://news.mozilla.org/ (just click on the link; no password required)
>
> Yes, I tried and could do this successfully. But only when using my dial-up
> connection from a different ISP.
>>
>> Other free newsgroups: http://www.nyx.net/~bkraft/ &
>> http://www.newzbot.com/
>
> I am unable to access *any* NNTP based Newsgroups when using my ISP who
> provides ADSL connection.
> However, I am able to access *all* NNTP based Newsgroups when using a
> *different* ISP who provides dial-up connection.
>>
>>
>> Ibex wrote:
>>> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
>>> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
>>> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider (ISP)
>>> who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>>>
>>> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable
>>> downloading/sending
>>> messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But accessing (browsing)
>>> the
>>> Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem at all.
>>>
>>> The ISP technicians came to my place 3 times but could not find the
>>> problem,
>>> in fact they knew little about Newsgroups. They finally suggested
>>> replacing
>>> the router which was provided by the ISP. Well, I purchased a 'Linksys
>>> WAG200G' router but the problem still persists.
>>>
>>> So, I took my computer to a repair shop but the technicians could not
>>> find
>>> anything wrong with my computer either. The technicians then connected my
>>> computer to a *different* ISP and everything went fine - The access of
>>> Newsgroups and downloading/retrieving and sending of messages went
>>> without
>>> any problems.
>>>
>>> Then I recalled that I still have some hours left on my old dial-up
>>> connection from my previous ISP. I re-established this connection and as
>>> with the different ISP connection, I am able accessing Newsgroups and
>>> retrieving/sending messages.
>>> (This messages is send using my dial-up connection).
>>>
>>> I am not a technical person but based on the above I suspect that my
>>> existing ISP has for inexplicable reasons decided to block the access to
>>> Newsgroups.
>>>
>>> I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
>>> they
>>> don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups
>>> connect
>>> to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port 119 and
>>> the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.
>>>
>>> I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
>>> this
>>> is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>>>
>>> Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and
>>> advise
>>> if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am
>>> wrong
>>> and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere
>>> else
>>> and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
>>> And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
>>> evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
>>> settings
>>> of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either to fix
>>> the
>>> problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract without
>>> incurring any penalties.
>>> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
>>> TIA.
>>

Here is the response I got:

" 200 NNTP Service 6.0.3790.1830 Version: 6.0.3790.1830 Posting Allowed "

I tried accessing Newsgroups again using Microsoft Live Mail and 40tude but
without success

"Gary VanderMolen" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> If you have the Telnet client installed in your copy of Windows,
> go to a Command Prompt and try
>
> telnet msnews.microsoft.com 119
>
> Do you get a banner reply from the NNTP server?
> If not, your ISP may be blocking port 119, which is very unusual.
> --
> Gary VanderMolen, MS-MVP
>
>
> "Ibex" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:A65D9485-E892-4899-AD0C-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi PA Bear.
>>
>> "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:eCCI#(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> [Crossposted to Windows Live Mail newsgroup:
>>> microsoft.public.windows.live.mail.desktop]
>>>
>>> You managed to post to WinXP General
>>> (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general) newsgroup via the Microsoft
>>> newsserver (news.msnews.microsoft.com) using Windows Live Mail as your
>>> News Client, and I assume you were connected via your new ADSL ISP when
>>> you posted.
>>
>> No, your assumption is incorrect. As stated in my original post "(This
>> messages is send using my dial-up connection)."
>>>
>>> This leads me to suspect that you're only having problems when accessing
>>> newsgroups via the newsserver your new ISP provides (which your ISP may
>>> or may not own). What newsserver is it (e.g., news.MyNewISP.com)?
>>
>> The names of News Server are:
>> msnews.microsoft.com
>> news.aioe.org
>> and
>> privatenews.microsoft.com
>> The name of News Reader is Windows Live Mail.
>> The above are *not* provided by the ISP.
>>>
>>> Can you successfully access newsgroups on the following newsserver? =>
>>> news://news.mozilla.org/ (just click on the link; no password required)
>>
>> Yes, I tried and could do this successfully. But only when using my
>> dial-up connection from a different ISP.
>>>
>>> Other free newsgroups: http://www.nyx.net/~bkraft/ &
>>> http://www.newzbot.com/
>>
>> I am unable to access *any* NNTP based Newsgroups when using my ISP who
>> provides ADSL connection.
>> However, I am able to access *all* NNTP based Newsgroups when using a
>> *different* ISP who provides dial-up connection.
>>>
>>>
>>> Ibex wrote:
>>>> My OS is WinXP Pro SP3.
>>>> I reside in a less developed part of SEAsia. I used to be on a dial-up
>>>> connection but about 9 months ago changed Internet Service Provider
>>>> (ISP)
>>>> who is providing me now with an ADSL connection of variable speed.
>>>>
>>>> Since about 3 weeks or so, all of a sudden I am unable
>>>> downloading/sending
>>>> messages from various NNPT based Newsgroups. But accessing (browsing)
>>>> the
>>>> Internet and e-mail facilities is not a problem at all.
>>>>
>>>> The ISP technicians came to my place 3 times but could not find the
>>>> problem,
>>>> in fact they knew little about Newsgroups. They finally suggested
>>>> replacing
>>>> the router which was provided by the ISP. Well, I purchased a 'Linksys
>>>> WAG200G' router but the problem still persists.
>>>>
>>>> So, I took my computer to a repair shop but the technicians could not
>>>> find
>>>> anything wrong with my computer either. The technicians then connected
>>>> my
>>>> computer to a *different* ISP and everything went fine - The access of
>>>> Newsgroups and downloading/retrieving and sending of messages went
>>>> without
>>>> any problems.
>>>>
>>>> Then I recalled that I still have some hours left on my old dial-up
>>>> connection from my previous ISP. I re-established this connection and
>>>> as
>>>> with the different ISP connection, I am able accessing Newsgroups and
>>>> retrieving/sending messages.
>>>> (This messages is send using my dial-up connection).
>>>>
>>>> I am not a technical person but based on the above I suspect that my
>>>> existing ISP has for inexplicable reasons decided to block the access
>>>> to
>>>> Newsgroups.
>>>>
>>>> I talked to the ISP customer services people at their head offices but
>>>> they
>>>> don't appear to understand the problem. I explained that Newsgroups
>>>> connect
>>>> to a Network News Transfer Protocol (NNPT) using exclusively port 119
>>>> and
>>>> the ISP is most likely blocking this from executing.
>>>>
>>>> I even provided pertinent links and information, but it seems that all
>>>> this
>>>> is either not read or just not understood and appreciated.
>>>>
>>>> Since I am not a techie, could somebody please help me out here and
>>>> advise
>>>> if my technical reason is sound or need to be refined. Or, if I am
>>>> wrong
>>>> and the reason for not being able accessing newsgroups lies somewhere
>>>> else
>>>> and/or should be communicated (technically) differently.
>>>> And, is it possible to perform some kind of test in order to provide
>>>> evidence that the fault lies with the ISP and is not related to the
>>>> settings
>>>> of my operating system. I then could hopefully get the ISP either to
>>>> fix the
>>>> problem or get them to release me from my subscription contract without
>>>> incurring any penalties.
>>>> Any advice is greatly appreciated.
>>>> TIA.
>>>