Excessive modem use.

[smlunatick]

xp newbie.
XP pro sp2 fresh install. adsl

I had "auto updates " turned off,
I turned on the automatic updates,
and the modem went crazy for what seemed a long time.
I turned the security setting then to just download
and I will install later.
I couldn't see where the updates were downloading,
so I turned off the updates altogether, and re booted.

The modem remains working at a feverish pace, I have
no idea what is happening here.
Any ideas on troubleshooting?
Thanks.

Which style of modem? Dial-up (analog) or broadband (cable or DSL?)
Locate and install a better firewall software than SP2's firewall.
The built-in firewall does not let us monitor which programs /
processes are accessing "out" from your PC.

 

[Rod]

xp newbie.
XP pro sp2 fresh install. adsl

I had "auto updates " turned off,
I turned on the automatic updates,
and the modem went crazy for what seemed a long time.
I turned the security setting then to just download
and I will install later.
I couldn't see where the updates were downloading,
so I turned off the updates altogether, and re booted.

The modem remains working at a feverish pace, I have
no idea what is happening here.
Any ideas on troubleshooting?
Thanks.

 

[Rod]

Which style of modem? Dial-up (analog) or broadband (cable or DSL?)
Locate and install a better firewall software than SP2's firewall.
The built-in firewall does not let us monitor which programs /
processes are accessing "out" from your PC.

G'day yveslec,
Broadband ADSL Netcomm modem router.
Install a new firewall?
I've only had XP for a few days, and I'm still
tripping over myself.
No disrespect meant, but this XP experience
is a shock, patches on patches on patches, updates
firewalls. The world appears to have gone crazy.
'ol win98 was never like this.

 

[smlunatick]

G'day yveslec,
Broadband ADSL Netcomm modem router.
Install a new firewall?
I've only had XP for a few days, and I'm still
tripping over myself.
No disrespect meant, but this XP experience
is a shock, patches on patches on patches, updates
firewalls. The world appears to have gone crazy.
'ol win98 was never like this.

Oh but Windows 98 "was" the same. MS was always the target of
"hackers," viruses and spyware. With the vast number of Windows out
in the "world," people were "apt" to try to crack into Windows. You
need to be using the Internet "safely" and get software portection:

1) A good anti-virus system with current updates and up-to-date virus
detection definitions.

2) A good anti-spyware system to protect for spywares. Spywares are
not in the same category as viruses and some anti-virus system do not
detect these completely.

3) With an "always connected" Internet connections (DSL) you need to
be running some type of access blocking (firewall.) Routers and SP2's
firewall do not allow to to complete monitor the "outgoing" traffic
(They usually block the incoming traffic.) Locate and install Zone
Alarm Free. This will replace the SP2's firewall and let you monitor
which applications can access the Internet. It will give you a better
"picture" of what going out.

4) With Windows XP, MS has come up with a new licensing function
(Product Activation.) This lets them see which XPs are "legal" and
they can potentially block the "illegal" ones. MS has since
"furthered" this scheme with the Windows Genuine Advanage (WGA) which
"constantly" checks you XP license (phones home.)

5) It has also be discovered (this year) that MS has also "forced" XP
Auto Updates to update "automatically" even when the updates were
turned off. They have supposed to turned this off but he?? who realy
knows.

 

[Poprivet]

G'day yveslec,
Broadband ADSL Netcomm modem router.
Install a new firewall?
I've only had XP for a few days, and I'm still
tripping over myself.
No disrespect meant, but this XP experience
is a shock, patches on patches on patches, updates
firewalls. The world appears to have gone crazy.
'ol win98 was never like this.

You don't give enough info to guess at much else, but most likely IMO your
XP is downloading Hot Fixes, since it started when you turned on
auto-update. You can likely see their "uninstall" files for the ones that
are installed in C:\Windows folder. They will have names like
$NTUninstallKB(bunch of numbers). You can use the "KB(numbers) part of
those to look up at MS exactly what the hotfix did, too. KB = Knowledge
Base and the number is the ID of the page for it. There have to be well
over 50 of them. Some are bug fixes, some are updates, all are a PIA, I
agree.
If you go back to Download, don't install, when they are all downloaded
to your computer, you'll then see a gold shield in the right hand system
tray; from there you can go ahead an dinstall them all at once or
individually using "Custom" I think it's called, so you can see what each
one is doing.

If you're a recent convert from Win98, you're in for a few more surprises
too, but they're all worthwhile and once you get used to it, you will like
them. I'll give you a couple of useful tips to look up in your Help and
Support area:

1. If you switch to the "Classic" look, the screens, explorer, Start Menu,
etc., will all look pretty familiar to you. The "classic" means the old 98
"look". Personally I stayed with "Classic" mode - it seems more useful than
the XP default.

2. The folder called "My Documents", when you find it, is NOT a duplicate
of all your saved files: In reality those are all shortcuts to the actual
files. My Documents is a special folder that keeps things together in one
place for you.

Peruse the Tutorial and look around; lots of good stuff in XP.

Cheers,

Pop`

 

[HeyBub]

G'day yveslec,
Broadband ADSL Netcomm modem router.
Install a new firewall?
I've only had XP for a few days, and I'm still
tripping over myself.
No disrespect meant, but this XP experience
is a shock, patches on patches on patches, updates
firewalls. The world appears to have gone crazy.
'ol win98 was never like this.

Oh yes it was. You're trying to catch up on seven years worth of updates.

And if you connected a naked WinXP machine to the internet (without virus
protection or SP2) for more than fifteen minutes, you're badly infected with
malware. I'm not kidding.

In fact, you feverish modem activity may be a trojan launching 100,000 spams
for Viagra.

 

[Rod]

1. If you switch to the "Classic" look, the screens, explorer, Start Menu,
etc., will all look pretty familiar to you. The "classic" means the old 98
"look". Personally I stayed with "Classic" mode - it seems more useful than
the XP default.

Yep, gone to classic, and liking it VM.

2. The folder called "My Documents", when you find it, is NOT a duplicate
of all your saved files: In reality those are all shortcuts to the actual
files. My Documents is a special folder that keeps things together in one
place for you.

Yes, found that out, I am very organised, and the hierarchy is somewhat
confusing in XP for me at the mo.
I like to have all my work flowing from a root of 4
My Documents1,2,3 and 4 and accessed from windows explorer on the
quick launch bar.

Windows explorer does not seem to offer an exploded view on
the branch hiearchy, and I have to manually open C:\ drive
and appropriate folders <every> time.
Any workaround for that Pop?

In the meantime, off to vote for a new Australian Govt (I hope)
Rod.

 

[PA20Pilot]

Hi,

.........Windows explorer does not seem to offer an exploded view......

Try setting your icon shortcut to look more like this.

C:\WINNT\explorer.exe /e,C:

You'll probably need to change the \WINNT etc. to whatever your path is,
but the explorer.exe /e,C: might be good to go.


---==X={}=X==---

Jim Self

AVIATION ANIMATION, the internet's largest depository.
http://avanimation.avsupport.com

Your only internet source for spiral staircase plans.
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Experimental Aircraft Association #140897
EAA Technical Counselor #4562