Q - Why do I get disconnected?
A - Disconnections can be caused by any number of things, at any number of points along the line between First Link Internet Services & from where you are dialing in from.

Below are listed some of the possible causes which may terminate the connection between yourself and First Link.

Disconnection at First Links end caused by:

• May occur due to you exceeding your time limit allowed. This is generally 3 hours, and only occurs when all the lines are busy. This allows for other users to get a connection, which allows for fairer use of the system for all users.

• We have an idle timeout of 15 minutes. If your connection is idle for 15 minutes or longer, you will be disconnected to free up lines for other users.

Disconnection between First Link and your end caused by:

• Noisy phone lines
  
• Problems at the exchange
  

In this case, this has nothing to do with First Link, and should be taken up with your Telephone company, namely Telstra. Information on how to contact Telstra is located in the front of your telephone book.

Disconnection at your end caused by:

• Incorrect initialisation string
  
• Telstra Touchfone or other devices
  
• Easycall / call waiting
  
• Call diversion on line
  
• Interference from a mobile phone
  
• Telephone extension cables
  
• Idle timeout on computer (not unheard of, common with Macintosh, also possible in Win95)
  
• Faulty phone socket
  
• Faulty modem
  

The following is further information obtained in regards to modem disconnections:

The following things can affect the modem connection:

Call Waiting

If you have Easy Call or Call Waiting, these will interfere with your modem when someone tries to call you. The simplest solution is to just disable these features on your telephone when you are using the Internet.

Call waiting can be disabled by dialing #43# on your handset, and hanging up when you hear a constant tone or a recorded message. Contact our Technical Support Staff or Telstra direct for further instructions.

Noise caused by devices on the telephone line

Try disconnecting all devices from the line, including FAX machines, answering machines, portable phones, and other non-standard telephones.

Some specific telephones that can cause problems are the Telecom Touchfone series (200, 200R, 400, 400R), as well as the Optus and Alcatel versions.

Poor quality Telstra Telephone line

Try listening carefully when you next have a conversation. If you hear any signs of Noise or ''Crackling'', then it will almost certainly be the cause of disconnections. Modems purchased overseas do have problems in Australia.

HF Interference

Radio towers and CB radios nearby can cause problems, especially in the case of "Internal modems". External modems are less affected by HF interference because they are not housed inside of a computer case, which acts as an Antenna.

Poor quality modems

Some "El Cheapo" modems have trouble under most circumstances. If you have an Austel approved modem, you have a good chance of having a decent quality one

Poor Line Conditions

The modems will train at the highest speed possible for correct data transfer. V.34 28.8k modems will connect at 28.8k only if the phone line conditions are perfect, and the modems are fully compatible. Quite often, a V.34 modem will connect at 26400, 21600 or even lower if the telephone line isn't perfect.

Line noise and/or interference

Any line noise can (and usually does) affect connection speed, but is more likely to cause the modem to hang up (drop out). Try to remove all devices such as telephones, portable phones, FAX machines and answering machines from the phone line, except the modem. One brand of phone, the TouchTone 2000 (not a TouchPhone 2000), causes a great deal of hum on the line.

Unfortunately, Telstra will only guarantee a stable data connection over a standard telephone line of 9600 baud. As a test, it pays to attach a phone to the line and make a voice call; listen carefully to noise, crackles and hum - if any is audible, it will most likely affect the modem.

Serial Port Speed

Serial Port speed should be locked at a rate of 38400 or higher. A port speed of 57600 is generally recommended.

Sometimes it has been found that actually lowering the connect speed will actually enable a more reliable connection

Incompatible compression/error correction protocols

This is not usually a problem with Austel approved modems, but disabling compression can sometimes help with drop outs on poor quality lines, or cheap modems.

Windows 95 Networking Problems

Windows 95 is renowned for having corruptions in its networking. It often looses it's TCP/IP stack which results in logging in errors, and dropouts as soon as a connection is made.

The first thing to try is turning your computer and modem off, and then restarting them. If this fails to work, you will need to reinstall the Networking components of your Windows 95. Although this may sound complicated, it is quite a simple task.

Go into your Control Panel, and select Add Remove Programs. Click on the Windows Setup Tab and on this screen, deselect Communications and press Apply. Once Communications has been removed, select it again by putting a tick in the small square next to Communications and click the Apply button again. You may be asked to put your Windows 95 CD into your CD Rom drive.

When this is complete, you will need to restart your computer. When it restarts, go back to your Control Panel and then Double Click on the Network icon. Press the Add button, then double click on Protocol and then select Microsoft on the left hand column. A list of available protocols will appear on the right hand side. Click on TCP/IP to install it. Once you have added the TCP/IP, restart your computer and you should be right to connect again.

Information here has been compiled from the following web addresses:

http://www.strug.com.au/modem.html
http://wwwits.murdoch.edu.au/services/dialup/faq/980221.html
http://home.gateway.net.au/modems.htm

Other Sources in regards to Disconnections:
http://help.powerup.com.au/modems/disconn.htm
http://www.vision.net.au/main/support/disc.html
http://www.speed.net.au/images/support/disconn.htm
http://www.senet.com.au/help/faq/faq-3.html
http://www.wr.com.au/member_services/configuration/tech_faq.html
http://www.asgard.net.au/Support/disconnect-phoneline.html
http://www.asgard.net.au/Support/disconnect-1.html
http://help.powerup.com.au/coms.htm

You will find that most of this information says simliar stuff. You will then be able to understand that these types of problems just dont occur with one ISP, but with many many ISP's.