View Full Version : Who ya gonna call?
As I've mentioned before, I can't get on one of my big gardening sites, that has many forums, involving nature/gardening/home repairs, etc.
DH has turned the computer inside out. He's reinstalled the drivers, cleaned everything out, changed our IP address, etc., etc., etc. We thought he got it fixed, but when I went to post a message on a forum, it had my email address as my username, and then a huge paragraph of computer code. So we're back where we started.
We've discovered that it has something to do with our wireless plug-in modem. DH doesn't want to call AT&T because it would make him go mad. And I totally understand! They aren't of any help and they make you wait hours on the phone, just to find out they are of no help.
Who do you go to with problems like this? DH has read every article online of every similar problem and nothing has helped.
Am I doomed to have to always go to the library to get to this particular site?
What makes me a little nervous, is that I've also started not being able to get into my Photobucket account. I've done everything they told me to do to fix it, and I still can't get in.
Maybe its time to give up electronics??? I think our computer needs an exorcism.
This is soooooooooooo frustrating.
Gardenarian
6-25-12, 7:38pm
Have you tried emailing the people who run the site? You may not be the only person with this problem.
If it really is your modem, calling AT+T isn't going to help unless they provided the modem AND its still under warranty. Based on what you said, I don't think its the modem. If it were you would be having problems all over the place, not just with one site. You DO have cookies enabled, right? My guess is that the site is assuming you have a particular 3rd party software that you don't, and is complaining. I often see this with a site depending on the java runtime environment or the .net environment. The fix there would be to install the missing package, but you have to know what it is wanting.
If there's a big hunk of computer code displaying on the screen, you likely have a clue buried in there. Those hunks usually hint at what the problem is- although to a lay person it may not be intelligible. Do you have anyone around you who could take a look at that error message. Or you could PM it to me, and I'll take a stab at it (no guarantees of course).
awakenedsoul
6-25-12, 8:33pm
I had trouble with Gardenweb, too. For me it was using my old screen name. I couldn't get my page to take the correction when I typed in my new email address. It kept reverting to the old one. So, if I did trades, I had to put the new email in my post.
That's nice that herbgeek will help you. Hope his theory works. I have no idea what you are all talking about!
Thanks herbgeek........the reason we're thinking its the modem, is when DH plugs it in his laptop here at home, it does the same thing......won't let me log in. But.....he can log in for me at his office on a different computer. Wednesday, he's taking the modem into his office and plugging it in to his computer and if he can't log in there, then it HAS to be the modem, right?? We got the modem from AT&T.
I usually use Firefox, but when I try to log in through Chrome, the same thing happens. And the same thing happens when I try to log in on Internet Explorer. But.....Internet Explorer always has the warning that something is wrong with Gardenweb's security certificate. We've tried arranging the computer so it ignores this, but it still doesn't go through.
I've talked (through email) with the woman who apparently handles the computer problems for Gardenweb, and she says she can log in under my name there, so I guess its not a problem with them.
I'll try to figure out a way to send you the gobbely-gook computer code stuff through a PM.
Awakenedsoul.......I don't quite understand what you meant. Could you please explain to me again how you got it to work?
Thanks everyone!
Well, now its acting like it did before..........it won't even let me in at all. Now on Firefox, when I try to log in, a big red exclamation point comes up next to Gardenweb's web address and when I point the cursor at it, it says "This website does not supply web identity information. Your connection to this website is not encrypted."
Any ideas? So now, Herbgeek, I can't send you that coded stuff, 'cause I can't even get to it now.
I wish I were smarter. :(
Cathy, can you share the make and model of your AT&T router?
awakenedsoul
6-25-12, 10:10pm
CathyA,
You're very smart. It must be frustrating. In my case, I didn't get it to work. I had to do it the computer's way. I wanted to update my email address on My Page. It seemed to have a default setting of the old email address I had used on my old computer. I'm an artist, not a computer person, so I don't know all the computer lingo.
Thanks awakenedsoul. I can't even get to the My Page part of the site.
Alan........we don't have a router. We have a wireless modem. Its a Sierra wireless aircard model 313U put out by AT&T.
(Just one more reason to hate AT&T).
fyi- The router is the box where your cable connection from the outside world plugs into. A modem is typically the card that is inside your computer, which talks to the router.
The big red x is telling me that you have your security settings set to really restrictive. Typically this is set via your browser, and has nothing to do with your router. You can configure your router to ignore/deflect certain types of traffic, but that would be an all or nothing setting, not configurable to a particular website.
If you want to send me a pm, I'll provide my email address and I can ask you some more questions. One quick question, are you not able to get to gardenweb at all, or are you getting this red x only when you log in?
Unfortunately, the "computer understanding" section of my brain is not lit up at all, on a PET scan. haha
DH is coming home from work early this afternoon to work on this, and call AT&T. He's already apologized in advance for the generalized anger he might exhibit, when having to communicate with AT&T. haha
DH tried putting the security setting to extremely low for Gardenweb, but that didn't work either.
See, what tells us there's something funky with the wireless modem is that when he plugs it into his laptop here at home, he can't access Gardenweb either. But......when he tries to access Gardenweb on his computer at work, he can log on. Doesn't that say its the modem/wireless connect device?
Okay herbgeek..........I'll PM you. Maybe you can help DH later this afternoon, should he have questions? I'm pretty useless to deal with, with computers.
Thanks!
Well for gods sake keep us all informed! This is better than any tv soap opera! (Sorry Cathy. Personally I'm just really glad it's not me!)
Well for gods sake keep us all informed! This is better than any tv soap opera! (Sorry Cathy. Personally I'm just really glad it's not me!)
:laff: (cleaning off the monitor screen)
It is a royal PITA!!! We're all so dependent on these things, and when they screw up and we can't fix them,.........well, it just plain SUCKS!! haha
It feels like we're in a Burmuda Triangle here. DH has many computers that he has to deal with every day at his business and when they have problems he's able to fix them. He's probably spent 30 hours total trying to fix this and its driving him crazy too. :devil:
Even though he's looked up alot of info online, he hasn't actually asked a human for help. You know men and not wanting to ask for directions. hahaha
He's promised to come home early and talk to AT&T while he's on this piece of s*** computer, so maybe we'll get some answers. :help:
Well, DH spent about an hour and a half on the phone with AT&T. To his amazement, the guy was very intelligent and thorough. In fact, the AT&T guy even got a person from the Sierra Wireless company to be part of the conversation in a conference call. They have never heard of this problem happening.
I will try to re-tell what DH said, although I might sound stupid. DH made an upgrade on the software of this wireless modem about 6 weeks ago. Then about a week later, he made an upgrade on the hardware. This is when my problem started.
They are thinking that maybe there's something funky about the hardware upgrade, and its not accepting a couple of websites. (even though they've not received any complaints like this about this being a problem).
So........they are sending us a replacement wireless modem. The problem might be in the hardware upgrade.........in which case, I still won't be able to access Gardenweb and maybe even Photobucket.
Even though it took 90 minutes, DH was (for the first time ever) impressed with the AT&T interaction.
I'll let you all know what happens with the new modem when it arrives. I will be bummed if I can never access certain sites again (unless I do it away from home).
ToomuchStuff
6-26-12, 9:13pm
when he tries to access Gardenweb on his computer at work, he can log on. Doesn't that say its the modem/wireless connect device?
Thanks!
Nope it doesn't. It could be the isp, it could be a setting on the modem (router in this case), etc.
We've tried changing the IP address (is that the same as the isp?) and it didn't help.
BUT......this morning at his office, DH tried to log on to Gardenweb with a computer with Windows 7. We have Windows XP here at home. He said that he got the same security certificate warning, but he could over-ride it and still get into the site. But at home, we can't over-ride it. So he's thinking it has something to do with Windows XP..........although I think the real problem is with Gardenweb's security certificate.. But the tech I talked to there said it wasn't a problem. Alan here told me their security certificate was expired. I don't know if that's the problem or not.
It also seems like alot more people would be having problems. That site must have thousands of users. But maybe all the ones who can't get in, can't get in to complain about it!
But the tech I talked to there said it wasn't a problem. Alan here told me their security certificate was expired. I don't know if that's the problem or not.
Security certificates are typically used by web sites that engage in commerce and use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. Behind the scenes, the website will set up public and private encryption keys, then provide the public key to a certifying authority, such as Verisign, who will then issue a security certificate to the site. The certificates are checked against the web traffic to ensure the SSL requirements are being met. These certificates are provided for specific time frames and must be updated according to the certification schedule. If a certificate expires, users of the site are advised in order to let them know that their traffic or transactions may not be secure, that's what you're seeing when you visit Gardenweb.
ToomuchStuff
6-28-12, 12:28pm
IP is NOT the same as ISP. ISP is Internet Service Provider, IP is an address that looks like a weird phone number.
It is possible that since it is on an XP machine, and Microsoft NO LONGER supports or updates, XP, any way to bypass a expired security certificate (or hacked, etc), has been blocked in Internet explorer. Have you tried another browser on that machine? (Chrome or Firefox, for example)
Yes, I've tried Firefox and Chrome. We may have to get Windows 7 to get around this problem. These rapidly changing electronic things are driving us crazy.
Thanks Alan and ToomuchStuff. We'll probably eventually work this out...........and then things will get old again and we'll have other problems!
ToomuchStuff
6-28-12, 1:24pm
What do you do with your computer, besides this? You might consider trying one of the Linux distro's that boot from either a USB/memory stick or a dvd. This would allow you to use the browser in it to test, and would allow you to view and post things, while keeping the Window's software you use for other things.
DH said that Windows XP still gives updates and support until 2014.
Another interesting thing that points to the problem being this USB Wireless modem..........DH brought home one of his laptops from work, which is a Windows 7. He plugged the modem into his laptop and he couldn't log on to Gardenweb...........whereas he could log onto it at his office with his T1 connection there. So............both of his laptops (Windows 7 and XP) can log into Gardenweb at work (using T1), but do not work at home with this wireless modem.
So its got to be something funky with the wireless modem. I also can no longer access my Photobucket account on my XP machine with the wireless modem, and DH can't either, with his Windows 7 laptop here at home.
Its driving us both BONKERS!!
Wait! Let me get some popcorn!...Ok, go!
ToomuchStuff
6-29-12, 5:50am
I must have missed you mentioning this as a USB wireless modem (cell phone internet). I read wireless modem, and was thinking DSL type of service, and an actual modem with settings, rather then one that is only software. I will be interested in seeing if the replacement hardware solves your problem. If it does I will be surprised. Typically, cell phone service is about bandwidth and they can adjust settings on their side (proxy servers), to block high traffic/problem for them sites, or slow down high traffic users (software or people, see bandwidth throttling).
Using his work connection, is effectively using a different internet service provider (even if the same company, a different gateway). Not truly a fair diagnosis.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.