Update actually did some good

[kardmania]

For the past few days I have been suffering connection issues with AP

i wrote customer support and there were all kinds of answers that did not resolve the issue or make a lot of sense

Today the update came thru and remarkable no more connection issues

This seemed to be an issue with AP UB IE8 and XP

The update is a good thing for once. Customer and technical support is responding a little faster but its still canned responses rather than thoughtful resolutions.

Kard - Glad to hear it. But if your connection issues come back you might check out your router. I was having sporadic connection problems that went chronic for a long time - tried all sorts of things to address it - but they finally did not go away until I got a new router. I had a 2003 D-Link DI-624 (G band I think) which I replaced with a new Netgear WNR2000 (N-band with advertised much improved range and more interference resistent) and have had no connections problems since. I also got it very cheap winning an auction on ebay ($25).

[kardmania]

Last night I was disconnected time after time again after taking a new AP update. I decided I would give your theory some real consideration. I dug out the router box and got the information to folow up with the manufacturer.

I have about about a 2nd grade education in computer related issues earned thru the school of hard knocks.

I did a series of tests on the system lan direct vs wireless after doing the windows updates that came thru the system and the speed and quality of the connection was good both ways. The maker of this router Belkin has been really good about trying to keep me in good routers.....there routers are not the best but their warranty is the best.....any problems and they send you a new router typically better than the one that went bad.

I am going to give it a few more tries and see how it goes and with some more failures I will try the router tests again and possible have to reformatt the machine in order to have a solid winsock to work.

The one thing I have learned is that games disconnecting are more disconcerting than any trash any players is going to generate.

[Tomturkey46]

Amen to that! So very true.

The turkey

[kardmania]

So far so good

I notice that I am getting updates to AP software once and twice a week of late so regardless of their displacement strategy it is logical to deduce that they know that there are some issues with their software,

I did write them when I disconnected sevaral times and they told me to take a hike. They saved a buck or two and so far this week I have sat out of more events dollar wise than I played. Granted they could care less; however, poor technical support and customer service results in marketing impairment.

The good news is that over the last 48 hours no disconnects and one AP update that did not mess anything up.

[bluebird]

I feel for you all. Even though I'm knocking on wood here I haven't had any problems with ap or ub yet. Only been around for about 4 months though. I do find that if I look at my friends list I then go to look for nl ring game tables it just says loading non stop. Quick reboot fixes that.

[jsawe]

Kard - I have a core quad using Vista Ultimate on a high speed connection and last week had major connectivity issues with AP. All other networks worked fine. Like you, after the update the problem went away.

I also get "updates" regualrly but since I clean out my cookies every few days most of the time it is AP re-installing theirs.

[kardmania]

Just as ordinary course of business I clear out any crap files I can find at least once a day. I presume that this can be an issue when the size of the crap files accumilated exceeds the maximum allocated space for these files.

This is a little command that I have found does speed up my network:
Clear DNS Cache in XP and Vista to Speed Internet
Tech Tips: INTERNET

by Mario Morejon
Windows XP and Vista store the DNS information of Web sites you've visited, to reach those sites faster each time you access them. The cache sometimes gets corrupted or stores a lot of unusable data, and that leads to slower Internet response times. To clear the cache, go to the command prompt and type ipconfig /flushdns. The command purges the DNS cache and restores your Internet access speed.



Based on anecdotal evidence I do believe that the problem in my situation was involved with AP updates. These feeling along with $2 will get you a large regular coffee at Starbucks.

I will say this, we all hate bad beats, but to get disconnected while you can see the board and know you have the nutz and have bet a ton of chips only to get reconnected to find your chips gone is just plain ugly.