Cable modem in apartment

I recently moved into a condo complex and I am trying to install Comcast high speed internet. After connecting the cable to the cable modem and powering up the computer, I can never seem to get farther than a steady receive light and a flashing send light. After a two calls to customer service, they finally agreed to send a tech. out. My question is, could it be the apartment amp that is the problem? I have heard some older amps do not allow a return path. Will the cable company replace this device, or will I have to coordinate with the condo association? I am trying to limit the amount of time I have to sit and wait for the cable tech to come out.

With my first call to customer service, they had me try to adjust the proxy settings on my internet browser. Would this have any impact on whether I would be able to get all of the lights on my cable modem working? Another note, I cannot see the diagnostics page when I type in 192.168.100.1 (it's a Motorola Surfboard modem)? Could this suggest a firewall or IP settings problem. It would be great if I could resolve the problem on my own.

Also of note, I had Zone Alarm installed and I uninstalled it. I also had a router installed where I lived previously, but I have no use for it now, so it is no longer being used.

Thanks for the feedback!

Reply to
Bill Bodinson
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Yes, it definately could be the amp. Or it could be a bad splitter, an incorrect filter, or a handful of other problems that could exist, depending on the creativity of whoever did the original cabling, or the failure of any component in the cabling. If you're the first in the complex to have cable Internet, it may even be a problem outside the complex.

If it's inside the complex, how it gets fixed, or who pays for it is something that can't be difinitively determined. If the cable company did all the cabling, they would certainly fix it. But if the cabling was done by the builder of the complex, they may or may not fix it without charge. Unless the cabling physcially runs through another unit that needs to be accessed, you should not need to coordinate anything.

Not being able to see the diagnostic page could be another problem. (Or it might not.) Whether or not the modem can sync-up has nothing to do with whether something is connected to the modem. If the modem can't sync-up, the sequence of the lights while, and after it's trying tell as much as could be obtained from any logs visable in the modem. That means the tech trying to help you get to that page is lacking in technical ability, so it's entirely possible that there is no problem on your end at all.

Make sure you take out any proxy settings in the browser, and any other settings that may have been tweaked.

Some older versions of Zone Alarm sometimes did not completely uninstall correctly. It's possible you could have a problem, but it's possible that you don't have a problem, either. At this point, it's too soon to even worry about whether there could be a problem. As for the router, that should have no affect at all.

Let them fix the cabling first. Once your modem is able to sync-up, then you can assess whether or not there are any other problems. Until then, random fiddling has a greater possibility of causing problems than fixing any problems.

Reply to
Warren

The flashing send light certainly suggests the possibility that your cable connection is coming from one of the line amplifiers which do not support the reverse transmission path required for all cable modems. Such amplifiers are totally satisfactory for both analog and digital television--they seem to be cheaper and more readily obtainable than the amplifiers (Scientific Atlanta, Holland, some others) which are specifically designed to permit the reverse path essential for cable broadband internet connection.and are clearly identified as such. If your apartment cable installatio was accomplished by a private contractor instead of a cable provider you may be able to talk apartment management into permitting you to substitute a proper return path amplifdier for the existing amplifier. They cost about $50 and often are offered on eBay--they are called "line drop amplifiers".

If your Motorola Modem is a 5100 ( the only Motorola with which I have had hands on experience) the diagnostic screen probably will not display until the modem has completed the full handshaking sequence. even when it is operating correctly.

Reply to
John M. Hunt

An update - I am now able to see the diagnostics page. One of the people I spoke with at Comcast had me set up a proxy on Internet Explorer and since there is no connection to the Comcast (former AT&T) proxy server, I could not do anything. It is definitely an upstream problem as the power level on the upstream signal varies anywhere from

10 dbmV to 58 dbmV in a given say 30 second time frame. The signal level varies from -2 dbmV to -4 dbmV, which doesn't conern me all that much. The signal to noise ratio is somwhere in the mid 30's. A technician will be coming out tomorrow, we will see what happens... Thanks again for everyone's input.
Reply to
Bill Bodinson

In article , John M. Hunt wrote: : :If your Motorola Modem is a 5100 ( the only Motorola with which I have had :hands on experience) the :diagnostic screen probably will not display until the modem has completed :the full handshaking sequence. :even when it is operating correctly.

That's not correct. You can still access the status pages when the modem does not have an upstream connection. Otherwise, what would be the point of having a status page that could display any status other than "Operational"?

I initially had the same symptoms as the OP (flashing "Send" light) until a Comcast installer came out and removed the filter that was blocking my upstream signal path. I could still see the SB5100's status and diagnostic pages just fine.

Reply to
Robert Nichols

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