TTNET and my big but small problem

I have a TTNET ADSL connection and I didn't receive the bill to pay, so, I completely forgot to pay the bill and i was cut off during the following month after the bill was supposed to arrive. I will try and list here what happened to me for anyone who falls in to the same trap as I did.

Now, you would think that if your ADSL internet connection worked before you were cut off it would still work after you got it back up and running again, but, oh no! LIFE JUST ISN'T THAT EASY, IS IT?

This may also be of some help to someone whose ADSL settings are completely screwed, so could act as a guide to getting either your ADSL box settings set-up or settings renewed at least.

I shall attempt to list the steps that caused my problem.

1) First off - the bill wasn't paid, not because of lack of money but because of lack of a bill to pay - the bill usually arrives on time unlike the credit card bills we receive (Before anyone reminds me i can pay automatically, i am aware of this but don't do this because of pure paranoia that they could in one month take too much and take a long time to refund it back)

2) The connection was cut or suspended with no prior knowledge or after the cut-off knowledge.

3) Because I wasn't quite sure that it was the bill as I thought I had recently paid it I assumed that it was just a plain old connection problem.

4) 2 days passed and I thought somethings up!

5) Still thinking that I had paid the bill and not bothering to check either way i checked all the settings as they had been set-up previously to the cut-off. They were all as they were before.

6)I used to be a computer support guy in my previous English life, so, the steps were fairly straight forward check connection sockets cables, etc, work your way back to the modem. Make sure you are getting the correct local ip settings (a series of numbers like this xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (the x's referring to numbers) from your ADSL router box and then check to see if i can also check the ADSL router settings to the outside WWW world (internet). It could see the connection to TTNET's network but couldn't gain an ip address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx to the outside WWW world.

7) At this stage I called tech service 444 0 375 option 9 for English and spoke to a guy on the phone who didn't check the settings thoroughly enough and he gave me my password to check (this I think is strange because normally a password is never given out because it is encrypted so how can this password be secure, especially if they give it out over a public line). This guy within a couple of minutes had said the bog standard stuff about turn your box on and off check the lights and password, etc, etc. But still no connection.

8) I contacted them again because I am paying for a non functioning internet connection. Still the same checks were applied and when I said no my internet light (which should turn green) is still red. They suggested I wait for a call from I believe what is there super service engineers. I talked with these guys and I can't even remember what was done but it was difficult for me since the 2nd line support guys knew English but the 1st line support guy didn't and although I know about computers the technical jargon and microsoft messages which are already a completely alien language in Turkish is like a language within a language and you don't learn it in Tömer. Maybe even the locals are not sure of this language within a language so how am I supposed to fathom it out. So after a while I left them saying "bunu deneceğim!" (I will try this! - whatever it was I worked out that they were saying) Still no good.

9) Ok, now I was getting as frustrated as a boxer without a punchbag. I then decided to frig around with my ip stack (this enables you to connect via your computer to the internet - because the ip stack is a core component of windows you can't remove and re-install only reset it) See below:

Note This section is intended for advanced computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced troubleshooting, ask someone for help or contact a Support person. 

Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually:
Open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER:
cmd
At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
Note If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

The above is an example of windows XP

10) I did this and used a specialist repair program to repair the stack one more time to make sure I hadn't screwed it up further.

11) Then my wife decided that a Turkish speaker was needed, so she called and some guy said that the super super tech guys were now coming to check outside the house in the magic box (the one with all the cables that to a novice telecoms person like myself is like trying to find one meatball in a mountain of spaghetti). They came at least I think they did and nothing.

12) I decided on the fifth day in to go to the Turk Telekom shop were I sometimes pay my bills and see if there is a list of things I should be checking. I decided it was time to suıt up and become my own ADSL superman. Nothing! Why! Because they don't allow non Turk Telecom's people to be their own super heroes and besides I was palmed off with everyone in your neighbourhood is having the same problem. I took off my ADSL superman suit and remained at ease. Permission was denied like trying to view a page from geocities or youtube - No access dude. There may be one video out of the thousands of videos that offends somebody Turkish or French or English or Taiwanese. So of course ban everything like the swishing hand of God. Why not just shut the whole Internet down?

13) Anyhooo! At this stage I was picturing myself in a desert with no water except the desert was my apartment and the water was the lack of an internet connection. I chanted to Internet! InnTTNET! Innnnnnteeeeeeeerrrrrnetttttttttt!! And finally decided one last try was needed since I hadn't spoken to my family all week on the wonderful Skype program. I phoned a wonderful techie called TTNET Serkan, I explained I have done this, and that, and soforth. He was the only person in all of the calls to say let's recheck your settings and immediately found the problem which gave me my Internet back.

The settings I needed on the ADSL box were:

ADSL Settings              

Encapsulation:    RFC 2516 PPPoE 

VC Settings                   

Virtual Circuit:    8

VCI: 35

Multiplexing:  LLC

PPPoE Settings  

Service name:   leave blank

Username: xxxxx@ttnet

Password: xxxxxxxxxxx (the x's representing your password)

Connection keep alive redial selected and 30 secs as the default

SUCCESS!! With these settings it worked but it still doesn't explain why the previous settings worked for at least three years with no problems unless TTNet had changed the settings so the PPPoA settings no longer work. And a huge huge thanks to Serkan at TTNET support or wherever you are, you really are a superhero for me at least!

Hope this may help somebody in some way. Now I am back I wıll start posting again to izmir blog.

Regards.

IzmirBlogger