Interleaving.

[maggioneato]

Would appreciate if somone could explain in simple terms what interleaving does, as it has been suggested by my ISP this be turned on in the hope of solving problems with connectivity. I have had my PC checked, replacement broadband modem, (that evil D-Link 300T) All filters replaced, all is well till the PC is turned off, then I can't get back on the Internet for hours or sometimes days, although I am shown as being connected. BT say my line is ok. ISP say I am connected their end. It eventually comes back on on it's own.
I am now looking at maybe a Netgear router, do you think it might be more stable and which one. I don't need wireless. Windows XP. All this trouble started when I upgraded to 8 meg. I should have left well alone.
Please don't say don't turn it off, as we are having work done, which does involve the power having to be turned off at times.

[jetcollie]

If you have a noisy line then your modem will constantly go in and out of synch - ie you will keep losing your connection. When BT turn interleaving on it uses an error correction routine to stabilise the line so you will stay synch'd but probably at a lower speed. This doesn't seem to be your problem as I'm assuming the line is stable when you get connected. See here for a layman's explanation of how broadband works:

http://www.aaisp.net.uk/maxmagic.html

Have you tried connecting using someone elses laptop to rule out your computer as the problem? What model of modem are you using now?

[maggioneato]

Thanks jetcollie. Good article, I need to read it again for it to sink it. I'm using a D Link DSL 300T that replaced same model D Link I already had, just out of guarantee when all this hassle started, replaced foc by my ISP to see if it helped to stabilise my connection. I don't know anyone with a laptop who could help out as suggested. PC is perfectly behaved once I have a connection, the only gripe is the intermittent loss of Internet access. Speed isn't a problem as I don't play games or download large files, reliability is more important.
Not really knowing the difference between a broadband modem and a broadband router it's a question of just trying everything till I get it right. Bit difficult when a PC thickie.