Dellnet and MSN are known to be VERY slow.

The free 1 year subscription is a come on to buy the computer. I know of several people who had MSN and gave up because it was so slow.

If you are in the right geographical area and have access look into DSL or cable access. There is nothing that even compares to high bandwidth. Most dial modems connect at less than 56K but with cable you can connect at 1500K!!

Hey Radical (Dude?),

Welcome to the club. I've had my PC for a bit over three months and, while a slow connection via DellNet/MSN is one of the few problems I HAVEN'T had, I've experienced plenty of frustration with support people at Dell, MSN, and Microsoft. You will soon learn that they are skilled primarily in passing the buck to each other.

Other, more experienced, users on this board will be able to assist you regarding your particular problem; I, on the other hand, simply want to let you know that your confidence in the tech support people (at Dell, MSN, MS, you name it) may be grossly misplaced. My experience has been that when I actually get through to a live human at Dell I end up listening to them bemoan the poor morale, the low-end items being installed these days, and the nightmare that is Windows ME. Also, one techie told me that the CD-ROM that came with my "free" Umax scanner will perform better as a mini-Frisbee than as software, and he was right.

That said, the good and knowledgable people who give of their time to reply to posts on these boards are your best hope. Even an atheist would be moved to call them "Godsends"!

Of course, if you're still within your 30-day satisfaction period feel free to demand they take it back, but I've got to say I doubt if any of the other "off-the-shelf" companies are any better (or worse), judging from what I see here and elsewhere. I know people who are devoted to their PC manufacturer, whether it's "award winning" Dell or those with dicey reputations (who shall remain nameless). Basically, it's a crapshoot.

I, as a newbie, confess that I thought PCs had gotten to the point where they were, essentially, simple home appliances. We seem to be a long way from that day, though, despite the hype.

So, permit me to pass along the little bit of wisdom I've gleaned over the past few months: A) You will have frustrating problems, some pretty huge. B) There are solutions to be found, some surprisingly simple. C) The people on these boards not only know tons more than the tech support people, they are extraordinarily generous with their knowledge, and maintain senses of humor that will see you through every bug and crash.

And finally, D) Always have a back-up ISP. (I use a local freebie that's highly reliable and is ad-free, though I have no idea how they stay in business).

Oh, and as to your question (thought I'd never get there, did you.): There is no such thing as "a more reliable" ISP. There are still way too many variables and variations out there in the world.

So, what to do? Keep posting to the boards. The "softballs" will be answered by Dell techies. The "hardballs" by users who know what's what, or can direct you to those who do. Hang in there, Rad. Good times are just around the corner!



Dimension 4100
Pentium III, 933 MHz
20GB Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
128MB 133MHz SDRAM
Windows ME
17" M781 Monitor
32MB NVIDIA TNT2 M64 AGP Graphics Card
48X Max Variable CD-ROM Drive
Soundblaster 64V PCI with Dell Jukebox
harman/kardon Speakers
V.90/56K Telephony Modem for Windows ME-Sound Option
QuietKey Keyboard
MS Intellimouse

FWIW: This is the text of the feedback I just gave to MSN. Seems to me that Dell must have entered into this agreement with Microsoft, without first checking the viability of MSN.

"MSN cannot be reached except through my existing ISP. The sign-up process was grueling and had to be repeated many times because the software hung. The only way to sign up was to first connect with a third party ISP. After finally getting set up, MSN Explorer NEVER connects and NEVER says why it cannot. It just sits and spins while "Dialing...".

This is the worst online experience since someone showed me AOL once. Smells to me like a scam to get credit card numbers and marketing info."

Now, I am not nearly as angry with Dell about this as some, since the add-on of DellNet by MSN did not enter into my purchasing decision. I have known for years that MSN was not a viable choice for an ISP, but I imagine there are many who may have actually believed the sales hype. That's unfortunate. It's a bit like receiving one of those AOL CD's in the mail and actually BELIEVING you have something of value there.

I am a bit disturbed that Dell is stupid enough to have smeared their own name by association with MSN. And yes, by implied warranty, Dell is responsible for providing ISP services for a year (in some fashion).

I had the same problem with DELLNET/MSN login. everytime I try to login, it was just dialing. you can't even here anything...
The only way I was able to login was from another ISP (aol). what's the point of having the 1yr. free when i have to still dial somewhere else...
And I purchased mine early of the year. up to this day, i am unable to login to dellnet without login to another isp...