Hello all,
Well it has been two days now and I see that my email server isn't working and I can't get on the internet at all. The only thing that changed is that COMCAST is now my provider it was adelphia and I had no problems since COMCAST came to my neighborhood!!! I called them up and they tell me they do not support LINUX! Lucky me. I used my work laptop and bypassed my network and they want me to down load some crappy software. What the HECK is this? Did I wake up in a different time zone? I am dumping the service as of yesterday. I am not a Linux noob here but am I missing something??? I use firefox and mozilla as a back up and n/g for both. Has anyone else had this problem like me?? I did look up searches on this and found nothing of the sort. I am like Stanley Johnson..could some one PLEASE HELP ME.. THANKS in Advance,
Rick
P.S.
Sorry for the book that I wrote here...

Classic....

The easy way out for the support robots is to find you doing something they don't support. To my knowledge, there is nothing in the ISP interface, e-mail configuration, etc. that should make any difference in terms of the OS.

I have not had any ISP that would not work with Linux.

The best way to deal with them is on fundamentals--find out what is happening so that you can tell them with some assurance that Linux is not the issue. In fact, don't tell them the OS if you don't have to. If they ask, make them tell YOU why it is relevant.

PS--If you already dumped them, then what help are you seeking? Have you already connected with someone else?

Thanks for the quick response. No I didn't yet switch ISP'S when I try to go on the net I get on my firefox that the software that I am using is not supported and call 1800comcast. I called them twice two days in a row I put on my work laptop which is ms and it wants me to download software to be on there network. I am baffled here. I agree there should be no difference in the passage of data but my email server has not received any email for the past two days now probably blocking port 25. I am not kidding ya here it is like I have to download there software and register on there network. It is a BIG joke. Looks like I have to change ISP's. I agree with ya what am I asking help for but I don't know where to start here. I have been using cable for probably 4 to maybe 6 years now.
Thanks,
Rick

Did they install pppoe? Have you tried calling them and telling them you're using a Linksys router and you need to find out how to configure the router so your PC can connect to the internet?

Added:
My daughter lives in LA and she went through this recently. She's "out" right now, but I'll check with her tomorrow to see what she had to do, unless someone else gives you a definitive answer.

I used to do tech support for AT&T and Comcast (and for a few smaller ISP's up here in Canada), and I can honestly say not one of the 5 ISP's I worked for ever offered any support at all for Linux.

Here's what an ISP will normally do if you run Linux:

Have you powercycle the modem, then the router, then reboot the computers. While the computers are rebooting they will try and ping the modem. If the modem is online, that's all they'll do. Most ISP's "technically" only support connectivity to the modem. Everything else is to try and provide some form of customer service, but if the modem is online, the problem has to be on your end as far as an ISP is concerned. If the modem isn't online, they won't care what OS you have, they will send out a technician to test the signals and see why the modem can't connect. If you have a home network that wasn't installed by them and you're using anything other than Windows or Mac, they'll go as far as getting the modem to have Block Sync and walk away.

Everyone likes to blame the large corporations, it could NEVER be their equipment or their inability to get their equipment working. There's probably some setting somewhere that's different between your old ISP and your new ISP. If you read everything the ISP provides on how to set up a Windows machine, you can go through your linux and ensure all those settings are the same. If the modem is connecting, I GUARANTEE you that the problem is on your end.

I was a supervisor with Comcast for awhile, I talked to the people who were pissed, and we used to love calls from people with unsupported stuff. Their own routers, Linux, whatever, 'cause they'd go on and on about how it's our problem and we need to fix it. We'd give them basic, limited support with a clause that IF we can fix it over the phone on their unsupported hardware/software and it turns out to be a problems with their stuff, that any time they call in future, they will have to switch to supported materials. 95% of the time we fixed it. The other 5% of the time they ended up fixing it on their own before we went out there.

Yeah, that means 100% of the time if the modem was connected it wasn't a problem with our network. That's my experience. I'm sure there's a small percentage where the signal is good enough to connect the modem but not send/receive data, but I never saw it in 5 years.

So my point is, give us the information we need to help you troubleshoot your problem, because chances are the Comcast end of service is fine.

And for the record: I no longer work or am affiliated with Comcast and I'm not trying to defend them. In fact, I had a friend who moved to Chicago and I told him to avoid Comcast like the plague. I just think it's pretty harsh to blame tech support and claim any other agent will do it except Comcast.

Been a while since messing with Comcast setup. Have you gone through there online setup yet?

I am guessing not from the info I see. They want you to use internet explorer first. Then it goes to a non routable IP address server where you can setup your account with the mac address of your nic. This is what they use in my area to authenicate with. So once your setup is configured then I plugged in a router and had it emualte the mac address I set the account up for. Last I known one can setup 3 mac address per account.

I think you should be able to contact tech support and tell them the mac of the network card and they can setup your account that way.

Also Comcast block common ports used for servers. They want more money to allow you to run simply server apps. The way around this is port connect to a higher port over 1024 and then forward to the normally port with the use of a router. Not sure how to get around a email server since that is the port it needs to be at. Depends on how the DNS is setup. It may be possible if using one of those dynamic dns services then you can remap ports from your account there.

Brian

Quick question......have you REGISTERED on their service? The software is probably to complete the registration process.

Look at it this way: when you register, your hardware is associated with an active account on their network. If you don't register, you try to connect to the internet, and their server rejects it because they have no idea who you are. If you aren't registered, how would their system know you have an account and are authorized to get online? If there was no need to register, anyone could go out and buy a modem and start hooking up to illegal internet, sapping bandwidth, and Comcast would be powerless to do anything.

If that is the case........ask for a supervisor. I don't know how it works now, but when I was with Comcast, a registration could be done manually without software by walking you through the process. I will tell you though that when I was there, that process failed with FireFox, Opera and Mozilla. I don't know why, but somehow the folks who made the registration servers made it work only with Internet Explorer.

EDIT: Unless they've changed things, servers aren't supported either. So your mail server would be a violation of their TOS and they could cancel your account at any time. I've even seen people running servers have their information sent over to the legal department. It used to be a very serious problem.

Quakeboy02 good question. No I didn't ask them that I am using a seperate pc as my gateway router firewall and it has been doing great till two day's ago. I guess I should really drill these people on what is up here. Looks like my internet has changed to be like an AOL type family load up there GARBAGE and then your on the internet. I believe this is new that there doing here and I feel that I must move on. When I used my ms work laptop I could not get on the net unless I registered with them and download there software which did not dload to my laptop. I am curious if anyone else gets this surprise... I thought Adelphia was bad not like these guy's....
Rick

Most ISPs block port 25. This is done to cut down on compromised computers being used as spam relays. Also, if they don't they do this as a policy, they will have their IP block blacklisted by AOL.

If they use a web site for the cable modem requisition process, then they should have one that will work with the other browsers. That is poor form on their part. Maybe if you provide then with the MAC address of your NIC card or router, they can enter it in manually.

When I first started at Comcast, manual registration was simple and we did it all the time. The higher up network techs didn't like it though, apparently it somehow messed up their database (you'd think they should perhaps program it better then). All ability to manually add or delete mac addresses was removed. When I left (3 years ago), it could still be done by submitting a network ticket, but the response time on those was anywhere from 3-8 weeks. And it was NEVER necessary, since a windows machine with IE or a Mac with Safari could complete the process just fine, and those were the system specs required. The ability for Tier 3+ techs to do it was being phased out as well.

The registration process works and always COULD be done manually, by navigating to a specific website and entering information.

The reason it's going "AOL" style as you say is because of the reasons I mentioned in my first post. People WANT to blame the corporation and refuse to accept it may be their fault and REFUSE to do any work. So they made software. Download and run the software, enter information, online. People still blame Comcast, but now they say Comcast software fixed the problem on Comcasts network.

Call Comcast back, say you want to speak with a supervisor, once you get a supervisor, ask if it's still possible to do a manual registration. Do so on a Windows machine, with IE loaded up (just open my computer and type the http:// address in the address bar to get to it if you've removed the links) that's connected directly to the modem with no routers in between.

Once registration is complete, you can reconnect through your router, reboot/powercycle your modem, then your router, the MAC addresses in the database will update, and you'll be back online.

Assuming, of course, the problem is failure to register with their server.

Thank you all who responded. Yes I need to call them back at comcast and manually register with them. I have never did that before and I did fire up the work computer which has internet explorer on it and that did not work. I can't believe that I have to register but what ever I will try it. Again I know they all block lower ports my website is up there in the ports address and for my email server I guess i take it off line. Again thanks for your time reading my dilema I just can't believe I have to register never did before they take my money and that was it. I guess times are changing. I have to say this though I tried to go through the motions with my ms laptop and it didn't work what a crappy network there running. I will try all your suggestions and then add on to this post. Thanks again for all your responses. I will post my outcome.
Take care,
Rick

If you don't register, how do you expect their service to know you're an authorized customer? What would stop you from connecting 7 or 8 cable modems up to a spliced line and eating up all that bandwidth for free? There would be nothing. Every cable modem service you ever use will, at some point, either require you to register with their service, or will have some way to manually do it themselves.

Times haven't changed that much. 8 years ago I started with Comcast and people had to register their service. When I first got my cable modem about 12 years ago, I had to register my service.

I guess you've just been using dial-up or dsl all this time.