Page 1 of NTL CABLE MODEM- can you switch it off?

Just got ntl broadband and was wondering if you could turn off the modem when the computer wasn`t on with out any problems.

Just thinking about saving on the leccy bills.

Also my modem says it is -- ntl home 120, does this mean my connection is at 120K rather than the 150K that is supposed to be??

Cheers, Col.

Hi,I would not recommend switching it off,however,disconnecting the power unit will not interfere with the account or connection configuration.
As for the model of modem you have,it is only the model no and not the speed.

I`ve got a Scientific Atlanta cable modem and it`s never done it any harm switching it off at night along with the rest of the PC. Mine doesn`t have an "off" switch per se, but I just unplug the extension cable from the wall socket as normal.

Anyone else know if there are likely to be any problems with turning it off.

I might start turning it off through the night until i use it again.

How much power do these things use anyway?

homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/ is one of the best sites for Telewest and NTL users about their cable modem and connection in general. Don`t know if there is anything there about power consumption. The modem looks like it is manufactured by Ambit so you could check out their website for spec sheets.

You shouldn`t have any issues that I can think of turning it off - although most modems don`t have a power switch so you`ll probably be unplugging it.

This item was edited on Saturday, 26th July 2003, 09:19

I`ve got Telewest and my cable modem is a Motorolla Surfboard. I can switch mine to standby, but when I am not going to be using it for a couple of days i trun it off from the mains.

If yours is anything like mine all your account information is sorted via DHCP. Your modem will have a unique identifier (a MAC address) which is hard coded and does not change no matter how long ur modem is powered off for. This also means that if you reformat you don`t have to mess about configuring an internet connection as all your info is identified via your network modem, so you can power it off without any worries.

As I said, the above is true for Telewest, but I would have thought NTL is similar.

Nick

of course you can. just unplug that sucker. if you notice, when you turn it on the lights flash in a sequence and then go out and back on, all you are really doing when you swich off/on is resetting the modem. if you have any connection problems try switching off for 10 seconds and back on to reset.

the only problems i`ve had with turning the modem off/on, was with my old pc, that would lock up if it switched on/off when the pc was booted. not had any problems since upgrading to a new machine. xp did not like installing the softwear mind, but has not crashed, or complained in any significant way.

if you have the modem conected via usb, then you may find your system will run faster if you disconnect the modem.

As dnick says, yes you can switch the modem off. However, I think I should point out that you must wait for the modem to initialise itself before you switch the PC back on. (NTL told me this when I swapped it from USB connection to ethernet connection, which is definitely recommended.) You have to watch the lights do their whole blinking thing for a while, after 10-20 seconds they will settle down and the two right-hand lights will remain steady. Then you can switch your PC on. My PC takes long enough to boot up as it is without waiting on the dance of the LED`s, so I leave the modem switched on.

i have noticed, through clan games of ut2003, that your ip remains static if you leave your modem plugged in and changes when it you unplug and power it back up, thus having to reconnect to the network.

i dont know if this matters to you at all, but i find its easier just to plug it in. And theoretically, if you got a ups, you could run a web site from the static ip, saving a fortune on server costs.

just a thought.

Some ISPs charge extra for static IPs but with Telewest you get a static address as standard.

Nick