Finally! The god damn internet line is up again!
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It has been three weeks of testing, repairs and retifications. Initially when my line was down, I thought that the modem broke down since I had such experience before. So, I went to Singnet service centre at Westmall to check if I can renew my contract. Contract renewal comes with free modem. Unfortunately, I was told that I can only re-contract after 21 Jan. So I waited. At the meantime, I asked my colleague to check my old modem to confirm that it is indeed spoilt. Unfortunately, after many checks, she was not 100% sure - no conclusion.
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On 22 Jan, I visited the service centre again and asked the information counter (that distributes Q-number) to confirm my eligibility. It was a yes and I got my Q-number. The counter advised me to go for a coffee as my waiting time would be at least an hour. I was given a 50% discount coupon to Kopitiam and that they will call me on my mobile phone when it is about my turn.
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Finally, I was called up and a gentleman was helping me to process my request. He told me that usually re-contract should be done online. I replied that my modem is down and that's why I was there. Then suddenly, he told me that I can only re-contract after 29 Jan based on the date of contract (29 Apr). Now I'm pissed. But before I retaliate, he smile and said that since the information counter guys made the mistake, he will help me to register for early re-contract. And I got my new modem free. But that's not all. Singnet was having a promotion then and I got 50% discount on my monthly bill for the first year. But that's not all!!! I also got $90 worth of New Moon abalone, birdnest, sharkfin etc.
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Woww!!! Anyway I am more interested on getting my line up than the goodies which I gave it to my colleague. And guess what? I could not complete the installation process with the new modem - "unable to detect ethernet"!!! "Could it be some virus imbedded", I asked myself. So, I reformatted my harddisk. And I try again but got the same old shit - "cannot detect ethernet". After I cool down, I discovered a way to bypass ethernet card - the USB!!! I connect the modem to the USB and voila, I passed this stage of test. But the joy is short-lived. I got stuck again with the next test of DSL. the DSL led light on the modem kept blinking no matter how I check/change/swap the cable. Finally I gave up and call Singet technical support. They made an arrangement for technician to come to me place.
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A few days later, a young chap came to do the necessary. He concluded that the ethernet card had spoilt and the new modem is also faulty. He gave me a service report and advised me to change a new one. And so I visited Singnet service centre again to change the new but spoilt modem. Interestingly, when I was at the customer counter, I was told that to change modem, I must go to the manufacturer - the information counter screw up again!!! But since I am sitting right in front of him, he will do it for me. Happily I went to home to install the new modem but I got the same shit again! The DSL still blinks! This time, I called an expert - a friend who is good in IT. His advise was simple - isolate the problem, cut all other nonsense and get Singnet to focus and resolve the phone line problem. So I did and another appointment was made to get technician to check the phone line.
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At last, it was found that there was a short circuit. And after the repair, my internet is finally up. And now I can continue with my blog. I knew the market was in a mess lately, plunging like no tomorrow. However, since my internet was down, I see no evil, though heard evil.
