Ok, so I finally convinced my parents to get satellite internet to replace our nasty 28.8 dialup. Don't lecture me about DSL or Cable, becuase it's not available here.
Anyway, the satellite system is "one-way". It downloads data with a satellite dish and uploads data using a dialup modem (which is ok, since I don't do a lot of uploading). It uses a satellite modem with a program called OpenVPN to connect to the network. It also has a virtual network device called a TAP-Win32 adapter that combines dialup and satellite into one connection. Then I can share that connection across the network. Pretty complicated setup? You bet'cha.
So here's the deal... my phone lines aren't exactly "up-to-date". So I get disconnected from dialup once almost every 2 or 3 hours. This sucks, becuase then OpenVPN notices that it's gone, so it disables the satellite connection. My parents' computer is the host, and I use a shared connection to connect to the internet. When dialup and OpenVPN disconnect, my computer goes completely stupid. It never informs me of a "disconnected cable" as it should when the host's network connection is lost. So I have to wait for FireFox to send me a big fat "Connection timed out" page before I even notice that I've lost the satellite and dialup link. So, to get it back, here's the crap that I have to do:
First, I have to open up RealVNC and hope that my dad isn't using Photoshop, cause then I have to wait until he's done before I can do anything. After that, I have to dial into my ISP (which takes around 2 or 3 minutes at the least). Then, I have to navigate to the Network Connections window and disable the TAP-Win32 adapter. Fourth, I have to re-enable it and wait for it to connect. Fifth, I have to double click the OpenVPN icon and wait for it to link up again (which takes about a full minute). Finally, I have to switch back to my system, open FireFox and pray that it worked. Becuase sometimes, it doesn't and I have to restart my computer to get it working again.
What the heck is going on here? I should have to do all of that! Is there something that I can do to save time? Maybe a batch file to do at least some of that for me? Perhaps a program that monitors and reconnects broken network connections? SOMETHING?! I'm so sick of going through that process every 2 or 3 hours!
EDIT: Why isn't my post count going up? It's been stuck on 57 for awhile. Maybe Niko needs to rebuild the stats or something. *shrugs*