[moved from my LiveJournal]

well, i am not going to type up a whole report here, but, to save some stuff i will have to explain to people, here are all the notes and screenshots i have taken, with a few comments here and there...

and it is going to be long...

firstly, here is what must be the root of the problem, as described at a PDAStreet forum...

Using a network packet generator and a bit of patience, I have found that:

- when using a modem, any connection attempt to a closed port will freeze the psion. No special nasty SYN packets are needed for that

- when the psion is listening to the port, the freezing doesn't occur

- when using a direct ppp link, no freezes ever happen, so it is not a problem in just the TCP/IP stack.

now, i have an app called Sink2, made for just this problem and it has always worked perfectly... it listens on certain ports (default is 80, 135, 445, 4444) and, when a connection is made, it accepts it, and then drops it...
but now, ever since Sasser started, i have not been able to get a solid connection... it can listen on up to seven ports, and i have set it to every port i have seen recommended to block, yet, i still have the problem...


the following will have lots of what sink2 said was happening as well as screenshots, once it occured to me to do that, rather than trying to copy them down... the screenshots do not show what the text describes, btw...


for the record, i am using a Psion 5 (not mx) and the pcmcia adaptor with an ActionTec DataLink 56k card fax modem...
it has always worked perfectly, except when i first got it, it froze a lot because of the reasons he gave up there and those problems vanished when i got sink2...


from may 2nd...

most times, when it happens, sound comes from my modem, like a hissing that sounds different from the carrier one normally hears when the modem connects...
it does not sound like the modem pissed off... it sounds like the speaker coming back on for some reason and that hiss is on the line...

and, it doesn't seem to know it is dc'd... i have to disconnnect and hard reset my modem...

sink2 listening on ports 80, 135, 445, 4444

20:21:28 Connection on port 445 from 4.228.201.193

same thing, same ip at 20:22:46

d/c and was not able to re-connect

when it switches from "initialize" to "recieving data" is when it drops... so, my browser comes online and when it tries to load a page is when it happens... and on my email client, i can download headers, but, when i try to open an email, it drops connection...

interestingly, i just sent an email (so far i cannot here on dc)...

ok, so, i close my mailbox and see if it is there...

hmm...

and now i just got disconnected... and sink2 says...

20:33:16 Connection on port 445 from 4.240.114.249

it just dc'd before it got all the email headers, though, there was one more than before... my modem light is flashing, yet, the client says "getting headers"... now i have to tell it to disconnect from internet, hard reset modem, try again...

mm-hmm... it almost had all the headers, then that odd hiss and i see the modem light is flashing again...

oh, and there is this from sink2...

20:34:57 connection on port 4445 from 4.240.114.249
grrr...

hmmm... now it won't even connect...

also the 2nd...

connection on port 135 from 4.240.162.216
connection on port 445 from 4.46.152.229

both icq and telnet were working, then, after a few minutes...

21:57:49 connection on port 135 from 0.0.0.0
and then
21:58:15 connection on port 135 from 4.240.18.137

and i heard that hiss again and was disconnected, though both apps think they are connected...
reconnect to icq, no prob, connect telnet, it works for a moment, then the hissing and disconnect...

sink2 says...
22:03:03 port 135 from same as last time, 4.240.18.137
and then 22:03:28 on port 4444 from the same ip...

from the 3rd...

connected to telnet for a minute or two and then all this, yet, i did not get disconnected until the very end...

22:36:25 port 445 from 4.240.42.10
22:37:08 port 445 from 4.240.42.10
22:37:26 port 445 from 4.240.42.10
22:37:38 port 445 from 4.240.42.10
22:38:44 port 135 from 4.240.63.82
22:38:49 port 4444 from 4.240.63.82
22:39:17 port 445 from 4.33.115.54
22:39:18 port 445 from 4.33.115.54
22:39:26 port 445 from 4.33.115.54
22:39:31 port 445 from 4.241.42.139

and then disconnected...

from the 4th...

today it is acting different...

for one, sometimes when i get dc'd, it tells me i have been disconnected and asks if i want to reconnect...

also, something just happened that was like my connection freezing or something, the modem light was on, but, i could not transfer data, such as when i would send cgaracters in telnet (i have been using telnet to try connecting, juts letting it idle once connected) and i opened icq and it would not connect...

this is sink2 on the 7th...



and now i have made a very confusing discovery...

i can use the old 14.4k modem that i used to use on my psion 3, and it works just fine, all those connection attempts are made, yet, it stays connected... when i try my 56k, it does all the above...
this means nothing to me...
one IS a pc card modem and therefore requires the adaptor, while the other is specifically made for this unit and plugs right in...

but, i don't see why that would make a difference...


any theories are welcome...