Error Code 4 (not 3) - unable to connect to the Internet

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JoelIrwin
MagicJack Expert
Posts: 93
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Houston
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Error Code 4 (not 3) - unable to connect to the Internet

Post by JoelIrwin »

Wasn't happening when I fist got it. Has been happening for the last 2 or 3 months though. I used to just unplug it out of own USB port and plug into another (typically right next to it) and keep going back and forth until it worked (waiting for the device window to open and then manually starting the MJ software).

What I have discovered in the last week is that if I boot the desktop without MJ plugged in and wait for everything to start and then plug it in and manually start it - it works every time and goes into 'ready to call' with no problem. If I let it start on boot, it goes to error 4 every time.

I'm on Vista with a 6 mo old Dell high end XPS 420 (quad 4 @ 2.5 Ghz with 3 GB memory).

P.S. - About a week or two back, tried it on a slower Pentium 4 (1.5 HGz) desktop with 1.1 USB built-in and XP SP2 and saw the exact same behavior/error 4. So I am not sure its the desktop or the OS (unless there is some common thread between these two)

Anyone seen this behavior?

Any other workarounds?

Joel
Have a great day,
Joel
Stewart
Dan Should Pay Me
Posts: 663
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:58 pm

Post by Stewart »

If you reboot your PC (with MJ plugged in), wait for one minute after getting the error 4, kill the MJ process with task manager, then restart it by clicking the desktop icon, does it come up ok? If so, you should be able to have a simple script that starts MJ after a delay. I don't know Vista, so can't give the specifics. I suspect this is happening because the network is not ready when MJ tries to start.
JoelIrwin
MagicJack Expert
Posts: 93
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 1:59 pm
Location: Houston
Contact:

Post by JoelIrwin »

I agree with you. I don't mind manually plugging it in after the system settles. I surfaced it here to find out:

1. is anyone else noticing this problem
2. it should not make a difference when the app starts -- I am not aware of any other internet app which I use which is that time sensitive to where it starts up. In my mind its yet another of the many programming errors that MJ has got to fix. If I can wait and then start it and it works - THEN WHY CAN'T THE SOFTWARE JUST FIGURE IT OUT ON ITS OWN even if it has trouble starting (which it shouldn't anyway). My issue all along with MJ has not been the concept or the hardware but the sloppy and poorly designed software which was not really designed with the user's interests in mind.

For example:

a. The rule in programming for decades as far as good user interface design is don't give the user an error message that makes them do something you can do yourself
b. If you can't determine ahead of time what the user interface should be to satisfy all their needs, make it a selectable option. For example, I don't want the dialer to get in the way ever (especially if someone other than me is using a portable phone and its attached to my desktop). So why not make it an option that when the user asks for a dial tone, you can leave the MJ application minimzed instead of constantly popping up in your face?

There is no reason to give me the error 4 in this situation especially since I know the manual 'workaround' which is just wait and then start -- MJ should figure it ouy all by itself.
Have a great day,
Joel
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