link back to Zyra's front page //// site index

Internet Service Providers //// Zyra's front page which WAS at Freeserve

This is a page about FREESERVE by a customer! If there's anything not right on here, please e-mail me and I will see about putting it right.

For the actual site of Freeserve, take a look at www.freeserve.co.uk or www.freeserve.net or www.freeserve.com except that all of these have moved to Orange!

(not to be confused with Freenetname, which is a different company)

You might well wonder why I didn't have a Freeserve account much earlier on? After all, it's free, isn't it?! Well the reasons why are now here to be told:

The main problem with Freeserve is that there appeared to be no way to get LIVE technical support, even by e-mail, without phoning a PREMIUM RATE NUMBER at 50p/minute. (Note: This has changed. See update 2002/04 at end of this page). This kind of thing is open to a variety of problems. For a paranoid like myself it is so obviously a trap as you pick up the free CDs in places which often have not a clue about computers, and if the technical info is hidden cunningly in the methodology, as in the way Microwhatsitscompany behaves, it is possible to conceivably get into an irrevocable and untenable situation. So, for years, no Freeserve here.

How I overcame the problem was by a cunning strategy, which, whilst a bit over-the-top, succeeded in me getting a Freeserve account at last, without mucking up the current state of the computer which already had SIX ISPs, and without risking having to pay a lot of money in phone calls.

1. I went into LINUX which exists outside the limited universe in which Windows resides.

2. I used a special ancient and powerful Unix command which copied the entire hard disc image including all the boot sectors and system stuff etc en-bloc onto a single two-gigabyte file within the realms of the Linux archive directory.

3. I restarted the machine in oldfashioned Windows and put a giveaway Freeserve CD in the machine and after a lot of messing-about got it running.

4. I went through all the options and things that installing a new ISP always meddles with, you know, where it makes itself the default this that and the other, and I undid them.

5. I tested the system in various ways to make sure everything was ok.

Actually, it all turned out rather well! But, had it all gone to pot, I could have used the Linux backed-up image to turn back time and restore the system to before the experiment!

Well now having gone over the paranoid fears concerning the NO FREE LIVE TECHNICAL SUPPORT, let's take a look at some of the GOOD things about Freeserve:

* It's "free", in the sense that you haven't got to pay a rent per month, and you only pay for the local call rate for the time you are online.

* It's a proper 15Mb (fifteen megabytes) of webspace, without adverts or pop-ups or other annoying things that some companies put into so-called "free" webspaces.

* You get e-mail addresses too.

* The contract you have to sign is no worse than most.

So, as Freeserve had given me a free webspace, I gave Freeserve a free link: www.freeserve.net (this seems to redirect to Orange), and inclusion in my list of ISPs , and list of site front pages. If you would like to get a free CD or have a word with Freeserve, you can telephone 0870 872 0099 UK (but don't forget that that number, yes even the customer-service number, is charged at UK National Rate (0870)).

Another thing about having a Freeserve dial-up account, which I discovered some considerable time after having a Freeserve account, is that if you don't go online using the dial-up number for a period of 90 days, your password is expired. If this happens, it's best to phone the 0870 number to get it reinstated. Note: My account at Freeserve has expired, so I have just moved the pages to Zyra.tv

This page is being updated as more info comes in, so, if you have any comment, please e-mail me

Although there is no LIVE free technical help at Freeserve, there are some help pages at www.freeserve.com/help/notiesfaq.htm (gone)

Now the update 2002/04: I received a circular message from John Pluthero, Chief Executive of Freeserve, with an announcement of a change to the technical support at Freeserve. Here's part of the message: "To improve the service we already provide we've just introduced a brand new Telephone Help service for the price of a local call. You can now call our pre-recorded Customer Helpline, any time day or night on 0845 330 7124 to get advice and suggestions on connecting to Freeserve, resolving email problems or finding out the latest on our network status. This new Telephone Help number and our new online Help channel at www.freeserve.com/help * mean that you now have two more ways to get a fast answer to any questions you may have.". Now, although that's not FREE LIVE TECHNICAL HELP, it's an improvement! It all helps. Well done, John!

* was http://www.freeserve.com/newsletter/?redirect=int&linkfrom=newsletter_jpmarch&link=text_1&article=1&linkto=www.freeserve.com/help

News (2002/12/05): Freeserve have now branched out into the shopping catalogue business in competition with the my Shopping Catalogues Page, so if you'd like to order a catalogue you can visit Freeserve's Shopping Catalogue business (gone) . Of course that's all fair competition, but don't forget that if you shop at my site, at the Shopping Portal, then it helps to fund MY site!

Freeserve new PAYG pay-as-you-go dial up number is: 0844 058 7000