[Tugela]

I have given my PC (which was working perfectly to connect to the net) to my sister who had an older version which was also working perfectly to connect to the net.
When we plug my one into her phone line it won't read the dial tone and yet when I bring it back home it works through my line
All it tells us it "cannot detect a dial tone"
Her old one works perfectly
What is this problem? Our ISP cannot help us they seem to think we are mad and keep telling us about settings which we have done a million times
(This is in the UK)

[Curlyben]

Are you trying to plug the new box into the same socket as the old one, as it may possibly be a bad extension/splitter ?
Also are you trying to get both boxes online at the same time as this will cause a 'no dial tone' error as well ?

You need to check all the connections that you are trying to use.

[fredg]

Hi,
As Curlyben said, did you disconnect the other computer first? Try connecting with your computer to the phone line, with no other computers connected to the phone line anywhere.
Also, if you haven't already done this, write down your sister's old configuration settings from the Network in Control Panel, for the TCP/IP settings. They have to be configured the same as your sister's to dial up.
Then, check her computer's settings for the dial-up, from My Computer, Dial-up Networking. Then, right click on the icon or name, and Left click on Properties.
It's my best guess that the above settings on the computer you want to give her aren't set up as her old computer.
I do wish you the best.

[labman]

Try switching modems. If they are internal, it is a bother. I have been on line for over 20 years, started with a 300 baud modem. It seemed as I went to modems that did their own dialing, each one had more trouble than the last connecting. Some nights I copuldn't connect at all. Finally, I discovered it was my phone line. Some modems do better on some phone lines than others. My phone company did nothing to correct the problem.

If both computers were set up for dial up, you shouldn't have had to change anything except the number to dial and password. You aren't even getting that far. For email, you would have to change the server names. I don't know that much about computers, but I do know that with my phone line, I had more trouble with some modems than others.

I dumped them. At best using a phone line for the computer is a poor system. I was able to go with cable internet and use it for my phone line, VOIP. Works great, costs little more total than the old system, but not sure it is available in the UK.

[ScottGem]

I have given my pc (which was working perfectly to connect to the net) to my sister who had an older version which was also working perfectly to connect to the net.
When we plug my one into her phone line it wont read the dial tone and yet when i bring it back home it works thru my line
All it tells us it "cannot detect a dial tone"
Her old one works perfectly
What is this problem? Our ISP cannot help us they seem to think we are mad and keep telling us about settings which we have done a million times
(This is in the UK)

No one asked the question of whether you tested the phone line. Do you get a dialtone when you connect a regular phone to that jack? If you don't, there's your problem. If you do, then unplug the phone and plug the cord into the Line In jack on the modem.

If it works fine in your home, but doesn't work when you move it to your sister's home and you are plugging the phone cord into the same place on the PC. And using the same software, the problem is likely the phone connection.

[Tugela]

Thanks for all your suggestions

Yes we are using the same phone box/line as the old computer uses without a problem
No we are not trying to use both pcs at the same time
All connections are fine (these have been checked over 1000 times)
Yes we tried connecting it through her second phone line and got the same response
Re the settings - we changed all those to what was advised by the ISP and that made no difference
These are internal modems and to let 2 women loose on that would be a disaster in the making!!
You did mention both being set up for dial up... well I used to use dial up on my computer but then changed to broadband, now it is this PC that was used for broadband we are trying to use. Would this make a difference because it still dials up directly into my phone line without a broadband modem?
Yes we do get a regular phone line when we plug a regular phone into the jack
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN TRY!
Thanks, you guys are the best!!

[ScottGem]

What are you using to connect? What are you connecting to?

[StuMegu]

Have you tried un-checking the "wait for a dial tone before dialling" option in the modem setup? I don't have one in my machine so I can't tell you exactly where the option is, maybe someone could post the details, it's either in control panel -> modems or device manager. Worth a try!

[labman]

''If it works fine in your home, but doesn't work when you move it to your sister's home and you are plugging the phone cord into the same place on the PC. And using the same software, the problem is likely the phone connection.''

That is about what I said. Remember, when I had my crummy phone line, I had better luck with some modems than others with the same connection. With all of them, I had much better luck connecting off hours when the phone network was more lightly loaded. If none of your trials were at an off hour, it is one more straw to grasp at.

[Tugela]

Still no luck after trying all of this!!
Time to get in an expert.
Thanks to all of you for your advice.