no dial tone

[redrunner]

advice needed ./ dont know make /model/ my brother has been given a comp and wants to get on line , he put a tesco sighn up disc in to do this but it keeps coming up saying NO DIAL TONE / the comp was on a different isp before he got it .
we have been through the trouble shooter but no help ./
the phone help lines for tesco internet are of no help / direct him to 50p a min help number . [ free for first month IF you are on line ] bit stupid really ./ anyway we even tried with a freeserve sighn up disc but same thing. no dial tone / .
i remember my g,daughter having same problem as well , but she passed her driving test and didnt proceed with it .
anyway i thought i would try it so i unpluged my NTL B.BAND EXT MODEM and put a phone line in , and tried it/ same thing NO DIAL TONE . which we all know we did have . any advice welcome . cheers.r.r.

 

[Spark123]

What are you trying to connect, dial up or broadband?
Do you have the modem driver installed?
Is the lead which plugs the modem to the phoneline the original one which came with the modem?
With dialup is it possible to get a simple program like hyperterminal to dial (say your mobile phone?)

 

[redrunner]

he is trying to connect to broadband dial up on a bt line . its got a internal modem [ it was on b.band dial up when his lad had it ] the phone lead out of back is the origanal one , but can only be released by taking side panel off. he says he has done this and tried it on his phone and its ok./ as for the last part of your answer about hyperterminal ./ im afraid you lost me im not that much good on these things. his bt phone works ok./
the tesco sighn up disc says all you need is . ANY PC WITH WITH A CD DRIVE .A BT PHONE LINE . AND WINDOWS 95 OR ABOVE . which he has , windows xp. and once youve got conected you then choose what you want . b.band or just normal dial up .hope this helps. i will find out what system he has got / but as i say it was working ok when his lad had it and he just delivered it by car and set it , leaving him to just get a isp.

and i have windows xp 2002.i was on dial up with AOL untill recently .bt line out the back./ but now im on NTL.B.BAND . with a external cable modem . which as i said i disconected , and put the bt line back in from my phone , still same thing . no dial tone ? . .sorry about length of reply . r.r.

 

[Gary_M]

Hi,

Did you try phoning BT to make sure that BB is enabled and working on the phone line you are connecting from?

 

[Spark123]

I am struggling to understand your problem, are you trying to use narrowband dialup using a standard 56k modem or an always-on connection using a broadband modem? The two types of modem are completely different.
It sounds to me like the tesco disk is trying to connect to a 56k dialup modem. (assuming 56k)

 

[Igorian]

I agree. Can you try and describe what cables are connected. You mention NTL BB and Tesconet. If you have the former, you shouldn't have to dial anything as it is an always on connection.

Do you have an NTL BB account? If so, how does the BB modem connect to the PC (USB or Ethernet)?

 

[redrunner]

thanks for replys, if your struggling to understand . spare a thought for me im the middle man and if this comp was a car i would have L plates. . anyway from what he tells me he is has a standard windows home edition xp comp / and is trying to use a standard tesco sighn up disc which you pick up in store to get online for normal dial up service. where you just plug into bt socket on the wall and get online./ forget the b,band part ,that was me clouding the issue.
well after getting so far with the disc , when it goes to dial up so he can register, it then comes up saying NO DIAL TONE / the phone cable out the back of modem is ok./ and his bt line is ok./
he even went into the part on the comp where it says set up new connection , and that came up NO DIAL TONE /
but he has since told me his son had installed Mc FEE SECURITY on it , so i am thinking it could be this thats causing the problem ?.
his lad is away at the moment and we dont know how to disable it .?.
the cables at back are just the k,board/ mouse./ monitor / speakers./....and the bt line which is in the right port. hope this helps.
regards.r.r.

 

[nobody]

how do you know the phone cable is good ? different modems have different requirements for the pin outs on the cables. What works connected to a phone does not always work on a modem

Has he tried plugging the phone cable into the bt master socket and not an extension ? Phones dont need all the connections and you often find extensions which work with a phone but play up with other devices.

 

[Spark123]

Do you have Mcafee privacy service installed? If I remember correctly this stops anyone connecting to the internet unless logged in. Do you have the Mcafee install disk? If so, put it in the computer and it should allow the removal of privacy service.

 

[Gary_M]

Yep, problem is clearer now

There are several ways of checking things out. This is the progression that I would use:

1. Can you hear a 'click' from the modem when it is trying to connect? (this will occur just before it tries to dial the number).

2. If you hear a click, then it would suggest that the cable or phone socket is at fault, but you could try using Hyperterminal, as Spark123 mentioned. You will find this in the programs menu - Programs/Accessories/Communications. When it starts it will ask you to make a new connection and name it - doesn't matter what you call it. Then you will be asked the number you want to call - make this one that you can hear ringing - i.e mobile phone. Then just connect - if the phone rings, all is fine with the modem and the Tesco disc isn't functioning correctly.

3. Look in the Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager. There should be an entry for the modem. Check that there are no explanation marks, etc beside it. If there are, then chances are that the modem drivers are not correctly installed.

4. Stay in this window, right-click the mouse over the name of your modem and a pop-up menu will appear - select Properties. A window will open, and you will see different 'tabs'. Click on the one that says Diagnostics, then the Query Modem button. You should now get a message to say that your computer is communicating with your modem. If the results come back ok, then there's a strong chance that your modem cable is not the correct one, or has a fault. If the results aren't ok, then we need to start looking at 'com ports', etc to ensure they are correct.

Might be worth going through this list and letting us know the outcome - then we can take it further if you have no joy.

Good luck

 

[redrunner]

thanks for prompt replys, firstly to ....NOBODY. / the phone cable that is in back of it is the 1 that was in when his lad had it , his lad just took it out the BT box from where he had been using it , and bought it in car from london to cov./ it has been tried straight into the BT socket . no joy./ . cheers anyway.

and for SPARK123, i got in touch with me bruv and he says PRIVACY not installed./ and he doesnt have the set up disc, i guess his lad has it / and he,s away at present. so cheers again ./

and to you GARY M , ive printed it off with the other replys and will be taking it with me when i go see me bruv on saturday , sounds good ./ and you laid it out so we can easy understand it . i will give a full update again late saturday evening. thanks to all ,regards .r.r.

 

[redrunner]

i followed your instructions on hyperterminal on my pc [ i took the b.band ethernet cable out just to be safe ] i put a dial up cable into line in and into bt box and it dialed my mob ok./ .
i then took the cable and disc up to his and done same thing , but it came up NO DIAL TONE
i didnt hear a click just before it tried to dial, BUT you can hear the modem dialing up ? then NO DIAL TONE ./
we then got to the ...Query modem button and it was as you said [ comp communicating with your modem ]
i did notice on the task bar right hand side it says LOCAL AREA CONNNECTION [ and a number ] a network cable is unpluged ./
the same as when i unpluged my ethernet cable , to do the hyperterminal test with the dial up cable in the line in port./ and that still worked.
we also moved it so we could connect straight into the BT box , as i said his phone works ok and he has been onto BT who say its all okay.
oh./ we did find it was still set for guilford dial up code [ where his lad had it ] we corected this ,but made no odds. . well if ive missed ot out let me know .
nearly forgot . the make of pc is a TIME which i dont think they do anymore .
also we did get 2 white drop down boxes while in the the query modem section ./
top box said hardwarefollowed by a load of jargon ? and bottom 1 said COMMAND RESPONSE and had 14 lines of jargon ? 1 of them said command not supported AT#CLS=? dunno if thats of use.
also somewhere it said. SOFT V92.
well over to you all the best .r.r.

 

[breezer]

time computer were expensive and nasty, and they went bust.

if its of any use, i too have bb, and believe it or not, mine too will not connect sometimes and it really does say ........

connection failed no dial tone



even though it never dials, i guess it does listen to see if there is a dial tone then connects via bb

i have bb with bt

i had problems last nigh i could not get on for long, so i unplugged bb modem plugged back in all ok, but i have no idea why.

have you uninstalled you bb modem then re installed

 

[Gary_M]

Sorry to hear that you didn't get things up and running, but at least we have ruled a few things out in the process. From what you say, it would suggest that the modem is working fine and the drivers are installed ok (i.e. the 'load of jargon' you got when you queried the modem), and the fact that you are hearing it dialing the number.

Without being there I would hazard a guess that the problem is the modem cable not being compatable with that modem, or the phone socket is not wired to accept a computer modem - having a working phone doesn't show that the wiring is correct to also have a modem functioning.

Ok, lets see what we can do next:

1. Don't worry about it saying there is no cable/connection with the LAN (Local Area Connection) - this is different from what you are trying to do and it just means that the computer is not in a network.

2. Is there a possibility to take your brother's computer to the phone socket that you have used and know is working with a modem? I don't know how knowledgable you are about computers - but you only need to take the 'main box' as you can use your monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc - this will save you lugging everything about. If his modem won't dial up on the socket that you know works, then it is a cable problem. If it does dial up, then his telephone socket needs to be rewired (this is a reasonably straightforward thing to do, with instruction).

3. If it's a cable issue, go to your local computer shop, taking the cable with you and tell them that it is not compatible with your modem - they should know what other one to give you.

Well, that's about it for this 'stage'

Let me know how you get on, and hopefully there won't be many more 'stages' for you to go through

Good luck

 

[redrunner]

sorry about delay, i have posted 2 before but they have not appeared./
anyway thanks BREEZER for your input but its me that has b.band and thats ok./ if i do get problems i just switch the cable modem off and on again , cheers anyway.
and to GARY M . i took up your sugestion , but i thought if im going to collect his i might as well take mine with me and try it as it will be dissconected anyway.well i put his phone line into mine and mine worked ok . so as the bt box seemed ok we didnt try his on mine .did i do right ? or do you still want me to try his on my bt box ?. as you say it might be a cable thing , could this still now apply as mine is a different make/ model /?. whatever you sugest we will give it a try .
regards.r.r.