Troubleshooting
Modem- dial-up won’t connect
The first troubleshooting
question for a dial-up modem is, does your modem actually dial the phone? If
you have a desktop PC, there should be a little piezoelectric speaker on the
modem itself. Many people (and computer vendors) turn does the volume for this
in software, which you can find on the “properties” tab of the modems in
windows control panel notebook computers will normally run the sound through
the notebook speakers, which means the volume controls in windows and the
volume dial built into the notebook body must both be turned up.
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to Diagnostic Chart
Does the ISP answer? You should
be able to here the ISP’s modem pick up and whistle and hiss back at your modem
through the speaker. If not, make sure you are dialing the right phone number
and that the ISP isn’t temporarily down. Just dial the number from a regular
phone handset and the ISP modem should pick up and whistle at you.
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to Diagnostic Chart
Make
sure you have
the area code and any prefix for an outside line correct, especially if you are
dialing from a business. Dial-up lines in a business must have a clean path
through a business phone system (PBX - Private Branch exchange), just like fax
lines. If the phone is always busy, call the ISP's tech support for help or try
one of the other phone numbers they provide. It could simply be that they don't
have enough modems available for the traffic in your area at certain times of
day.
If you hear the modem dial but the
dial tone remains until an operator picks up and tells you that your phone is
off hook, you're trying to use "tone" dialing on a "pulse"
system. This problem is easily corrected in the "Dialing Properties"
of the basic modem page in Control Panel.
Do you get an error stating that
the ISP can't negotiate a connection, protocol, anything along those lines?
Unfortunately, this error is too generic to help much with how to troubleshoot
the problem. Even messages telling you to check your password can be caused by
just about anything. Try redialing several times without changing anything to
make sure you aren't just encountering an overloaded modem pool. While
standards such as V.90 and V.92 are backwards compatible, it pays to match your
standard to the ISP's for both 56Kb/s performance and reliability.
Call
your ISP help
line to confirm your login information if it's the first time you're dialing
in. Re-enter your password, remembering that caps usually count. Assuming you
have your username and password right, the odds are any errors reported aren't
due to any protocol settings on your part, especially if you haven't changed
the defaults. If the error crops up at random, it's usually due to the weather
and the time of day, as both play a major role in the circuit conditions of the
telco infrastructure. Stormy or damp weather can badly degrade the lines of
older telephone networks. Trying at different times of the day is also
important for troubleshooting modem problems, with the beginning of the
business day, and a period in the mid-afternoon usually being the worst times.
I've actually run non-Internet modem applications on dedicated lines that
showed a huge increase of line noise during these periods, whatever your telco
tells you.
Will
your modem
connect at a lower speed? You can change the maximum speed the modem will try
to connect at in Control Panel, but I've noted that the settings don't always
take effect, even after rebooting. You can search on the Internet for the modem
control string to force your modem to V.34 compatibility, then insert it in the
Advanced Settings for the modem which can be accessed through the Modem
Properties in Control Panel or Device Manager. If you succeed in connecting at
a lower speed, try going through the Modem Performance troubleshooting.
Can you connect to a different ISP?
The best test for eliminating modem failure is to see if it will connect to a
different service. If you can connect to a friend's ISP, it's a definite proof
that the modem isn't bad. It doesn't mean that the ISP you can't connect to is
at fault, it could be a question of matching modem standards. By the same
token, if you can't connect to another ISP, it doesn't prove your modem is
faulty, it could still be a problem with line conditions. The current 56Kb/s
standards in use are V.90 and V.92 although some services still support K56Flex
and X2.
If the software reports, "No
Dial Tone", make sure you have the patch cord from the modem to the wall
jack plugged into the "line" jack of the modem. The "phone"
jack on the modem is for plugging in a regular telephone to use when you aren't
online. If the wall jack is live, try changing the telephone patch cord running
from the "line" jack on the modem to the jack on the wall. Check the
phone jack at the wall with a telephone handset. If it doesn't work you need to
troubleshoot the in-wall wiring or try a different jack.
Have you installed the most recent
driver you can find on the modem manufacturer's web site? If your modem is
integrated on the motherboard, it would be an update to your motherboard
driver. Even if your modem is brand-new, hardware often ships with obsolete
drivers, either because it's been sitting on the shelf somewhere for a year, or
because a recent operating system release has overtaken it and a better driver
is available.
Does
the operating
system report the modem as present and operating? This information appears in
Device Manager in Windows. If not, reinstall the driver for the modem. If an
IRQ conflict is reported in Device Manager, resolve it by either changing IRQ
in software (with a plug-n-play modem) or changing the IRQ jumper on the modem
for an old card. If you absolutely can't get around it, you may have an extremely
unfriendly sound card or other adapter on the bus which is hogging the IRQ the
modem is capable of dealing with. Note that a modem can share an IRQ with a
serial port in some cases, though it can't be used when a device is actually
attached to that port. If you can't resolve the Device Manager problem, either
you have a hardware conflict, or the modem is bad. See the illustrated guide
for how to install a 56K modem.
Proceed to the Conflict Resolution chart.
Does
the operating
system or dialing software report the port is "in use" when you try
to dial? In Windows Control Panel > Modems, go to "Diagnostics,"
select your modem, and click on "More Info". Try shutting down and
rebooting. The "port in use" error is due to another active software
application claiming the port the modem is set on. You could get this error if
you're already using the modem but don't realize it for some reason, but it's
more likely that you've recently installed software for synchronizing a palm
device or for a camera that's colliding with the modem driver.
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