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no dial tone but pluged in

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I am using a windows 98 se operating system, and am having trouble coneecting to internet or outlook express for e-mail. When I go to connect I get a message that says there is no dial tone, when I go into hardware device manager it says that it is working properly, the drivers are installed yet I seem to be unable to connect. I know it is not the phone line because when I use a phone installed to the line I get a tone. Can anyone help me?

22 replies

by hinrgman

just a quick check, nothing to do with the computer, reverse the connections to the phone jack. i.e. put the green wire where the red wire is and the red wire where the green one is. sometimes there is a grounding issue between the machine and the phoneline.

by thechas

Run the modem diagnostic tests from Control Panel / Modems.

These tests will verify that the modem is working properly.
Device Manager really only tells you that Windows is able to properly communicate with the modem over the data Bus.

Also, make sure that the phone line is plugged into the correct jack on the modem.
The line from the wall jack must go to the Line Jack on the Modem, not the Phone Jack.

Chas

by psyche

If you know your modem is good and the software is installed properly, try this, make sure you are plugged in the right port on the modem, it should be the line side, also try a different phone cord and finally do you have message center?, because if you do the sound that it makes when you have a message, will make the dial tone undetectable to the modem, make sure you clear your messages.

by dmiles

The problem seems to be in the drivers or network protocols

Click Start->Settings->Control Panel,double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon,then click on Communications,click the details button and de-select the Dialup Networking box and then click OK,donot Restart

Go back and put the check back in the box to Dialup Networking and click OK

Reboot

Now check to see if you can connect to the Internet,if not

Open Device Manager and select the Modem and click the Remove button,then reinstall the modem drivers,you will need to check the modem manufacturers web site to make sure that you have the lastest drivers for your modem
During the install choose to pick the manufacturer from list,then proceed to manually install the modem

by monad_infotech

Detection of Dial Tone by modem is mainly dependent on the tone delivered from the PSTN exchange. Due to the incompatibility between the modem and the exchange wrt various tones, modem doesn,t detect dial tone, mainly because there are many variation of this tone. Busy tone is almost same, atleast in frequency, hence it is detected but many times it is also not detected.

If you are sure that the telephone line is correct and the modem is also working properly, "Just disble Dial Tone Detection in Modem Properties through control panel or some other way."

After disabling Dial tone detection, if modem connects, it is a workable solution otherwise the modem is faulty.

Sometime selection of country may solve the problem hence it may also be tried in modem setup but I am not sure for it to work.

by maelgwyn

another one is to run a program such as hyper terminal. NOW type this in EXACTLY the same.

AT

ATDT

if you dont hear the dialtone, then there is a problem with either the cable or the modem. Have you tried the cable from the phone line to the computer in a regular phone??

by superman79

Do a diagnostic check ont the modem if it does work then your driver is not installed properly or the driver you have is just not a good driver. You can install a different driver to your modem even though it is from a different one. Foe example youcan put a driver from a robotics modem to an Acer it doesnt make a difference.

by dcosgrove

Just a little more bad news. It is possible for a modem to pass the internal diagnostics and not open the line. This is due to the coil which handles the 24+ volts from the phone line. Phone lines in some areas are more prone to spikes and surgesthan electrical lines, often, the tranformer bears the load and shorts, it will not pass voltage correctly after that and you get the precise symptoms you describe.

by luckygirl

You get this error because your modem hears a tone that makes the modem think the line is bussy.The next solutions can help:
1)You have one line and it is in use
2)check if the phoneline is correctly connected, it must be connected to the Line
3)check the telephoneline, it can be to long, it could have a break in it.
4)try to make the connection without other devices on the same line, i.e. a faximile, scanner
5) try in the modemproperties the string ATZ&X0(zero)
Good luck

by shanghai sam

I'm also running w98se. Had same prob.
Don't know if my modem got old &
quirky, or other cause, but it became
an intermittent prob.
This solution took me hrs per day for
a week to isolate. Works every time.

Start/Settings/Control Panel/Modems/
General tab/Properties button.
In Modem Properties window select
Connection tab. Check "Wait for dial
tone before dialing". If it is already
checked, uncheck it, then check it
again. Click "OK". Close all windows
& restart or shut down & reboot.

The modem in my HP Pavillion is a
Connexant Soft56 Data.Fax PCI Modem.
What's your modem make/model? I'm
curious as to whether or not this
is an issue specific to an aged
modem of the same make/model.

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