First, use a spare phone (every now and then I pick one up for $5-10) to
verify that the phone line has dialtone and works.
  See if the laptop modem works on another line.

  Things may have changed a bit, but it used to be that the biggest and
crudest part of most modems was the relay necessary to take the phone line
"off hook" -- i.e., to request a dialtone from the phone system.  While one
might expect that to make it the most robust, it made it the places where
the most raw electrical *power* was needed, and often it (or the circuit
which controls it) would be the first component to break.
  So while it could be something else, there is a significant likelihood
that your laptop modem may be broken.

David Gillett


On 21 Apr 2005 at 1:35, [log in to unmask] wrote:

> Hello,

> A curious development on my laptop happened while  downloading a
> Norton AV update: the connection was broken [no apparent reason], and
> when I tried  to reconnect, the modem failed to emit its usual bleeps
> and the wanadoo connection commentary announced the connection failed
> because there was no dial tone.

> But a check of the line revealed all was as it should be, as did a
> check of the usual problem points - the telephony, modem and dial-up
> connection functions. Even Internet Options/connections/ always dial
> default was in order. The 'Help' service merely suggested clearing a
> tick in a box requesting the dialer to wait for a dialtone [this made
> no difference] before throwing  in the towel. What may have caused
> this problem, and how best to restore the  dialtone?

> Thanks for any suggestions,
> Ron

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