modem /router help please

Birdseye

Birdseye

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a pal uses adsl on his pc and it works fine. he has bought a new netgear wifi router so ha can use a wifi enabled lappy as well. but has hit problems that are beyond me, and these are with the new router / modem coupled by usb cable to the pc ie not even using the wifi bit yet.

the router / modem seems to iniitialise OK and you can even see the little lighted up tv screen symbols in the bottom right toolbar. in device manager you can find the new modem and it is enabled and functioning. but in internet options and any other software, the modem doesnt exost. so attempts to log on to the internet are met with "cannot find modem" presumably because the system is looking for the old dsl modem. and usinmg the modem set up wizard doesnt seem to find the new modem.

I would have thought that the new modem would simply pick up the dsl settings of the old one since we are not yet using the wifi bit. obviously we are missing some part of the installation / enabling process.

help!
 
Problem is actually in Windows Internet Explorer default options.

It is wanting to dial a connection even though it is connected via wi-fi ( therefore via a network connection ) and therefore cannot find a modem

IE -> Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections
Ensure "Never Dial" is set.
 
thanks bob, but the PC concerned is connected to the router / modem via an ethernet cable. (I was wrong about the usb bit) so presumably it should treat the modem just as it did the earlier dsl modem it had.

could it be that the PC is still looking for the old DSL modem which is no longer connected? can they not cope in software terms with having a choice of 2 modems?

incidentally, the lappy could not find the wifi signal from this modem even though the modem was saying signal strength good. but that could well be the IE issue you describe. or are there settings on a new lappy that have to be played with before the built in wifi starts to work?
 
If your mate has got himself an ADSL router - which it sounds as if he may well have if its connected via an ethernet cable - then the modem doesn't come into it any more.

Effectively the router acts as a mini PC with a built in modem - and you set the username and password in there (often by connecting using your web browser to http://192.168.1.1 - but refer to the blurb that came with it for details.

Good luck
 
I assume his old setup had an ADSL modem (as opposed to a router) connected perhaps via USB.

Now you have a router and two PCs to share the broadband - I'm afraid you are into a basic netwrok setup - not that complex - but can be a bit fiddly if you've never done it before - but the instructions are normally OK - and netgear is normally reasonably good kit
 
thanks you clarified a lot there. but if he is using a router as he is, how do you get the various bits of sofware to connect via that ratyher than via a modem? the connect to.... box that comes up when you load up OE for example, has nothing in it but the trad adsl modem. no new router can be seen!
 
birdseye,

firstly, followes Bob's advice and set ie to never dial a connection.

then click the start button and go to programs/accessories/command prompt.

Then type ipconfig and hit return.

Come back and tell us what it says...

This will confirm whether or not the pc is seeing the ethernet network and configuring itself for it...
 
As said - at least part of your problem is that it is still trying to dial teh non existant modem - this needs disabling.

Also see:
http://www.adslguide.org.uk/guide/connections.asp - gives some diagrams showing what I suspect you used to have and what you now should have.

Once the modem is disabled - and as others said - you have set your connection to never dial - it "should" or "could" simply be a case of plugging the ethernet cable in (assuming XP) and then using your web browser to goto and adress (e.g. http://192.168.1.1) where you will be able to setup adls passwords etc on the router (as you used to have on the modem)

The trouble is if it doesn't work first time - there are quite a few possible places to start toubleshooting wityhout knowing setup and history of PC
 
As stated he was previously using an ADSL connection so NO dial up would have been involved. I suspect the problem will be with the configuration of the new router it will have to have to be configured for your particular ISP and have the correct password. If it came with an installation disc following instructions on that should help.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I assume his old setup had an ADSL modem (as opposed to a router) connected perhaps via USB.

Now you have a router and two PCs to share the broadband - I'm afraid you are into a basic netwrok setup - not that complex - but can be a bit fiddly if you've never done it before - but the instructions are normally OK - and netgear is normally reasonably good kit

[/ QUOTE ]

A modem/router can handle multiple pc's without setting up a network.
 
you will need to configure you machine for DHCP, read through your reference material and load the cd for your router, i don't know which router you are using but my netgear dg834gt mentions logging in to http://192.168.0.1 and when prompted enter admin and password both in lower case then click set up wizard link. make sure all your cables are ok and correctly fitted...

netgear have a site and troubleshooting link..

that's about all the info i can give you, you should have a cd in with your pack, with a sheet of installation info..

good luck..

PS. is your machine compatible for the router....
 
yes colvic - he has got as far as putting the pw etc into the router and there is every indication that that piece of kit is working. but none of the internet access programs (ie OE, IE ) see this router and the "connect" box that comes up when the system isnt set for automatic logging on doesnt see the router either.

but the router is there as far as device manager is concerned, and its little icon appears on the bottom right toolbar.

anyway, lots of good albeit different suggestions above, so hopefully one of them will work.

the trouble is that the manuals you get with computer kit dont explain the terminology, and whats more the terminology isnt consistent. even such basics as "domain name" take on different formats from isp to isp. so the manuals are next to useless because they assume a level of knowledge that you dont have.

at the risk of turning this thread away from the help we need, what is it about the computer industry that makes them think they can sell kit to joe public, without user manuals in many cases, with a level of user friendliness that requires professional help, with no / little free backup and with such a low level of reliability. would you accept this with a car? or a TV?
 
The PC doesn't need to do any dialing anymore, the router looks after all that and the PC doesn't need to tell it when to dial. As far as the PC is concerned it simply has an Ethernet connection to the Internet

As Bob said in the first reply, check in Control Panel, under "Internet Options", "Connections". It should be to "Never Dial a Connection".

I don't know Outlook Express - it may similarly need to be told not to do any dialing.

It would help if you posted the output from "ipconfig / all" from the command prompt.
 
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