SOS no access to e-mail & internet

[sprout]

Any computer whiz-kids out there?
The last 3 days my computer at home has told me "modem not found" whenever I try to dial up to download e-mails or use the internet. I've done the obvious: restarted a couple of times, checked the cables aren't loose, but everything seems OK. Our internet subscription is so cheap that it doesn't include a helpdesk (false saving, I now suspect). Could it be a virus? Is the modem (about 7 years old) just dead? Any suggestions?
Dh and I were just talking about whether to get a better connection/broadband just last week...
And I'm not sure how to control my mumsnet addiction enough not to log on the whole time at work.

There could be a fault in your phone line, or cables. Or it may be your modem has just given up! Try phoning the phone company to check the line. It all that is ok I'm afraid it sounds as though you'll have to take it to the repair shop. I used to get that message because of a fault in the cable connecting to the phone socket. They aren't very expensive (a couple of pounds or so) so you could maybe try a new one.
HTH.

If you then go to Control Panel in windows, and pick up the section about Modems (on my XP machine it's under Phone and Modem Options -> Modems, might be different on yours if it's an older version of Windows) you can remove your modem, and then add it back in again. That might help.

Failing that, any chance you could borrow a modem from someone else, just to test things? If you disconnect your existing one, and plug in a different one, then when you restart your PC it should tell you it's found new hardware and go through an install process. If it works with the new one, then at least it proves your PC as a whole is ok, but probably also proves that the modem isn't!

Sprout,

Do you share the phone line with your telephone? If so, have you experienced any problems with that? I only ask because for the last 6 months we've had problems with our telephone (people will call, it'll ring 2 or 3 times and when we answer no-one is there. They get the sound of the seaside, we have to wait about 5 minutes for a line and then dial 1471 to see who was trying tocall). As I said, this has been going on for about 6 months now and although we've had (to date) 16 BT engineers round because it's an intermittant fault no one can solve it. Anyhow, this had exactly the same result on our internet connection as you are experiencing. We thought it was just the age of our PC (41/2 yrs) but one BT engineer who was more thorough than others actually tested that line when he came round and although he did nothing it magically started to work - for about three days. If yours does share the same line, try disconnecting everything but your 'phone for a couple of days and see if you have any problems with that. If it's not that, I'm at a loss too - but then I'm no expert by even the wildest stretch of the imagination.
This all culminated in us deciding to get Broadband about 6 weeks ago. We picked the BB provider my friend had chosen, who seemed to be quite happy with it. However, since then I've noticed that others (quite well known ones too) are much more expensive and in some cases twice as much, so do look around. I don't know why- can anyone shed any light on this?
Be warned tho' - I bought an egg timer 'cause someone here mentioned a TV programme in which a mother used it to control her child's dummy sucking. Now my DH has moved in next to our PC ....

Hope you manage to sort it out soon.

Thanks for all the tips. I'll check it out again this evening. Failing that, it might just give us the good excuse I wanted to get broadband - but I think I'll need that eggtimer, Carla!