Unable to access Broadband or dial up

[MaccA]

Hi elektra

ethernet modem connected to PC. all seems fine with that all lights on and ethernet light flashes whne try and connect.

Does the modem connect to your computer via Ethernet? Or does it connect to a set-top-box via Ethernet?

I'm trying to establish whether the fault is between your machine and the modem, or the modem and your phone line.

I'm away this easter weekend so wont be much help after today I'm afraid.

[MaccA]

tarotfluff

It gets far worse than all this; I really need help !

I am on aol dialup (we cannot get broadband here.) It has been great since 1996, but NOW....

Last year they sent an email saying we were going to be updated on line or we would lose our connections....

6 weeks ago for some other reason entirely my computer had to be completely rebuilt (it's Win2000 Pro.) After this it could not get on line at all; it took another visit to the store and 2 hours on aol's far from cheap helpline to get a work around fix. It is an older machine, and I was about to buy another, so....

I bought a brand new one, with XP. When I got it home it too refused to connect. I took it back and after THEY had spent hours on the phone to aol, they discovered that MANY perfectly normal modems will not work with their new system. They fitted a new one which they say is technically exactly the same - but it works ! (I have no idea if I have suffered the update on that one now, and I live in fear.)

Yesterday on my husband's year old laptop, the dreaded message came "We are doing the magic update thing and if you don't let us you will not be able to go on line."

It did it - whereupon WinXp crashed and recovered itself from a serious error - and now he cannot get on line at all.... He gets:

a 47-DUN-0691 error, 0x8410105B
and after it THEN says he needs authentication, it then cannot find a modem. The modem is perfectly fine and worked until this update crap. I can't help wondering if aol is now in the modem business. It cannot surely expect all it's subscribers to buy new equipment.... I love in fear of the other two machines we have now going the same way..... Their help line is such rubbish that when I was on the phone to them they suggested I install the latest software How can I get it I asked ? It is a 56Mb download, she said. I pointed out that I couldn't get on line at all - and she said - but when you download it you will be able to.....
56MB on dialup - even if.....

I DON'T THINK SO.....

In the end I asked for a CD and she said "but we don't supply CDs any more." I said what about new subscribers ? She thought about that and in the end sent one..... (which they don't supply, so I don't know how she did that.... )

Who is a good DIAL up supplier ? I know not to use tiscali or Virgin.....