Tiscali incompatible with Windows 7?

usignuolo · 25 July 2010 at 9:10PM

My sister has just bought a new PC which runs Windows 7. It does not come with a user guide, apparently they have been abandoned these days in favour of a log in guide, after which you are guided through installation.

Anyway she is a Tiscali user and could not get access to her email via her internal modem. She phoned up Tiscali (apparently a call centre in India) to be told that Tiscali is not yet available to work with Win 7.

I am not quite sure if this is totally correct, as she was also told she would need a router to access the Tiscali service.

Can anyone throw any light on what is happening here?

fwor · 25 July 2010 at 9:30PM

usignuolo wrote: »

could not get access to her email via her internal modem.

This is the bit that needs clarification. Is she a dial-up user? Did she take her old dial-up modem out of her old PC and put it in the new one? If so, it's quite possible that whoever made the modem has not yet made a driver available for it to work with Windows 7, and possibly never will.

If so (or if I'm misunderstanding the reference to "internal modem" and she's actually a broadband subscriber) she should phone up the TalkTalk (who now own the UK Tiscali brand) Sales number (~not~ the technical one), explain and say that she will move to another provider if they don't help. They will ~probably~ offer to send her a router free to keep her as a customer, provided she takes a broadband package of some sort.

gaming_guy · 25 July 2010 at 9:31PM

.............

Hammyman · 25 July 2010 at 10:53PM

The moron at Tiscali doesn't know what they're on about which hardly comes as a surprise. Assuming she's got internet access on it, your sister needs to go to http://download.live.com and download Windows Live Mail and set up an email account in there using the account details she used previously. Windows 7 doesn't come with an email client installed such as Outlook Express.

usignuolo · 26 July 2010 at 12:53AM

Doing a bit more digging I found this as of last October issued by Tiscali:

"Our initial testing has shown that the CD supplied with both the Speedtouch and Sagem USB modem will not recognise the Windows 7 operating system and as such will not install the drivers for the modem correctly.

With the increased use of wireless routers for broadband access we have taken the decision in partnership with our equipment suppliers to not extend the support for USB modems to the Windows 7 operating system. We will obviously continue to support USB modems for Windows Vista and Windows XP. We will also endeavour to supply a work around for the USB modem installation drivers on Windows 7 but this will be supplied for information purposes and not as official support."

My sister was advised by Tiscali Indian call centre that she needed to buy a wireless router - only her new PC, an Acer 3900 from memory - does not support wifi as it is intended to be a home user pc. (It was recommended to her by PC World). Nor does she have a home network, there is only her.

Just to add the Speedtouch and Sagem modems are the broadband modems provided by Tiscali in the first place and no they are not offering free uprades to a wireless router.

DVardysShadow · 26 July 2010 at 7:23AM

If you intended to use a modem, then the phone line will be right next to the PC. Buy your own wired router and connect that to the phone line and to the network port on the PC. Almost all PCs come with a network port these days - and the acer 3900 appears to after a quick google. All of the drivers you need should come with the PC.

Even if the router has a CD, you do NOT need any install CD, setting it up manually is straightforward. Technically this will be less hassle than trying to make a modem work when you are not getting supplier support.

JasX · 26 July 2010 at 9:45AM

Options

1-Switch ISP to one that offers a free router/modem

2-Threaten to leave Tiscali and watch them roll over and offer a free wireless router (usually requires you commit to stating with them for another year) -good excuses are telling them your modem is broken so you have to leave as you can't use their service any more and won't pay for a router when you can get one for free by switching to their competitiors... adding in you've been happy with their service so far but are being forced to switch for the router yadda yadda yadda

3-Install the vista drivers for your existing USB modem as they should work fine anyway

4-spend money on a wired/wireless router yourself (be sure to get the correct type ADSL or Cable depending on whether you get internet via a phone line or cable TV type cable)

usignuolo · 26 July 2010 at 11:02AM

thanks for all this.My sister, who is completely non technical is getting quite stressed - tiscali customer care does not seem very good - the call centre know there is a problem with tiscali supplied usb modems and Win 7 but not how to fix it - just parrot buy a wireless router. My sister has been back to PC World who have sold her a netgear ADSL router which seems to be ok except it is a wireless one and her pc is not wifi. They have told her the router can be used with cables as well but have not indicated which cables she now needs.

I can only help from a distance but in any case I have a cable modem and a belkin router which will support wifi or cable - I used to have an ADSL BT connection but gave it up as a waste of time. Also I know nothing about Win 7.

usignuolo · 26 July 2010 at 12:18PM

Just to update my sister has got the Netgear router home. It is ADSL compatible and she has plugged in the various cables and put in the CD into her pc and been prompted through the wizard setup. All worked OK. The next thing it prompted for was "enter Credentials for W2aP".

Anyone know what goes in here?

(I assume the default security setting on the router is W2Ap which is probably not a bad thing as she lives in a small terrace in the centre of town, although of course she has a cabled connection to the router, not a wifi one.)

KillerWatt · 26 July 2010 at 12:51PM

You can put whatever passphrase you like in the WPA2 section, that is simply a passphrase that will need to be used on any machine that intends to connect wirelessly.

If your sister does not intend for any wireless devices to be connected, she can disable the wireless radio completely from within the router configuration page.

usignuolo · 26 July 2010 at 2:26PM

Thanks for that everyone we have now got it working, but I still don't understand why it should be assumed that everyone out there has a network and a router which is supporting wifi devices.

Tiscali incompatible with Windows 7?

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