hvlevy,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

It sounds like the modem is not completing  the negotiation during the handshaking process (the "squelch" sound).  If the digital-line detection software can be removed from the system then you should proceed with this.  I would recommend reloading current drivers from either the Downloads tab (above) or from the vendor's web site to correct the issue.

all the digital line detect does (correct me if Im wrong) is detect to make sure your not using a digital line. you can disable this in your start up programs as well. Basically, if the modem detects a digital line, you would get an error on the modem saying "digital line detected, cant proceed" or something of that nature. If your having issues with the handshake, Ive seen before either removing the drivers in safe mode and letting XP (what OS are you using?) reinstall the drivers on its own. ANother trick for handshake issues is add a sting "+ms=v90" or "+ms=v34" (No quotes) in the "extra initialization commands" in the advanced tab of the modem properties in device manager.

I removed the driver and reloaded an older version which sems to have solved the problem. Thanks