Inspiron 1300 internet doesn't work on dial up & broadband

Question

Hi I got my Dell Inspiron 1300 in January 2006. At that time I set up a dial up connection. It would sometimes work at a normal speed (56kps) but at times the connection would be very slow (12-26kps) and it was so painful to use I stopped using it. Around the same time someone else in my house set up a wireless router for broadband. He told me that the switch put on our phone line may make my dialup slow. I could only connect at a very low rate and the pages wouldn't load from this point on. Another person in the house continued to use his dialup at normal speeds the entire time (still does). I have now plugged in my laptop to the broadband connection (haven't bought a wireless card yet) and it was slower than my dial up was. Although using both dial up and broadband I can make a connection (dialup: I get a dial tone and connect, Bb: it says the connection is operational) I just get a page that doesn't load. Now I think about it I don't think my internet connection has ever worked correctly. I incorrectly thought it was the wireless connection but now I think my modem is just broken. I've been through the help trouble shooting on my computer but it doesn't deal with a modem that connects but then nothing happens. I have looked at the dianostics in system-->modem section and it says my device is working properly. What do I do?   Thanks   lisa

esquire · Answer

I thought you said you didn't have a wireless connection? :smileywink:

The micro-filter (assuming it is what you referred to as the "switch" ) is to filter out the DSL broadband signal being carried in the phone line. If it isn't working or implemented correctly, you should hear background noise when you use your phones in the residence. The issue with micro-filter is that it needs to be implemented on every phone wall socket in the house - simply having one on the phone line using the DSL modem doesn't always work because the broadband signal is live for the line that comes into the residence and is distributed to every socket. Granted the other person is using his dial-up just fine, but not all phone lines in the house are created equal, so the question is whether you have a microfilter or you can hear any background noise (usually as faint high pitch hissing noise) when you use the phone? If so, you will also need a micro-filter at your socket or have it replaced if it has been installed.

Aside from the possible line issue, what have you checked other than running a diagnostic on your modem? Did you run Dell Diagnostics (press F12 on Dell boot screen)?

Message Edited by esquire on 05-30-200610:00 AM

buttontobutton · Answer

hi thanks for responding. i do not have a wireless connection. there is no wireless card in my laptop. i do however have a big blue cable i can plug into the cable socket of my laptop. i did this but the broadband worked slower than my previous dial up. using exactly the same setup (same phone jack, cable - we just switched his cable into my laptop) my flatmate's computer accesses the broadband fine. does this not mean that the micro-filter is not the issue? the phone does hiss since the filter was put on. i have not done anything other than look at the diagnostics and try using the troubleshooting in the help section as i do not know what to do. i would be very grateful if you could tell me what steps i should take or alternatively point towards other information that will be helpful. i will try the F12 but i do not know what information this is going to give me or what i am supposed to do with it.   thanks   lisa Message Edited by buttontobutton on 05-29-200610:50 PM

esquire · Answer

F12 will give you the boot menu to access Dell Diagnostics located on a partition on your hard drive without booting to Windows.  See if there is a diagnostic section for NIC or network adapters, but I suspect your network adapter might not be at fault (re below)   How many micro-filters are there in the house and does the socket to which you connect by dial-up has one?  Do remember is one for each phone socket, and not just on the socket connected to the modem.  The faint hiss is normal IF there is no micro-filter in place - I've heard sometimes it's worse than just being a faint background noise.   I presume what you mean by 'using exactly the same setup (same phone jack, cable - we just switched his cable into my laptop)' is to plug your computer to his LAN cable.  Have you checked if there is an updated network adapter driver for your notebook?   Have you or let anyone configured any network parameters in the past (e.g., MTU value, etc.)?    Is each connection using a proxy server and is it configured correctly (if applicable)?  Tools > Internet Options > Connections   Since you mentioned both dial-up and LAN connection both having similar issues, it is possible your Windows networking parameters are messed up, in which case you could try to reset your TCP/IP and see if things improve.   http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=299357

buttontobutton · Answer

hello the problem was my TCP/IP settings. they were set to 'automatically detect' for reasons unknown to me they weren't automatically detecting anything. the broadband provider gave me the manual settings and i'm now internetting away via my ethernet cable.   thanks for your help. it is much appreciated.   lisa

esquire · Answer

Great! Most ISP and network connections work on automatic configuration - it's easier for the customer or user, but if using manual settings work so much the better :)

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Inspiron 1300 internet doesn't work on dial up & broadband

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