ISP and Vista

[ladybarbara]

I have tried to help a friend who has bought a Philip's Iqon pc. She wants Tesco Any Time as her ISP. We installed it up to a point then there was a message saying that we could only instal on XP200 or Windows, I then phoned the Tesco help line and was told there is no software available for Vista and there are problems everywhere with installation and internet connection.
Is this right? Surely she should have been told when she bought it?
Can anyone advise me?

[fo3nix]

No, there are lots of problems with Vista; that's why most on here are telling people not to get it.

However, if you have an ethernet modem or router you shouldn't need to install any software at all for broadband. Try using the modem without it (though it may need it if the modem is a USB model, and in which case you could always try getting a modem+router).

[ladybarbara]

Yes, but she doesn't want Broadband, and there is no ISP as she wanted Tesco. You have to have an ISP for the internet don't you?
We were told that all the providers have a problem
Thank you

[rojash]

You need an ISP to connect to the internet, but you don't need to install any software from the ISP. All those disks normally do is automate the process of setting up the connection - which you can do manually yourself.

Beyond that, they often install a branded copy of Internet Explorer, and set the home page to be that of the ISP, none of which you need.

All you actually need are:
A working modem or router
a user name and password
The address of the SMTP and POP3 mail servers of the ISP, and possibly a separate password for collecting your e-mail (as opposed to the one for connecting to the internet).

[ladybarbara]

Yes, thank you for that, but...
Either I am very thick or very naive!
How do you get an ISP? She wants Tesconet.
How do you get a password and user name without an ISP?
And if the ISP i.e .Tesco say they haven't the software to connect to Vista yet how can she connect?
She has the modem and it's plugged in.
I never had any problems 10 years ago when I first went on line

[fo3nix]

Hopefully the CD or letter or whatever she got from tesco will have their phone number and her username and password, and you use that to set it up.