Modem not supported

[tillyh345]

We have recently had a very bad thunderstorm and since then we cant seem to get onto the internet something to do with the modem not supported we arent on broadband we just use dial up, anybody got any idea what has gone wrong could it be something to do with the storm as the house across the road was hit by lightening and caught fire and some other people in the street have had electrical problems? Any Ideas?

[Catso]

Your modem may have been damaged. The storms have blown up my telephone exchange.

I presume you've tried switching everything off and back on?

OK, so go into Phones & Modems in Control Panel & delete all the modems you can see. Switch your PC off and back on, with the modem switched on, and see if it discovers it and installs the drivers. If it doesn't, or still doesn't work, it doesn't look good for your modem.

[tillyh345]

Thanks for your answer. I have just heard that BT are digging up my front garden as the street are experiencing problems with phone lines so this may be the answer, although our phone was fine!

[Catso]

To be honest, from the symptoms you gave, something is wrong with your PC or modem.

[Buenchico]

I remember reading that PC World sell 50 to 100 extra modems in the few days after thunderstorms. That's not nationally, it's in every store where the storms have occurred!

I've lost 3 modems to storm damage,so I know how easily it can happen. (Question to self: Why the hell am I typing this statement when it's thundering outside?). I long ago opted to use external modems because it makes things far easier to sort out when things go wrong!

Your modem is almost certainly dead. If you're happy to fit a new internal modem yourself (or you don't mind paying the exorbitant installation charges of somewhere like PC World) buy a new internal modem. Otherwise, take the easy option and buy a USB modem.

Chris

[trevHCS]

Be careful with internal modems as there's a much higher chance of a storm zapping the internals of the machine too. Saw one a couple of years ago where the only sign was a capacitor with it's top blown off, but nothing worked properly afterwards.

Of course if the line gets a direct hit then it's probably bye bye computer anyway.