dsl modem setup

[ssahl]

How much different is setting up a dsl modem compared to a dial up modem?
I dont mean the firewall and ISP stuff but the driver and device setup.
I've done thousands of dial up modems but never a dsl modem. Does it still
show up as a modem in the device manager? If the computer does not see it when
I put it in and boot up do I add it using the modem controll panel just as I would a dial up modem? Does it need a com port? I kind of need an answer soon
because I'm supposed to hook one up for someone later today (4:00PM PST)
Any other importent information that I should know would greatly be appreciated too. I'm hoping that this person has a disk that came with the modem, if not though he does have a dial up modem which I can use to go online and download any driver if I need to. He should also have a disk from his dsl provider to
setup his firewall, network settings, ect... info on these settings would help too. I'm not sure what his OS is but I'm pretty sure it's either 98 or NT. Maybe 2000 but I dont think so. This is the person thats working on my car right now and doing this will help pay for him replacing the fuel injectors on my car so any and all information is greatly needed and appreciated. Thanks.

[Mr N8]

If the modem is external, all you need to do is plug it in. It will test the line and get your IP from the ISP. All you need to do as far as software is set the internet connection to connect via a LAN modem, rather than a dial-up modem.

n8

[ssahl]

Unfortunately I think it's a PCI dsl modem. Do I still need a NIC card?
or is the PCI dsl modem act as a NIC card or what. I of coarse will try and
talk him into getting an external modem but I dont think he'll go for it.
I only got a brief look at it, but it looked like a PCI and it also looked like
there was 2 RJ-11 (regular phone)hookups in the back, & then one RJ-45. This is the only computer that will be using the connection. Unless there's an external modem that I just didnt see I'm not real sure what the RJ-45 would be used for. I've seen external dsl modems and how there set up, but I have never seen a PCI dsl modem, this is why I was needing to know how they
are hooked up, as far as how and where the phone line & RJ-45 line is hooked up
and connected and where they come and go to. I've heard that these have been known for driver problems, but as long as the computer can see it I should be able to find a driver that will make it work. will I still need a filter if he has a line just for the dsl?

[pam123]

Thanks to those "do it yourself" folks at Verizon I've set-up my own DSL connection and a few others besides, it goes like this.
First disable any virus programs or firewalls but don't remove them. DSL does not come with its' own protectors so your friend will need them.
What you'll find when you open the box, if they sent you all the equipment, are DSL filters for his phone line. You'll use those on the telephones, fax machines or anything else that isn't the computer and is hooked up to his phone line.
You'll also get the modem itself and an ethernet network card. Verizon uses the NetGear FA 311 10/100Mbps PCI.
Since the company asked him what OS he uses the setup will follow from that. Please note if he has an onboard ethernet the program they send will make use of it and the pci card will be unnecessary. If not the ethernet card install is standard, and he'll need his widows disk as information will be copied from it at this stage. The netgear card uses a floppy for set up ( it comes with its own instructions ) and the DSL installation manual will list all the info that should appear in systems network as well as what to do if it doesn't happen ( this is most likely when you'll need the OS cd ).
That done, put the side back on the case and, on the turned off computer, hook up the modem to the card, connect to the phone jack, plug it in and turn the modem on. All modems have lights and the manual will tell you what they mean but it's usually something like power, ready, link, activity. Then start the computer and at this point you'll need the cd that the DSL folks have sent you. The set up manual will tell you about the information that will be required. The specific ID that is needed for the new hookup will have been sent to your friend by e-mail or it may be a general one that is listed with required settings in the manual. Don't lose the manual it's your lifeline. Verizon can do either but all companies have variants of it.
A good deal of the process is automated so mostly you'll be spending time looking at the screen. Depending on the company they'll either send you your password, user ID and e-mail address and have you enter it yourself or they may do that automatically and then tell you what they are.
You shouldn't run into any trouble but you should make sure you have the company tech. support phone number near by. HTH

[wedor]

Ummmm...., the instructions you just gave are for an "external" modem, he asked about an "internal" modem.

[pam123]

Yeah. I made the same error as net8peterson since I replied to ssahl's first post.
I thought DSL internal modems were generally agreed to be a bad idea and no one was manufacturing them. Is this an experiment of some kind by ssahl's client? What would it prove?

[ssahl]

You should never listen to what someone says (if they dont know much about computers) about a computer even if it's one they own! When I got there to hook it up for him I asked him again, did you request an internal modem, he said no, then I told him that an external would be way better. Then he goes in the next room and pulls out an external dsl modem and says 'like this' #*+^>{$@(~ well it turns out that the internal was not the modem but the NIC card they sent him. Anyway I got that in there ok no problems took out the old drivers from the card he had taken out to put this one in. (could of just left that one in there) everything seems to be hooked up right, the software from the dsl provider says that he's connected and the icon next to the clock even shows the blinking lights a little bit, the only thing thats wrong is internet explorer will not pull up a web page. Do I need to get the DNS #s from his provider or an IP address, or is there some setup option that I need to change?
The modem says it's a v.90 DSL modem, and when I connect using the software provided you can even see the send & receive lights on the modem lighting up, but still nothing will come up on internet explorer. The only thing that I could think of was he has AOL on this machine, could this somehow be causing the problem? with aol I know that it's possible I just didnt want to go deleting and uninstalling it because he wants to get his email from them. This is what happens when I go against my own rules and work on a machine that has aol on it. but like I said, he was working on my car so I did it anyway. Like I said though, the NIC card is set up with no errors or conflicks and I went through the CD's from the DSL provider and installed the software and that also seems to run ok. It's just that I couldnt get the browser to pull up a web page.
Did I over look something, or is aol the culprit

[poops]

hi ssahl, i just spent about 2 days researching and asking questions about why my dsl would not connect. i hit this little reference in a post here that told of how some network cards and isp dsl services have issues.
in the properties of my network card i changed the media type to 10mbps. and voila, after 2 days i was connected to my isp, but like your freinds, i couldn't pull a single page up. so i changed the media type back to the hardware default. everything is fine now, i can connect to my isp and ie is working great.
it makes no %$^$#ing sense to me nor any of the techs i work with.
good luck whatever the issue ends up being

[pam123]

It's AOL.
It's true that some dial-up ISPs won't cause trouble with broadband, in fact Verizon suggest you also configure your system to use their dial-up, but AOL doesn't seem to be one of them.
I hope your guy backed up his address book.
You could call tech. support and ask. There might be a work around that you can use but I doubt it.