[hils86]

Hi. I'm trying to help a friend out. She has braodband, which she connects to on a PC via a USB modem. Her sister is also able to connect to the Internet with no problems if the modem is plugged into a USB port on her laptop. My friend has just got a new laptop for herself, and she tried to do the same thing - plug the modem into one of its USB ports - but it won't work. The light on the modem just stays red and it says it can't connect.

I know this is a long shot....but does anyone have any ideas at all about what may be wrong? Is she/am I missing something obvious?

Thanks.

[JohnWill]

With no real information, it's hard to say.


Please supply the following info, exact make and models of the equipment please.

Name of your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Make and exact model of the broadband modem.
Make and exact model and hardware version of the router (if a separate unit).
Make and exact model and hardware version of any other network equipment, like a repeater, a booster, hi-gain antenna, etc.
Model numbers can usually be obtained from the label on the device.
Connection type, wired or wireless.
If wireless, encryption used, (none, WEP, WPA, or WPA2)
Version and patch level of Windows on all affected machines, i.e. XP (Home or Pro), SP1-SP2-SP3, Vista (Home, Business, Ultimate), etc.
The Internet Browser in use, IE, Firefox, Opera, etc.




Please give an exact description of your problem symptoms, including the exact text of any error messages.

• If you're using a wireless connection, have you tried a direct connection with a cable to see if that changes the symptoms?
• For wireless issues, have you disabled all encryption on the router to see if you can connect that way?
• For wireless laptops, have you made SURE the wireless switch is on?
• For wired connection issues, have you booted in Safe Mode with Networking to see if that changes the symptoms?
• Have you connected directly to the broadband modem to see if this is a router or modem/ISP issue?
• If there are other computers on the same network, are they experiencing the same issue, or do they function normally?

On any affected computer, I'd also like to see this:

Hold the Windows key and press R, then type CMD (COMMAND for W98/WME) to open a command prompt:

Type the following commands on separate lines, following each one with the Enter key:

PING 74.125.45.100

PING yahoo.com

NBTSTAT -n

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter.
Paste the results in a message here.

If you are on a machine with no network connection, use a floppy, USB disk, or a CD-RW disk to transfer a text file with the information to allow pasting it here.

[TerryNet]

You have to power cycle (unplug for 30 seconds) the modem when switching computers. And, as far as I know, you have to install the software that comes with the USB modem on any computer trying to use it.