I CANNOT get a dial tone on my laptop PC when plugged into a wall outlet.

I CAN get a normal dial tone on a phone when plugged into the same
outlet and using the same telephone cord.

I CAN get a dial tone on the laptop PC when plugged directly into the
telco network interface using the same cord.

Where's the problem and how do I fix it?

Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by landog-ga on 04 Aug 2005 10:39 PDT

Hi,
When you say "I CANNOT get a dial tone on my laptop PC when plugged
into a wall outlet" How do you actually determine that you do not have
a dial tone?

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Request for Question Clarification by landog-ga on 05 Aug 2005 02:19 PDT

I also suspect the pinout or pin aligment of the wall outlet RJ-11
socket may be the culprit. Do you have a converter to use as medium
between wall oulet and the cord?

Also take a look at this troubleshooter:
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=0&uid=psg1MIGR-44386&loc=en_US

Mkbop --

Landog makes an excellent point: most often users aren't hearing the
dialtone because the modem speaker is turned down.  You'll want to
enter your Control Panel (assuming that this is a Windows system) and
check to see what volume settings are.  You can force the modem to
dial, another way of checking volume.

Of course, another way of checking your system is to plug it into a
neighbor's phone system.  If there's no dial tone there either, the
problem is related to your PC.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

To check for a dialtone, I turned the volume to max, went to Windows
hyperterminal and typed in ATDT.

From the wall outlet I did not hear a dialtone. However, when I did
the ATDT from the telco interface using the same cord, I heard the
dialtone.

Mkbop --

Some other things you can try:
*  if it's a card modem (as opposed to built-in), reseat the modem
*  try different RJ-11 cords -- sometimes the contacts get out-of-line
*  can you connect via your phone handset (does it have an extra jack)?

Obviously you're trying here to isolate a hardware problem.  I'd also
try modem at another location.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

We plugged the laptop directly into the telco interface and it works -
therefore it must not be a modem problem as it works directly from the
telco interface.



I'm stumped.

What type of converter are you referring to?

We know that it is possible to hear the dial tone through the PC.  We
know that you can do this at the Network Interface Box (where the
telco-owned wires meet the house wires).  Sounds to me like there is
something strange with the wires from the Network Interface Box to the
phone jack.  We know that a normal telephone works from the phone
jack.

Wild guess.  Tip and Ring are reversed.  The two wires you need for
telephone conversation are nominally 48 Volts DC.  Some equipment is
sensative to the polarity of this voltage.  Most home telephones are
not.  Buy a small phone outlet tester.  It has a a very short phone
cord and a plastic barrel with an LED on the top.  It checks for
proper DC voltage, polarity, and the presence of AC voltage.  If it
glows green then you are OK.  I suspect that it will glow red or not
light up at all.