Dsl?

Diana

Diana

Final Approach
Joined
Feb 21, 2005
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6,163
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Southwest MO
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Diana
Hey guys, I need your input. My mom just bought a computer and wants me to go up to KC this weekend to help her. Remember me?

http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11020

This will be like the blind leading the blind. I am so stupid about computers.

We had a nice inexpensive computer picked out for her last time I was up there. Meanwhile, she went back, bought a computer, and ended up spending about $700 more than we had planned for her. :eek: She has been trying to explain all this to me over the phone and I am banging my head against the wall. She is clueless and I am frustrated. I’m going up there on Saturday to set up her computer for her.

They encouraged her to get DSL, and I have NO idea what that involves. She doesn’t know what they have done and is trying to describe different “boxes” to me over the phone and she doesn’t know what they did to her phone and what they did to the new computer they sold her. She doesn’t know if AT&T came to the house and what they did if they did come? AT&T called her and said she is ready to go. :dunno:

I understand dial-up and I understand satellite stuff, but don’t know crap about DSL.

She said they installed a special modem into her new computer for the DSL. :confused:

Help?
 
I've never seen built-in cards for DSL or cable modems. They are usually a small box connected to the phone line or coaxial cable and has an ethernet cable going to the computer's network card.

I had DSL at a previous home. It wasn't bad but for a similar price, I got cable after I moved and the speed went up incredibly.

Odds are the store made one heck of a commission for selling the DSL service. Those revenues tend to be up there along with extended warranties. I'd wonder what the cost per month would be with what they sold versus going direct to the phone company.
 
Diana:

A lot of assumptions here, but this is essentially the deal.

1. DSL is great- it is fast, reliable and comes over the same phone line as the voice signal;

2. No technician visit is ordinarily required;

3. IN the DSL "Kit" AT&T sends out, there are a bunch of "filters" that plug into the wall between the phone jack and the phone iteslf; these are necessary to stop the voice calls from interfering with the DSL signal;

4. The DSL modem plugs into the phone line as well, without a filter.

5. The Computer has a network port ("RJ-45")into which you plug a network cable (included in the AT&T kit) that plugs into the DSL modem.

6. Run the AR&T start-up disk and it will show you all you need to know.

Lots more questions answered in the forums at DSLReports.com
 
SCCutler said:
3. IN the DSL "Kit" AT&T sends out, there are a bunch of "filters" that plug into the wall between the phone jack and the phone iteslf; these are necessary to stop the voice calls from interfering with the DSL signal
Click to expand...

I've been told it's the other way around - You use them so that you can't hear the DSL signal when you're making a voice call. I was told that some people can hear it, and some can't. They did say the filters aren't mandatory, but talking on the phone w/o them might be annoying...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
I've been told it's the other way around - You use them so that you can't hear the DSL signal when you're making a voice call. I was told that some people can hear it, and some can't. They did say the filters aren't mandatory, but talking on the phone w/o them might be annoying...
Click to expand...

Pretty much. NOT having the filter on a line (with DSL) can stop things like your Tivo from making its calls.
 
SCCutler said:
3. IN the DSL "Kit" AT&T sends out, there are a bunch of "filters" that plug into the wall between the phone jack and the phone iteslf; these are necessary to stop the voice calls from interfering with the DSL signal;

4. The DSL modem plugs into the phone line as well, without a filter.
Click to expand...

For number 3 it is the other way around.

On the unfiltered line that should hook up into a DSL modem. Today these are usually sometime a complete DSL modem input with an ethernet output that will go to the computer. They may also be installed a WLAN access point in the box that you will have to deal with. The way most of this is installed is to plug the phone line and computer into the DSL box and insert the XD-ROM into the computer for the install and then just follow the directions.
 
SCCutler said:
4. The DSL modem plugs into the phone line as well, without a filter.
Click to expand...

If you are going to have a phone at the same jack as the DSL connection, the filters will have two ports..one for your phone and one for the DSL line from the modem. So it that instance the DSL line will plug into the filter jack.
 
smigaldi said:
For number 3 it is the other way around.
Click to expand...

My mother has DSL. She's had it for a couple of years now. Suddenly she couldn't get her DSL to connect and it went on for over a week with AT&T telling her that there was nothing wrong with the line, so it must be her equipment. When I got there, first thing I did was check all the phones for filters. Found a new phone she had installed in a spare bedroom a week earlier that was plugged directly in to the wall with no filter. I put a filter on it and "presto" the DSL line started functioning perfectly.

As a test, I exchanged the phone with one from another room and hooked it up without a filter. DSL stopped working. Put the filter back in, it worked. Moved the phone to another jack in another room and plug it in without a filter, DSL stopped again. Replace the filter, it works. So in some way, the phone does interfere with the DSL.
 
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ausrere said:
My mother has DSL. She's had it for a couple of years now. Suddenly she couldn't get her DSL to connect and it went on for over a week with AT&T telling her that there was nothing wrong with the line, so it must be her equipment. When I got there, first thing I did was check all the phones for filters. Found a new phone she had installed in a spare bedroom a week earlier that was plugged directly in to the wall with no filter. I put a filter on it and "presto" the DSL line started functioning perfectly.

As a test, I exchanged the phone with one from another room and hooked it up without a filter. DSL stopped working. Put the filter back in, it worked. Moved the phone to another jack in another room and plug it in without a filter, DSL stopped again. Replace the filter, it works. So in some way, the phone does interfere with the DSL.
Click to expand...

Never said the phone would not interfere I said the filter is not to prevent voice calls from interfering with the DSL.
 
Thanks for all the information everybody! You've been a big help! :yes:
 
mikea said:
Diana DO NOT install the software from the CD that comes with the kit.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/sbc/0.0_SBC_Yahoo#5764
Click to expand...

Oh. I'm confused now.

I wonder if I can hook up my laptop to her DSL when we get it all straightened out?

BTW, I kept trying to use "DSL" in caps in the title of this thread and it wouldn't let me and insisted on using "Dsl" instead. I wonder why?
 
Diana said:
BTW, I kept trying to use "DSL" in caps in the title of this thread and it wouldn't let me and insisted on using "Dsl" instead. I wonder why?
Click to expand...
Stupid software trying to be helpful; Subject line should be Init Caps, and "we know better than you, so move over while we take care of that!" Stupid software! All that's missing is that irritating, smug, leering paper clip ... trademark as appropriate! :D
 
Diana said:
Oh. I'm confused now.

I wonder if I can hook up my laptop to her DSL when we get it all straightened out?
Click to expand...

Sure. Thats what you want to do.

Oh....Go ahead and just boot the CD. The software it adds does uninstall cleanly from add/remove programs. You'll just find that Internet Explorer is brought to you by AT&T forever.

You have to make up a user name that becomes her email address and a password for that. REMEMBER what it is. That is the account that goes into the router. The CD will do all that in right place. When it works it works fine. If it hangs then you have an adventure. Let me knwo if you trouble and I can walk you through it by phone.

If you browse to http://home you'll be talking to the router in your home. It has to know the DSL account but again that CD will do it for you.

I just set up DSL for my Mom but I knew what and how I was talking to each part.

Sorry. I should have just let you try it first. You can always call the fine offshore support if you have trouble, too.
 
mikea said:
You can always call the fine offshore support if you have trouble, too.
Click to expand...
Grrrr.... my hot button. Like I said elsewhere, I think I'm going to learn spanish, and then instead of "For English, press 1". 1... "Please hold while we transfer your call to Bangalore...
I'm going to wait for "Para el español, prensa dos" and maybe I'll get someone in the US.
 
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gkainz said:
Grrrr.... my hot button. Like I said elsewhere, I think I'm going to learn spanish, and then instead of "For English, press 1". 1... "Please hold while we transfer your call to Bangalore...
I'm going to wait for "Para el español, prensa dos" and maybe I'll get someone in the US.
Click to expand...
I had her call the AT&T number today and ask them a few questions. She said it seemed odd that a guy named "Russ" had such a heavy accent and that she didn't always understand what he said.
 
Diana said:
I had her call the AT&T number today and ask them a few questions. She said it seemed odd that a guy named "Russ" had such a heavy accent and that she didn't always understand what he said.
Click to expand...
"Sigh"
-- Dr. Bruce
 
On one call, I had a tech support guy tell me his name was "John Wayne" and he was in Chicago. I asked if the weather was warm enough for him in Chicago and he says "oh yes, it is being bery nice and varm here" (December ... yeah, right, John Wayne)
 
Why does it take so long to do something so seemingly simple when it comes to computers. :dunno:

Got her new computer up and going. Spent two hours trying to get the damned DSL software to work and called the tech guy. He was from the states! A nice guy with the patience of Job! The software kept locking up, so he walked me through it manually. I was impressed with him. He didn't even make fun of me about being clueless. :D

Thank for all your input. :)
 
gkainz said:
Grrrr.... my hot button. Like I said elsewhere, I think I'm going to learn spanish, and then instead of "For English, press 1". 1... "Please hold while we transfer your call to Bangalore...
I'm going to wait for "Para el español, prensa dos" and maybe I'll get someone in the US.
Click to expand...

Since I'm not in the business anymore, I'll give you all a secret:

You don't need to speak spanish. The reps that answer are 9 times out of 10 bilingual (English and spanish). And in many cases, they are trained in all subjects as well, so they can avoid having multiple departments for the Spanish lines.

Also - there is often a much shorter hold in the Spanish queue.

You didn't hear it from me.
 
Diana said:
Why does it take so long to do something so seemingly simple when it comes to computers. :dunno:

Got her new computer up and going. Spent two hours trying to get the damned DSL software to work and called the tech guy. He was from the states! A nice guy with the patience of Job! The software kept locking up, so he walked me through it manually. I was impressed with him. He didn't even make fun of me about being clueless. :D

Thank for all your input. :)
Click to expand...
You shouldn't feel bad. I think I've installed DSL 20 times or so and it only "just worked" about half of the time. I wondered if it ever worked the first time. It's better now. There was that loose wire that drove me nuts for almost a year.

Mom's did just work and I didn't use the software...but I got sucked into signing her up for the Yahoo harassment. That's OK. She'll never use the email account.
 
SkyHog said:
Since I'm not in the business anymore, I'll give you all a secret:

You don't need to speak spanish. The reps that answer are 9 times out of 10 bilingual (English and spanish). And in many cases, they are trained in all subjects as well, so they can avoid having multiple departments for the Spanish lines.

Also - there is often a much shorter hold in the Spanish queue.

You didn't hear it from me.
Click to expand...

2
"Hola!"
"Oops, did I push 2? I didn't MEAN to push 2. Anyway, now that I'm here, ¿Habla inglés?" :D
 
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