A few general DSL questions

tombance

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Jun 16, 2002
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Right, ive just gotten ADSL from freeserve and was given the speedtouch USB modem. However i need a firewall and so I bought a 4 port firewall Hub, not realising that I needed an NIC setup. anyway I realise that now and am going to buy a DSL RJ45 modem and 3Com NIC soon. So, in terms of setup what will I need to do. The USB modem self configured, so I didnt need to do anything. If I plug it all in correctly, will Windows actually detect anything? Will I be able to connect without installing any software? How do I setup my connection settings without using the Alcatel setup utility? And finally do I still need my Dial-Up adapter in system properties? (i dont have a modem anymore and never will). Ooo also is RJ45 hot-pluggable (can I unplug and plug in with the comp switched on)?

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tombance

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How about setting up my account, Will the modem come with connection software? Also is it normal for a computer with an NIC to take a long time at windows startup (it is not plugged into anything ATM)?

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jihiggs

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it depends on the authentication your isp uses. either they use the pppoe protocal, wich will come with software. or they use stricktly tcpip. in that case you dont need to do anything. you configure it and its always on. as for the slow boot, what do you mean? with the nic it boots slow, but without its fine? what part is the slow spot?

my computer is so fast, it completes an endless loop in less than 4 seconds!
 

jlanka

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Mar 16, 2001
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most likely it's looking for a DHCP server. Once you have the modem hooked up it will be faster.

like jhiggs said, if you need to run PPPoE the ISP will give you WinPoet or something like that. Otherwise you don't need any software.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>
 

tombance

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Right, my ISP is freeserve and to connect to the net using the speedtouch USB I have to type in the Username and password and then click connect (actually this is done automatically each time i start up) and then the little icon appears in the system tray (with 2 little monitors). The software I use to connect is from alcatel... it came with the speedtouch modem. Can you determine whether I am PPPoE or DHCP, I need to know to set up my Firewall router. Also, about the NIC after the Blue screen saying 'Windows 98' the computer usually goes straight into the desktop but now it waits for about a minute with no monitor output, then the hard drive begins to spin and it goes in as normal. Also, when i shut down it waits again (although im not sure how long because I just turn it off at the back to save waiting). Anyway, do you reckon this will get better with the modem installed?

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tombance

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yep, if I take it out its back to normal speeds.

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jlanka

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part 1: If you're typing in a username and password it's PPPoE

part2: Yes, it should get better.

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>