I. Test the phone line

1. Connect a standard voice phone with a handset to the phone receptacle into which the computer modem will be connected.
2. Check the phone for dialtone.
3. If there is no dialtone, you should contact the phone company.
4. Verify that the line from the receptacle is connected to the proper port on the computer modem. Note: Most modems have two ports, one labelled line or telco and the other labelled phone. If you have doubts about which port is which, test using both ports.
5. Connect a standard voice phone with a handset to the other port on the modem.
6. Check the phone for dialtone.
7. If there is no dialtone, but there was before connecting through the modem, then switch the connections on the modem and check for dialtone again.
8. If you cannot establish dialtone through the modem, then your modem may need to be replaced.

II. Test your modem

(Windows 95/98/ME computers)

1. Click Start, highlight Settings, and then select Control Panel.
2. Double-click the Modems icon.
3. Click the Diagnostics tab.
4. Highlight the COM port on which your modem is installed, and click More Info.
5. If you receive an error message, you may have a hardware conflict or failure; please contact a computer technician.

(Windows NT/2000/XP computers)

1. Click Start, highlight Settings, and select Control Panel. (For XP - Start, Control Panel)
2. Double-click the Phone and Modem Options. (For XP - Printer & Modem Devices, Modems)
3. Click on the Modems tab.
4. Highlight your modem, and click Properties.
5. Click on the Diagnostics tab.
6. Click Query Modem.
7. If you receive an error message, you may have a hardware conflict or failure; please contact a computer technician. After verifying that the phone line has a dialtone and the modem responds to query commands, the next step is to verify that the dial-up connection is configured properly. The easiest way to do this is to create a new connection using the steps listed here Dialup Setup.