Helping people with computers... one answer at a time.
This feels like a hardware problem. I suggest some troubleshooting steps and repair options.
On 3/29, I was online with a laptop (Windows 7 Home Premium, Service Pack 1, HP Compaq Presario) during a storm and my power went off momentarily. I turned everything off after that. Everything worked the next morning, but it would not detect a dial tone. I can do anything I want except get online. I only have dial-up available here.
I've tested every phone jack, cord, and phone, and everything is working. My laptop just won't dial up. It just hums while going through every phone number and says "no dial tone". I unplugged the phone and hooked it up to that connection and it still says "no dial tone". I've rebooted many times. I even did a restore but I can't get it to pick a date for 3/29. It will only go back to 3/30. I'm using my desktop to find out what I have to do. I hope you can help.
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In this excerpt from Answercast #14, I look at the fact that hardware breaks, explore ways to figure out if this is what happened, and talk about how to protect against this sort of problem in the future.
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Fried modem?
Fundamentally, this feels like something in the laptop broke. My guess is that something in the laptop's modem (the device into which the phone line plugs into) has broken.
Perhaps it took a power spike. Perhaps there was some form of static or some other kind of electrical damage that caused the laptop's modem to get damaged.
Don't forget to look at hardware
This is one of the things that, I think, people tend to not think about. I actually have an article on it called, "Hardware Can Break."
- The fact is: it's not always software.
Software definitely has its share of problems; don't get me wrong. But, very often it is hardware, especially in a situation like this where you're dealing with a power storm or a storm that had a power issue... and now all of a sudden, after that, a modem doesn't work.
Equipment troubleshooting
You've got a working phone line, you've tested it on all of the possible plugs.
It sounds like the hardware is busted.
The only solution that I am aware of is to have that hardware repaired. What that's going to take for your Presario? I honestly don't know. I would get in touch with HP/Compaq and see what kind of options they have for that particular model.
Chances are the modem may be a replaceable module. I know that it is on some of my Dells and I'm hoping it is on yours. In which case, it's probably something you can safely replace yourself.
Whether it's going to cost you money or not will depend on whether or not you're in warranty; or whether or not the warranty even covers this kind of power-related issue.
Surge protection
What I would suggest in the future, if you are in a lightning or storm-prone area, is to get yourself a surge protector.
That not only protects the power (which typically isn't quite as necessary for a laptop), but it also allows you to run the phone line through surge protection in that device.
Typically, a surge protector will not only have power plugs, but will also have a couple of plugs where you can plug in the phone line. You then plug the protector into your laptop. That will protect the device (your laptop) from those unexpected power spikes that sometimes come across phone lines.
But, to me that's what this smells like. I think you have a broken modem and you need to go out and get it fixed.
Article C5289 - May 3, 2012 « »
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
May 4, 2012 6:36 PM
@Robert, I agree that the cheap surge protectors from Home Depot or Target will not help much if you have a surge caused by lightning. However, a UPS typically comes with surge protection and a lot of them even provide a connected device warranty such that if you computer is damaged by lightning while connected to the UPS, the UPS manufacturer will pay to have your computer repaired or replaced. That is another option that is much cheaper than a whole house lightning arrestor.
Finally, I have one quibble about lightning voltage. Typical lightning voltage is 10 to 120 million volts. While this is a huge value, it is over an order of magnitude less than 1 to 6 billion volts.
Peter
May 4, 2012 7:20 PM
It might be worth a shot to first try removing the modem in device manager and then rebooting so that it finds it and reinstalls the modem. I've had some luck with this method that seems to fix some malfunctioning devices.
May 6, 2012 2:09 PM
"... a typo ...”
!
Hardly, shall we say. "E" is adjacent neither to "t" nor to "n", on any keyboard. BTW, learning words is not embarrassing. Objecting to it is.
typomistake.06-May-2012
May 7, 2012 5:11 PM
I had a strange lightning incident a couple of weeks ago. A bolt struck very close to the house. I have DSL. Lost internet access, but all power and phone lines were fine. Turned out only the phone jack on my surge protector was fried. Connecting the DSL modem directly to the phone wall jack solved the problem. {flame deleted}
May 7, 2012 9:11 PM
Even a good UPS won't save your modem, I have one (of 2 or 3 over the years) and I also now have 8 US Robotic Model 5686e modems sitting on my shelve with blown optical couplers (the input line isolation device), the modems work, just cannot detect the dial tone so no connection.
Lightning storms can move in fast here in Northern Ontario, the strike can be several kilometres away and still take out the modem.
Best advice/protection, disconnect modem if inclement weather in area.
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