On a thread a while back we discussed how the mention of a car or IT skill would soon promote heavy demand from cash strapped friends for "a quick look".
Well I'm having a quick look at the Laptop Computer (from a friend of a friend) and she wants me to do various things I'm fine with including to sign up with an ISP and make an internet/e-mail connection.
Being a laptop I want to know if I can do it all at home here (and test) on our phone number then let her take it to her own house. Will the dial-up/Internet connection care that the phone number has changed. Bit like moving house I suppose, never done that with a PC.
Any IT boffins who can save some agony on this one?
Thanks,
David
I couldn't blame you if we reached diesels in four!
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No. The lap-top won't care that you are dialling from another number.
HJ
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Hi David,
I have no problem dialling up from anywhere in the world, even my elder bro's when we've finished playing with his Xantia TD.
Think thats it in three!
Cheers
Stuart
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David
The number you dial from is not relevant. With the right connections you could dial up from the inside of your Citroen diesel using your mobile. So, if your Citroen diesel ever has a problem you could e-mail this web site at once.
There, that's two mentions!
Regards
John
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I just knew you'd all know.
What with cruising around in the BMW, client lunching, uploading the days business results to HQ from the laptop then into the hotel spar pool.
I thought it should be fine from any number but........
You see in The Fens hi-tech is a Decca TV and HMV radiogram, the PC craze is stressing the local wind generator and laptops are still the future.
David
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You could get probs if:
Your or her telephone number is withheld when you dial out.
One is tone, the other dial.
If different area codes (don't know why but I know it can!).
So make sure all settings in control panel>modems>dialling properties are ok for the relevant phone.
Also if she is using someone like NTL who set up an account for a specific customer/phone number and you try to use her cd on your phone line they will cancel the account.
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Caution: Some ISP's (InternetServiceProvider) use the number dialled from as part of your 'identification' when the account is set up (for example Beeb.net), however, you can usually get around this later. Call your chosen ISP help line to check, and save hassle later!
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Martin wrote:
>
> Caution: Some ISP's (InternetServiceProvider) use the number
> dialled from as part of your 'identification' when the
> account is set up (for example Beeb.net), however, you can
> usually get around this later. Call your chosen ISP help
> line to check, and save hassle later!
I was going to say much the same thing. My BTinternet 'Anytime' connection has now tightened up, so that I can only dial from a specific and pre-registered number. What a pain in the bum that is! So now, when I go on hoilday next month, I've got to get myself a Freeserve account or something, or else go back to paying for my phone connection.
Incidentally, Martin... how does one 'get around this later'? Do tell!
[And PS, my chosen ISP's helpline costs about a pound a minute, and when you eventually get through after hanging on for hours, they are useless for anything but the most basic of queries]
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Try freeuk.com, helpline is charged at local rates and they seem to know what they are talking about (most of the time).
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Until you posted I had forgotten about FreeUK. They were our first ISP for about 4 months. The local rate helpline was manned by a sleepy chap sounding as if he was in his own front room, but the advice was good. So were the help pages on their web site. Credit where it's due.
We just needed the 24/7 unmetered access, hence BT.
David
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If you need help from computer enthusiasts try the net4nowt.com site and put the question in the discussion panel. They helped me with Win982nded problems. Also great site to examine Internet providers offers and users comments. Best of all its free! (just like this site)
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Martyn said..." my chosen ISP's helpline costs about a pound a minute, and when you eventually get through after hanging on for hours, they are useless for anything but the most basic of queries"
Quite, That's why I posted the cheeky question. I'm well into the PC innards these days and have only needed the helplines three times in two years. On each occasion I suspected I was being given the answer they thought I wanted to hear, it was never correct. Worse time was when I spent £12 onto the Hewlett Packard line, only to be given advice which corruped my Internet Connection and Windows to the extent that a re-load from the recovery disk was needed.
Interested to hear the advice swinging away from the initial no problem, I'm with BT Internet Anytime and happy so far.
Anyway spent 6 hours on this laptop to find it had a nasty boot virus, some faulty keys, a failed CD-ROM and failing battery. And at the end of the day it was only a P.166 with 16MB RAM so needed substantial repairs/upgrade to be any good for the intended use.
Slung it all back together in the case with a huge notepad list of faults left in the middle of the desktop.......plus a large estimate. Don't really want to see it again. Does that remind me of some of the cars I see??
Thanks Andrew for the link, so far all the PC help forums I've seen have been rubbish. I'll look at yours in a minute.
David
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Thanks too, Andrew, I cannot even get 4car live stream video working after 6 hours of endeavour.
Simon
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Try AOL as its cheaper (I think) than the one I use which is a collaboration between BT/AT&T called Concert.
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Apart from the fact that AOL have suddenly stopped you from sending emails from your existing mail accounts (ISP mail accounts you already had previously before joining up with AOL) through Outlook Express via their systems. You can actually still receive e-mails for these other accounts via AOL. A reet pain!
I'll just have to use my Hotmail account!
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