Dial Up Broadband with Windows 7 64-bit

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Derrick

Member
Hi, Just ordered a new Windows 7 64-bit PC to replace ageing XP 32-bit system. I need to know if my Tiscali (now TalkTalk) broadband USB dial-up modem will work with the new PC. Contacted TalkTalk, they say no but I'm not sure if they're having me on 'cos they want to either charge me or lock me into a new contract to send me a wireless router. Could anyone please advise me? I got the modem circa 2005 when I first signed up with Tiscali and I still have the original installation CD.

Many thanks.
 
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PCRepair

Guest
If you can let us know the make and model of the modem then we may be able to help further, but without knowing those things we can't even begin to investigate a driver for the modem.
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
The chances are it will work, but until you test it you can't be sure.

Alternatively, for £9 you can order an internal modem that will work fine and save the hassle of an external modem :)
 
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Derrick

Member
PCS said:
The chances are it will work, but until you test it you can't be sure.

Alternatively, for £9 you can order an internal modem that will work fine and save the hassle of an external modem :)
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PCS: I didn't know you could get internal broadband modems. When I was ordering my new PC on the PC Specialist site, the only one that was on the relevant drop-down menu was an old-style 56k modem which I would be really surprised if anyone still used! Do you know where I could get one and if it would work with my ISP?
 
Sleinous

Sleinous

Author Level
dial-up broadband? never heard of it :p Sure you dont mean just normal broadband where you have to sign-in via some client before you can use it?
 
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
I've heard of it, my parents had it* (may still have it), its really odd, it is broadband, but it doesn't stay on all the time like the vast majority of broadband connections, and it does indeed seem to 'dial-up' to connect.

*Theirs is/was Tiscali (nowTalk Talk) as well
 
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Sweeney47

Well-known member
Rakk said:
I've heard of it, my parents had it* (may still have it), its really odd, it is broadband, but it doesn't stay on all the time like the vast majority of broadband connections, and it does indeed seem to 'dial-up' to connect.

*Theirs is/was Tiscali (nowTalk Talk) as well
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actually its not broadband at all, its narrowband. If you connected to the internet through dial-up you couldn't use the phone at the same time, no filters for them. They used to disconnect automatically every hour(If I remember) as well which was a pain in the butt and used to interupt my Baal farming on Diablo 2... :(

That said having read everything here again, it seems theres a misunderstanding of 'terms' :D
 
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Derrick

Member
Hi everyone, just to clarify, it is broadband that I have (~2Mbs) via a USB modem down my phone line although I can use my phone simultaneously. It is not "always on", the PC dials in after boot up and it sometimes disconnects itself so I need to re-connect manually when that happens. I've always thought of it as "dial-up" broadband as opposed to an "always-on" DSL cable connection.

Maestro: Many thanks for posting that link. I downloaded the drivers and I will try them out when the new PC arrives. I've just realised that if they don't work, I should still be able to connect my new PC to the internet if I use the old one as a gateway over an ethernet link the way I currently have my Xbox 360 set up. That should work as a temporary solution until I can get a new modem or router.
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
Sorry Derrick - I thought you were using a 56k modem, and yes we do still sell modems as some unfortunate customers live in an area that cannot get broadband.

To clarify - we do not sell dial-up broadband modems. :)
 
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Sweeney47

Well-known member
Derrick said:
Hi everyone, just to clarify, it is broadband that I have (~2Mbs) via a USB modem down my phone line although I can use my phone simultaneously. It is not "always on", the PC dials in after boot up and it sometimes disconnects itself so I need to re-connect manually when that happens. I've always thought of it as "dial-up" broadband as opposed to an "always-on" DSL cable connection.

Maestro: Many thanks for posting that link. I downloaded the drivers and I will try them out when the new PC arrives. I've just realised that if they don't work, I should still be able to connect my new PC to the internet if I use the old one as a gateway over an ethernet link the way I currently have my Xbox 360 set up. That should work as a temporary solution until I can get a new modem or router.
Click to expand...

Yeah I know what you mean now, we used to have the same, rather than being always on you needed to manually connect it using a user name and password...
 
Gorman

Gorman

Author Level
I would suggest that as you hinted an adsl router is the best solution to this problem, The router will maintain the connection and all you will need is a network connection to it. Much easier and cleaner setup, and a lot better for multiple devices like pc + xbox etc
 
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Sweeney47

Well-known member
not only that but an always on router is much better for line adaptive broadband (which I assume you're on). On line adaptive BB, every time you disconnect the exchange logs this as potentially unstable, over time the exchange will compensate by reducing your connection speeds. If the exchange reduces your speed in an attempt to make it more 'stable' it can take more than 3 days to see an improvement in speeds again.

However if you're on a fixed 2mbps line, shouldnt be an issue :eek:
 
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