Installed the USB modem but seeing flashing orange or yellow lights, rather than green lights. Why?

Sounds a little elementary. Make sure all the leads are connected to both the modem, the phone socket and the computer and then check the status again. Also ensure your phone connection is

working by checking for a dial tone. Make sure that you haven't accidentally placed a microfilter on your ADSL modem. If none of these solve your problem, then your drivers may not have loaded for some reason. Unplug your modem, reboot and plug your modem back in. If there's still no joy, the network may be out. Call your ISP for a

status report.

Can not connect, and my connection keeps dropping really quickly. What should I do?

Double check by using the right username and password for your Internet configuration. Make sure you have got a microfilter on all your phone-based appliances bar the ADSL modem. That includes the Sky box, the answering machine and the fax machine. Check with your ISP about burglar alarms. Also, if you've got a new fax machine, check the

manufacturer's site to see whether the unit is compatible with ADSL. Unplug your modem, reboot and plug your modem back in. 

Keep losing my ADSL connection. It seems to happen most often and if pick the telephone - the line seems to be very noisy, too?

The telephone should be connected to a micro-filter, which ensures the frequencies used by the phone line don't clash with ADSL (In fact, unless you place one on the master socket, you will need a separate micro-filter for every telephone extension in your home). If you are already using a micro-filter, then there is the possibility that it is faulty. Most ADSL modems comes with at least two, so check around before you buy more.

Get a PPP failure message and error 650, 718, 721 or 645. What to do about this?

Make sure line is working by testing for a dial tone on your

phone. Unplug, reboot and plug in again to ensure the driver has loaded. If there's still no joy, don't discount the possibility of a

faulty modem. 

Why does modem seem to run slowly and the lights just fade out after a few minutes?

If their is an AMD processor based computer, you might have problems based on a chipset issue. Some units use USB controllers that don't supply enough power to USB devices like modem. A fix on the Microsoft Web site may help, or else there is a need to get a PCI based

ADSL modem fitted into machine. Search the Microsoft downloads

site for chipsets VIA, SIS and ALi.

Asked for my CBUK number – what is this?

This is a special code that BT uses to identify your ADSL connection. If you move from one broadband service provider to another, you must get your CBUK number from your old ISP. Contact both ISPs well ahead of time to find out exactly what's needed besides the CBUK number to ensure a smooth change over.

An error that says Cannot Create Entry?

Running old system software with an obsolete version of Dial Up

Networking. Head to the Microsoft site to download DUN 1.4.

I get error message: RegDBSetKeyVAlueEX failed when trying to connect my modem.

Something is there on system that won't loosen its grip on a component in your computer's registry. One can try doing the installation as an

administrator.

Done everything correctly, but either my username and password are rejected, or my connection is very, very slow. Why is this?

There may be a problem with firewall being set to 56K. Disable it,

reinstall your modem and check. If this is the case, uninstall and reinstall the firewall.

Why does my connection close if the computer is idle for a few minutes?

Your computer may be set to hang up if there's no network activity. Go

to control panel for 'Network and Dial-up connections' and set its 'Idle Time Before Hanging Up' to 'Never'.

Got the ADSL connected and working fine on Windows XP PC, but the Dial-Up Networking icon has gone missing from the System Tray. How to get it back?

Select Control Panel; Network Connections, then right-click on ADSL connection and choose Properties. Check the 'Show icon in notification area when connected' option, and the absent icon will reappear next time you're online.

Seen adverts for programs that claim to double, triple or even quadruple my download speed. ADSL is already great, but that kind of speed improvement would make it so much better. Is it really possible though?

Most of these programs work by changing network-related settings in your Registry. If your PC were set up poorly then running one of these optimising tools may make a difference. If you want to experiment then check your TCP/IP configuration 

Still need help?

Try the Internet Speed Optimization service by iYogi