I’m setting up a new ADSL connection for a customer (very standard setup… laptop and a speedtouch 536 modem).

I’ve done lots of these, so I didn’t think I’d have any problems.

I do the standard Bigpond CD install, but part way through, it tells me it cannot communicate with the modem.

Now this is just not true! I can ping the modem, and I can ping the DNS servers beyond the modem.

Anyway, I figure I’ll do it my usual way: web interface to the modem.

I go to the “broadband connection” menu, and the DSL connection icon shows a green tick, but the internet icon shows a red cross. Ok, I click on the connect button. and it seems to connect correctly.

But still no internet access. The modem has all 4 lights on (power, dsl, ethernet, internet)

I do a connectivity test, and it fails on the last test (internet).

Since the modem probably doesn’t have the correct username / password, I search the menus for a screen that allows me to enter the correct logon info.

But I cannot find it anywhere…

I call telstra technical support, and the technician deduces that the line must be locked by another ISP. I doubt it, but its not worth arguing, so I let him pass me to the activations department… But they run their tests and can see no locks, and the line is setup for telstra. So I get passed back to technical support.

A different technician now tries to guide me through setting up the modem, but what he sees on his instructions is slightly different to what I see…

We eventually decide to try hitting the internet disconnect button, then the connect button. This time, I’m presented with an adsl username and password prompt (woo hoo!).

I enter the details, and I’m finally on the net.

Outlook express doesn’t want to connect to the email server, but a laptop and modem restart soon fixes that problem.

Given the customer is an elderly lady, she asks that I increase the text size. So I change the appropriate settings in the display control panel, in IE, and in OE.