Are you tired of those slow downloads you’re getting when you surf the internet? Bored of waiting just to make a few transactions in your e-billing account? Then forget your old modem and switch to ADSL. For those of you that are not familiar with this new technology, let me explain a little bit about what it is. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a transmission technology that enhances the use of existing telephone lines, providing high-bandwidth data and voice services.
This is possible taking advantage of unused high frequencies of existing copper wiring in the PSTN (Plain Switched Telephone Network), allowing data to travel back and forth on the high frequencies while voice simultaneously travels back and forth on the lower frequencies without experiencing interruptions. It is asymmetrical because the download speeds (1. 4 Mbps) are much faster than the upload speeds (256 kbps); this means that it’s faster to download a file than to upload a file to the same server.
Having said this I’ll focus on how to install an ADSL modem, a modem for those of you that don’t know is an acronym for Modulator Demodulator, a modem is a device that converts data from digital computer signals to analog signals that can be sent over a phone line, this is called modulation. The analog signals are then converted back into digital data by the receiving modem, this is called demodulation. In this occasion I have chosen the latest of Microsoft Operating Systems, which is Windows XP, hopefully by the time you read this, Microsoft has not come up with something newer, since they change Operating Systems like we change clothes.
First we need to make sure that the PC meets the minimum system requirements, for Windows XP they are: a 300Mhz processor or faster, a processor is an integrated circuit that executes the instructions of a program that drives the computer, 128MB of memory, 100MB of free disk space, a CD-ROM drive, a Network Interface Card, a NIC is a circuit board that allows the computer to connect to a network, and a Super VGA monitor (800×600) or higher resolution video adapter.
Well, with all this taken into consideration let’s get started, there are different kinds of modems that accomplish these task, but I will select one with an Ethernet port, Ethernet is one of the most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technologies, that provides transmission speeds of up to 10Mbps, which is more than enough for ADSL speeds.
This one specifically is the Alcatel Speed Touch Home, which is easily installed, we start first by connecting the mounting cord from the jack with the ADSL signal to the port that says line in back of the modem, then we plug a patch cord from the Ethernet port to the NIC card on the back of the computer, and last but not least the power supply for the modem. Now we need to configure Windows XP, for our modem in order to work.
Once we have started the computer and the desktop screen appears, we must first click on the Start button, then we single click on the Control Panel option, the Category View or the Classic View of the Control Panel is displayed, next we click on the “Switch to Classic View”, the Classic View of the Control Panel is displayed, now we double click on the Network Connections icon, the Network Connections window is displayed.
Under the Network Tasks Menu, single click on “Create a New Connection”, the New Connection Wizard is displayed, follow the instructions on the screen and click Next, the Network Connection Type window is displayed, select “Connect to the Internet” by selecting on the corresponding option button, click Next, the Connection Wizard displays the “Getting Ready” window, select the “Set up my connection manually” by clicking the corresponding option button, click Next.
The Connection Wizard prompts to select the connection type, select the “Connect using broadband connection that requires username and password”; This is a PPPOE connection, (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) is a specification for connecting multiple computer users on an Ethernet local area network to a remote site through common customers premises equipment, which is the telephone company’s term for a modem and similar devices.
The Connection Name window is displayed, type the name of your ISP (Internet Service Provider), click Next, the Connection Wizard prompts for Account Information, enter the username and password provided by your ISP, then make sure that all the checkboxes in this window are selected, specially the “Turn on Internet Connection Firewall for this connection”, this will protect your computer for possible attacks by hackers, a firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network server, that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks (the Internet), this will allow access to the Internet and will prevent outsiders from accessing your own private data resources and for controlling what outside resources its own users have access to. The Wizards then confirms successfully creating the profile, now select the checkbox “Add a shortcut to this connection to my desktop” and click on Finish.
The PPPOE profile is displayed, verify the information, and click on Next, the Connection authenticates the username and password, once the PPPOE connection is established, an icon of two little computers interconnected is displayed in the system tray, which is located in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, verify that the connection icon that you created is displayed on the Desktop as a shortcut. Finally click on the Start button, and click on the Internet Explorer icon to surf.
Although this process may seem complicated, it’s pretty straight forward, if you are not familiar with computers, but if you follow these procedures step by step you wouldn’t have any problems in setting up your ADSL connection, and with these speeds you will never go back to that snail connection of the past of a regular dial-up 56kbps modem. Have fun, Surf and enjoy. SURFING ON THE FAST LANE Are you tired of those slow downloads you’re getting when you surf the internet? Bored of waiting just to make a few transactions in your e-billing account?
Then forget your old modem and switch to ADSL. For those of you that are not familiar with this new technology, let me explain a little bit about what it is. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) is a transmission technology that enhances the use of existing telephone lines, providing high-bandwidth data and voice services. This is possible taking advantage of unused high frequencies of existing copper wiring in the PSTN (Plain Switched Telephone Network), allowing data to travel back and forth on the high frequencies while voice simultaneously travels back and forth on the lower frequencies without experiencing interruptions. It is asymmetrical because the download speeds (1. Mbps) are much faster than the upload speeds (256 kbps); this means that it’s faster to download a file than to upload a file to the same server.
Having said this I’ll focus on how to install an ADSL modem, a modem for those of you that don’t know is an acronym for Modulator Demodulator, a modem is a device that converts data from digital computer signals to analog signals that can be sent over a phone line, this is called modulation. The analog signals are then converted back into digital data by the receiving modem, this is called demodulation. In this occasion I have chosen the latest of Microsoft Operating Systems, which is Windows XP, hopefully by the time you read this, Microsoft has not come up with something newer, since they change Operating Systems like we change clothes.
First we need to make sure that the PC meets the minimum system requirements, for Windows XP they are: a 300Mhz processor or faster, a processor is an integrated circuit that executes the instructions of a program that drives the computer, 128MB of memory, 100MB of free disk space, a CD-ROM drive, a Network Interface Card, a NIC is a circuit board that allows the computer to connect to a network, and a Super VGA monitor (800×600) or higher resolution video adapter. Well, with all this taken into consideration let’s get started, there are different kinds of modems that accomplish these task, but I will select one with an Ethernet port, Ethernet is one of the most widely-installed local area network (LAN) technologies, that provides transmission speeds of up to 10Mbps, which is more than enough for ADSL speeds.
This one specifically is the Alcatel Speed Touch Home, which is easily installed, we start first by connecting the mounting cord from the jack with the ADSL signal to the port that says line in back of the modem, then we plug a patch cord from the Ethernet port to the NIC card on the back of the computer, and last but not least the power supply for the modem. Now we need to configure Windows XP, for our modem in order to work. Once we have started the computer and the desktop screen appears, we must first click on the Start button, then we single click on the Control Panel option, the Category View or the Classic View of the Control Panel is displayed, next we click on the “Switch to Classic View”, the Classic View of the Control Panel is displayed, now we double click on the Network Connections icon, the Network Connections window is displayed.
Under the Network Tasks Menu, single click on “Create a New Connection”, the New Connection Wizard is displayed, follow the instructions on the screen and click Next, the Network Connection Type window is displayed, select “Connect to the Internet” by selecting on the corresponding option button, click Next, the Connection Wizard displays the “Getting Ready” window, select the “Set up my connection manually” by clicking the corresponding option button, click Next. The Connection Wizard prompts to select the connection type, select the “Connect using broadband connection that requires username and password”; This is a PPPOE connection, (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) is a specification for connecting multiple computer users on an Ethernet local area network to a remote site through common customers premises equipment, which is the telephone company’s term for a modem and similar devices.
The Connection Name window is displayed, type the name of your ISP (Internet Service Provider), click Next, the Connection Wizard prompts for Account Information, enter the username and password provided by your ISP, then make sure that all the checkboxes in this window are selected, specially the “Turn on Internet Connection Firewall for this connection”, this will protect your computer for possible attacks by hackers, a firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network server, that protects the resources of a private network from users from other networks (the Internet), this will allow access to the Internet and will prevent outsiders from accessing your own private data resources and for controlling what outside resources its own users have access to. The Wizards then confirms successfully creating the profile, now select the checkbox “Add a shortcut to this connection to my desktop” and click on Finish.
The PPPOE profile is displayed, verify the information, and click on Next, the Connection authenticates the username and password, once the PPPOE connection is established, an icon of two little computers interconnected is displayed in the system tray, which is located in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, verify that the connection icon that you created is displayed on the Desktop as a shortcut. Finally click on the Start button, and click on the Internet Explorer icon to surf. Although this process may seem complicated, it’s pretty straight forward, if you are not familiar with computers, but if you follow these procedures step by step you wouldn’t have any problems in setting up your ADSL connection, and with these speeds you will never go back to that snail connection of the past of a regular dial-up 56kbps modem. Have fun, Surf and enjoy.
