[seventhsymbol]

hello,

my PC is not even a year old, got it last christmas, I don't have the specs or the model number, as I am not at it, as I am unable to acess the net from it, and thats what I'm here asking help about...

I have a dial-up internet connection at home, and up until a couple nights ago it was working fine (for dial-up...) but after having a bad lightning storm where I live, I can't connect at all, I was not in the room with my Pc during the storm, but I completely shut it down, and unplugged the surger everything was plugged into ,but a few strikes were very close (like... right out the window close), so I don't know if mabey it got fried anyhow, but everything else in the PC works as flawlessly as before, but when I attempt to connect to the net, it attempts three times, each returning the same message, saying that it can't acess the modem because the port is already in use, however, nothing with my PC configuration has changed, before the storm, connection works, after storm, no connection, Device manager reports that the modem is working properly, but I attempted to run diagnostic tests on the modem, both the windows built-in diagnostic, and PC doctor 5 which my PC had pre-installed, and neither one could even perform the diagnostic test, PC doctor gave a similar error to the connection program (peoplePC) stateing that it could not acess the modem, that the port was in use, windows diagnostic returned a generic error telling me to make certain it was not already in use, etc...

now then, I know a little bit about messing with my PC's hardware, so, I had the bright idea of opening the case, taking out the modem, and putting it in a different slot, as it seemed all the errors related to not being able to comunicate with the modem, so I tried that, and nothing changed, still same port in use messages, so now, here I am, using a pc at work to get on here.

and so, here's my question, is my modem dead? is there a way to assign it a different port? is it possible there is malware or somthing else jamming up that port? I've got a Hijackthis log on a flash drive with me if that'll help any, I just need to know what needs to be done to restore my net acess, do I need a new modem? or what? any help would be gretly appriciated, hopefully i'll get to check this again later, but heres my HJT log just incase it is malware or something else,







Thanks in advance

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Most likely your modem was damaged... you need to unplug the phone line during storms like that... phone lines have less shielding and the modem is more delicate than the power supply.... unfortunately it's hard to say what shape the rest of the computer is in... even if it works now you may have a cascade failure... different components dieing as time goes on.... it may happen and may not.... surges can be very unpredictable in that case, particularly when lightning is involved.

Note: your insurance may cover you if the damage is extensive....

[shard92]

Most likely your modem was damaged... you need to unplug the phone line during storms like that... phone lines have less shielding and the modem is more delicate than the power supply.... unfortunately it's hard to say what shape the rest of the computer is in... even if it works now you may have a cascade failure... different components dieing as time goes on.... it may happen and may not.... surges can be very unpredictable in that case, particularly when lightning is involved.

Note: your insurance may cover you if the damage is extensive....

[Neil Jones]

Modem's been fried through the power surge up the phone line and you need a new modem. No too ways about it.

Most warranties as well will not cover the cost of a new modem if its damaged due to user damage or natural disasters (failing to unplug it from the phone line during a storm could count as either or both of these) so you may have to get a new one out of your own pocket.

[seventhsymbol]

ok, thanks alot, I wanted to be certain before I went out and bought a new modem, is there anything specific I need to look for in a new one? or will just any dial-up modem work?

[bmwboy]

ok, thanks alot, I wanted to be certain before I went out and bought a new modem, is there anything specific I need to look for in a new one? or will just any dial-up modem work?

Really, in a modem, if all you want is to connect to the internet and fax, any basic one will work.
I would try NewEgg and read the reviews.

[seventhsymbol]

Ok, thanks again all for the help, and quick replies.

[seventhsymbol]

well, I got a new modem today, and now everything works, thanks all for the help, problem solved