modem port disables all phones in the house

I just helped a non computer savy friend install xp pro on her computer, she uses AOL for her ISP and now when she plugs in the phone line into her modem all lines in the house are disabled and she is not able to get a dial tone, there is just silence. Any thoughts. thank you in advance.

 

It sounds like her modem is fried. Does she live in an area where lightning storms occur?

Try a new phone line cord first. Also test the phone jack using a phone.

Have her go into Device manager and check for any yellow marks that indicate problems. If none, then open the modem entry by clicking the + sign next to it. Then right click the actual modem listing and select Properties. Then click the Diagnostics button and query the modem. It should report what it can do and what it can't. Then try the Troubleshooting button you see there. Even try right clicking the modem and selecting Uninstall. Then do that again and select Install and XP will pick it up and install drivers.

If none of that works, install a new modem, they're cheap.

 

thanks, I am going over there this week, I will give it a shot.