BleepingComputer.com: High Speed Internet W/phone Company

I am a senior citizen trying to get up-to-date with the technology. I am trying to figure this out by myself as my husband has no computer knowledge. I bought a new computer last week and still have not been able to use it fully. Because of a limited income I have been using Netzero Dial-up ($5.00/mo), however, that is causing problems with the Windows Vista so I have removed the software.

Everyone keeps pushing me to get high-speed internet. Downloading from the internet can take hours. My problem is my computer is located in my living room - has been for 10 years. It is located in an oak computer armoir. There is no phone outlet in this room. I was able to use a splitter in a front bedroom's outlet - ran phone cord under the carpet from the bedroom, down the hall to the living room. (About 64 ft. of cable w/ connectors). This has worked beautifully. (The reason we didn't have a jack installed is because they would have to drill through brick and the other issue is not having someone to move this heavy oak armoir). I have no other location available for my computer.

My problem: After receiving all of the gear for high-speed internet I find it is not usable for me at this time because I don't have a phone jack near the computer. Do they make data cable and ethernet cable long enough for me to run this to my computer in the living room?

Switching to a new computer has been the most frustrating experience. It should not be this hard. I am still trying to figure out how to get my files copied from Windows 98 onto a USB drive and then over to the new computer...and now this agravation with the internet...I'm just about at the end of my rope...

Is there an easier way to handle this? If you don't have the answer, do you know of anyone I can ask for help. I have spent well over $1200 for a piece of equipment I cannot use.

to BC!

Sure, you can buy long Ethernet cables from most computer dealers. 64ft is around 19m, you can buy cables that long .

This post has been edited by david28: 21 March 2008 - 10:18 PM

Both phone cables(for slow dialup) and CAT5 or CAT6 ethernet cables are available from outfits such as Staples, Best Buy, Office Max and other office or computer places. Also on the internet, might be much cheaper. You can swing'm over the doorways and other such spaces. I've got one, 50 foot long ethernet cable that I throw out the window to use a laptop out there. Another one goes to a room using a 25 foot cable from the wall jack (or a router) to the computer

Dialup is pretty bad. Try at least a DSL connection. It's worth it. Both for speed and security.

The ethernet cable wont be a problem. You can get them as long as 100 feet for pretty cheap.

However if this is DSL through the phone company there is a 15 foot limit on the cable ran from the wall jack to the DSL box. I found that out the hard way when doing a DSL installation once.

test the dsl modem on the phone extension you have been using for dialup

there are too many variables and package speeds available to know whether it will work or not

if you are paying for a newer highspeed connection with fiber to the curb or house then have a professional finish the install

This post has been edited by DaChew: 23 March 2008 - 09:57 AM

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am currently using the DSL! Yeh! We purchased a 100 ft of ethernet cable from Staples...ran it under the carpet near the baseboard from the back bedroom to the living room with no problems. Modem is located in back bedroom ... no big deal not to have it near the computer. Phone company said that the length of ethernet cable should not be an issue...however, the length of the phone cable could cause a problem. Better to have a short telephone cable. That was not an issue as we decided to keep the modem near the phone jack in the bedroom.

Once again...thank you to all of you.

Grandma is finally coming up to speed with the new technology!

This post has been edited by Brunswick: 31 March 2008 - 11:11 PM