TalkTalk RAM

Hi all,

A lady has asked me to look into a problem with her new TalkTalk broadband -
no doubt the first of many such queries :-(

She's trying to install it on an old Athlon (750 I think - even though I
built the machine yonks ago I can't recall exactly what's in it right now!)
with 64Mb RAM running Win98SE. The setup program starts up, and reports that
there's not enough RAM - says:

Minimum 128MB
Suggested 128MB
Current 64MB.

And refuses to continue.

I ferreted around and found an old 64MB DIMM, which I fitted alongside the
original. Now the setup program says:

Minimum 128MB
Suggested 128MB
Current 127MB

And still refuses to continue

Found another 32MB and shoved that in the third socket. Now the setup
program says:

Minimum 128MB
Suggested 128MB
Current 159MB

And STILL the bugger won't continue. As yet I haven't investigated to see
where (or even if) the missing 1Mb might be going, but surely the damn thing
should continue with 159Mb when it requires a minimum of 128? Has anyone
else encountered this problem with TalkTalk? I'm suspecting a bug in their
installer, but I'd welcome any suggestions.

TIA

Rob.

Viking Mail wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> A lady has asked me to look into a problem with her new TalkTalk broadband -
> no doubt the first of many such queries :-(
>
> She's trying to install it on an old Athlon (750 I think - even though I
> built the machine yonks ago I can't recall exactly what's in it right now!)
> with 64Mb RAM running Win98SE. The setup program starts up, and reports that
> there's not enough RAM - says:
>
> Minimum 128MB
> Suggested 128MB
> Current 64MB.
>
> And refuses to continue.
>
> I ferreted around and found an old 64MB DIMM, which I fitted alongside the
> original. Now the setup program says:
>
> Minimum 128MB
> Suggested 128MB
> Current 127MB
>
> And still refuses to continue
>
> Found another 32MB and shoved that in the third socket. Now the setup
> program says:
>
> Minimum 128MB
> Suggested 128MB
> Current 159MB
>
> And STILL the bugger won't continue. As yet I haven't investigated to see
> where (or even if) the missing 1Mb might be going, but surely the damn thing
> should continue with 159Mb when it requires a minimum of 128? Has anyone
> else encountered this problem with TalkTalk? I'm suspecting a bug in their
> installer, but I'd welcome any suggestions.
>
> TIA
>
> Rob.

Is this a USB modem? 98SE and USB were, IIRC, notoriously unreliable.

An Ethernet router (if she's got a NIC) would solve the problem - you
can get them off eBay very cheaply.

xF,

....Nick

> Is this a USB modem? 98SE and USB were, IIRC, notoriously unreliable.
>
> An Ethernet router (if she's got a NIC) would solve the problem - you
> can get them off eBay very cheaply.

Thanks Nick - yes, it's USB. As far as I'm aware she hasn't even got as far
as getting the modem out of the box yet. The installer won't even get beyond
the requirements check:-(

There isn't a NIC in that machine, but if needed it wouldn't be a big
problem to fit one.

Rob.

Viking Mail wrote:
>> Is this a USB modem? 98SE and USB were, IIRC, notoriously
>> unreliable.
>>
>> An Ethernet router (if she's got a NIC) would solve the problem -
>> you
>> can get them off eBay very cheaply.
>
> Thanks Nick - yes, it's USB. As far as I'm aware she hasn't even got
> as far as getting the modem out of the box yet. The installer won't
> even get beyond the requirements check:-(
>
> There isn't a NIC in that machine, but if needed it wouldn't be a
> big
> problem to fit one.

So you are telling us that the problem is it won't install the
software package?

If that is the case then you can do it all by hand & as 98se had most
of the USB bugs sorted out all you'd need to do is install the
drivers, making sure that you've got the latest drivers for the USB
chipset as well, before you attempt to install the modem.

Most of the software is just bloatware anyway, customising IE (which
is probably where your problem starts as it will be trying to install
a newer version & that could be making it baulk) & inputting basic
settings into OE (with possibly an attempt to upgrade as well0

> So you are telling us that the problem is it won't install the software
> package?

Exactly - it keeps insisting that it needs more RAM, even after I've added
more than its stated minimum. I wondered whether this was a known issue with
the TalkTalk installer.

> If that is the case then you can do it all by hand & as 98se had most of
> the USB bugs sorted out all you'd need to do is install the drivers,
> making sure that you've got the latest drivers for the USB chipset as
> well, before you attempt to install the modem.

Thanks, I'll give that a go.

> Most of the software is just bloatware anyway, customising IE (which is
> probably where your problem starts as it will be trying to install a newer
> version & that could be making it baulk) & inputting basic settings into
> OE (with possibly an attempt to upgrade as well0

Fair enough - haven't done a TalkTalk install before, so I've no idea what
it's trying to put on. Will try it manually and see how I get on.

Rob.

Viking Mail wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> A lady has asked me to look into a problem with her new TalkTalk
> broadband -
> no doubt the first of many such queries :-(
>
> She's trying to install it on an old Athlon (750 I think - even though I
> built the machine yonks ago I can't recall exactly what's in it right
> now!)
> with 64Mb RAM running Win98SE. The setup program starts up, and reports
> that
> there's not enough RAM - says:
>

Forget about the setup programme, get the drivers for the model and make of
modem off the internet, any generic drivers from a uk site for the modem
should give you the right drivers.

Install the modem, and then use your username and password in the dial up
box, that is it.

Gaz