[wellylug] Re: Modem Problem

[Steven Mulvay]

Hi,
I recommend trying to use your modem with a terminal dialing program known as wvdial and see if that works. To setup wvdial, first of all type the following into a terminal as root (or using sudo): 
wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf.
Hopefully this will automatically detect your modem and generate a text file containing your modem's Initialisation Strings, at the location above Then all you need to do is edit the wvdial.conf file, (as root or using sudo) to put in your is’s number, your user name and your password. (The places where you put these details are clearly marked in the file.) Make sure the user accounts you want to go online with have permission to read wvdial.conf. Also if your distribution is set up so that only members of a dialout group can use a dialing program then make sure the user accounts you want to go online with are members of that group.

Once you have done all of this, each time you wish to connect simply type wvdial into any terminal or console. I recommend virtual terminal 1, since the terminal has to remain undisturbed until you disconnect. (To get to virtual terminal 1 press alt+ctrl-F1) When you connect, you should see something like this: 

--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.54.0
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: ATZ
ATZ
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
OK
--> Modem initialized.
--> Sending: ATDT086727234
--> Waiting for carrier.
ATDT086727234
CONNECT 115200
--> Carrier detected.  Waiting for prompt.
** Lucent APX Terminal Server **
Login:
--> Looks like a login prompt.
--> Sending: steven.mulvay
steven.mulvay
Password:
--> Looks like a password prompt.
--> Sending: (password)
    Entering PPP Session.
    IP address is 210.246.9.43
    MTU is 1524.
--> Looks like a welcome message.
--> Starting pppd at Sat Jan 21 20:34:59 2006
--> Warning: Could not modify /etc/ppp/pap-secrets: Permission denied
--> --> PAP (Password Authentication Protocol) may be flaky.
--> Warning: Could not modify /etc/ppp/chap-secrets: Permission denied
--> --> CHAP (Challenge Handshake) may be flaky.
--> pid of pppd: 7981
--> Using interface ppp0
--> local  IP address 210.246.9.43
--> remote IP address 202.0.46.65
--> primary   DNS address 203.96.152.4
--> secondary DNS address 203.96.152.12

Once the secondary DNS line has appeared you are fully connected, (ignore the warnings, even wvdial's man page says to ignore them) you can now press alt+ctrl-F7 to get back to Xwindows. To disconnect, go back to virtual terminal 1 and press ctrl-c. You will see something like this:

Caught signal #2!  Attempting to exit gracefully...
--> Terminating on signal 15
--> Connect time 5 minutes.
--> Disconnecting at Sat Jan 21 20:35:09 2006
gold at toshiba-laptop:~$

Wvdial only has one drawback, it stores your internet password as plain text, but it's a good start to getting your modem working. Please let me know how it goes, you can e-mail me off the list if you want.

Cheers,
Steve :-)