So my dad's computer started acting funny one day. The modem wouldn't 
connect to the Internet, and when the line was plugged in to the modem, 
none of the phones would work. Just that three-tone alert and the 
robotic operator with the usual bad news.

A faulty modem, right?

So I ordered a Motorola PCI modem from eBay. A fresh new start. After 
installing it correctly, I went to dial up. It connected without a 
hitch. So I disconnected and then reconnected. The whole computer froze 
up, and I got a pretty picture of pastel lines with no way to shut down 
properly. Reboot, reconnect... yay! I got online three times in a row. 
Thinking the freeze was a fluke, I went on my way with an air of 
satisfaction knowing that there would be no more problems.

But things can't be that easy, I guess, for that very night I get a 
phone call with news of multiple crashes. Not only would the computer 
not connect to the net, but every time it tried, it would freeze up 
horribly.

Some days later I got the computer home and went about trying to 
troubleshoot the problem. Instead of experiencing crashes at every 
dialing attempt, I would get a message saying that a telephone signal 
was not detected. This with a line I repeatedly tested, and in fact use 
all the time.

And so these events led me to try installing the new modem in my old 
computer, and wouldn't you know it, it wouldn't work! Just that same 
message regarding a possible bad phone line.

I checked the device manager in both computers, installed/reinstalled 
drivers, avoided walking under ladders, but all to no avail. Windows 
thinks the modem is fine, and querying it showed no anomalies.

Is it possible that the phone line is frying modems? Or that the 
computer itself is somehow killing them?

The best option at this point is to just get a new computer, as the old 
one is OLD. I don't think my dad can afford a new computer, so it seems 
like I'm stuck :(

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