Rotten ISP

[old-user]

Having installed Precise Puppy 5.7.1 (retro) on my sister-in-law's desktop she eagerly awaited going online for the first time. Only to be disappointed by her ISP, BT (British Telecom) when they informed her that they didn't support Linux. What a pack of time wasters they are.

[ally]

I was on BT for several years before a recent move to virgin media

why can she not use the internet?

[CatDude]

Hello old-user

...Only to be disappointed by her ISP, BT (British Telecom) when they informed her that they didn't support Linux. What a pack of time wasters they are.

I was with them (BT) for ten plus years, and using Linux for at least half of that period.

When they say they do not support Linux, that doesn't mean you cannot use them as your ISP,
it just means if you ask them for any kind of help setting things up (connection wise), you won't get any.

Saying that, i must say i never had any trouble setting things up with Puppy (never bothered using their CDrom crap either)

Earlier this year we decided to go with TalkTalk for an unlimited account (it was cheaper than the 10GB per month we had),
so far we haven't had any trouble with them either.

So, just go with whoever is offering the best deal, setting things up is usually pretty straight forward.

CatDude
.

[old-user]

I set the router up no problem but from there on in i could not get online. I kept getting no internet connection? I was trying to set up a wireless connection.

[Colonel Panic]

I was with BT for a while and although I eventually left (because I was fed up with them constantly nagging me to upgrade my account), I didn't have a problem getting online with them, so I'd be inclined to look elsewhere first for the solution.

I suspect your problem might be the wireless drivers in Puppy. How about trying a different distro (Diamond's very good for wireless setup), or the simple network setup in one of the later ones?

Best,

Colonel Panic .

P.S. If all else fails I second Cat Dude's advocacy of Talk Talk. I switched to them in 2011 and am now on their "Unlimited" tariff. Although I find they can be a bit slow when demand is heavy (possibly due to the contention ratio), I find them very good value for money.

[Fossil]

What BT - and most other ISP's mean is, they don't have the necessary staff with the required knowledge. I've been running Puppy Linux with a UK ISP for over eight years. No problem with the physical connection, etc - but mention 'Linux' to the help desk and.... there is a long and pregnant pause in the conversation, a shuffling of papers, then an admittance that only 'Windblow's' is the usually accepted operating system. Don't be put off! If possible, set up the router (I guess one of the exalted BT ones... groan!) using a Windows based machine. Then switch to the desktop and configure Puppy.
If you are using a wireless connection... what is it. Please be specific.
Is this part of the computer 's internal wi-fi?
Or, is this an external 'wi-fi' plug-in USB dongle? If so, how have you attempted to configure it? Have you tried the Puppy Setup Network Wizard?
Please give FULL details of the setup, router and any wi-fi adaptor. Make, product number, etc.
The more knowledge everyone has the easier it is to give advice.

[cthisbear]

" Please give FULL details of the setup, router and any wi-fi adaptor. "

And your laptop specs.

Might need to change your Puppy.

I only use Frisbee these days >> wireless setup ....tried that?

Your wireless light is on etc?

Some laptops have switches ...others use a function key.

Chris.

[old-user]

Finally managed to get online but what a load of bother. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

[Fossil]

old-user Glad you finally made it online. However - and just out of curiosity - it would help all those who have read this exchange if you could please explain how you finally vanquished 'the bother'.
Thanks.