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AT&T Uverse and 9x systems?


cyberformer

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I've received a letter from at&t telling me only 45 days are left for me to get Uverse, due to the transition from the regular DSL I've used for years; that my internet services will be interrupted completely if I do not upgrade.  I called the tech chap over there (a pleasant fellow) and asked him several questions regarding getting online with Win 98versions, as well as Win 95.  He said, that as long as the operating system had a TCP/IP stack and protocol--etc, that it would be no problem.  When I asked him if the Uverse modem had to have drivers installed for "any" PC to recognize the modem, he said no, that it was a router--and one can just get online.  It has always been my assumption that a modem needs drivers for the PC to recognize it.  My current DSL modem certainly did.  So far as routers go, I've no idea, having never fooled with one.  Is anyone here using a 9x system with Uverse?  And if so was it a chore to get it to work?  Any and all info concerning this matter would be greatly appreciated.  They also told me that dial up is no longer offered in my area, and that they were going to phase it out completely!

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i used to have cox cable internet, when i switched to u verse, i couldn't connect automatically the same way, this is because i had a guest network with cox and when i went to browse the internet on windows 95 or 98 ( using the cisco 350 wireless pci adapter without the utility as an example ), it brought up the guest page and i just entered the guest password for that and it worked, i don't remember what exact settings the router used for cox, and i'm not sure which settings my u verse one uses now, and im not sure if u verse has this same feature that cox has with the guest network thing, you may be able to set the settings to use wep even if it's not recommended, but i think i tried that before and for some reason, it still wouldn't connect to w95 and 98 systems, it's like they put that feature there for no reason?

i use a secondary router mostly for windows 95 systems, apparently wpa is not supported by any cards or utilities to work with windows 95, only wep, which is a bummer because wsc gaurd 4.0 works with windows 98SE which even if your router uses wpa2 settings, you don't need that to connect to it from the 98SE system, you can just select the network, set the settings to wpa and aes encrpytion, type password, and it will connect if your card supports wpa, it may not support wpa2 itself but at least it can connect to modern routers. however, this probably can't be done with w95, i'm in the midst of finding a utility that supports the same sort of functionality that wsc gaurd 4.0 does but one that can allow connecting wep based w95 setups to wpa2 routers by using some sort of setting that allows so.

Edited by cov3rt
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Thank you for all that info cov3rt!  I've downloaded the  Mcafee version of wsc gaurd 4.0 .  From what I understand, Win 98Se and Win Me, should not be too much of a problem?  Seems that 95 and standard 98--from your experiences--can be toilsome as well troublesome.  So long as I can get on easily with XP. 98se, and Me--I can wait to work on giving 95 a go.  I am wondering if it is easier to use all of them with Cox cable?  I do have an old Motorola Modem (I think it has just recently been replaced from what I hear)--and the CD that has the Win 9x drivers (not sure about 95)--that might still get me on the internet if I get go cable.  Lot of research to do ere time runs out!

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An external router or modem that connects to the PC via ethernet is the most reliable Internet solution. They don't require drivers or software, but instead are configured via web browser. The usual requirement is IE6 or FF2, so Retrozilla (NT4, 95+) should work.

Avoid USB modems as they require drivers.

I have an AT&T analog landline here in Silicon Valley and occasionally dial in to Netzero.net. Don't have DSL, so no notice.

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That system will work fine with U Verse. I had U Verse until AT&T sold the CT business to Frontier in 2013.

I'm still using my U Verse router on the Frontier service, which meant I didn't need to buy a new one from Frontier. DSL is basically DSL.

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sdfox7 said  " That system will work fine with U Verse "  sdfox7, do you mean Win 9x. or is this in reference to something else?  If so, what if things have changed since you had Uverse? 

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Cyberformer, yes, Windows 9x can see any hardwired TCP/IP connection, which includes DSL and cable modem.

To use wireless on Windows 9x, however, you'll need to use a WEP compatible signal, which usually means downgrading the router's security settings.

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  • 1 month later...

The software they give you for your modem is more often-than-not bloatware that only adds another program to the system tray at boot and does absolutely nothing to help.

My suggestion is to use some sort of "sacrificial" Windows installation if some software installation is required, otherwise, use the web configuration interface via "http://192.168.0.1" or whatever your user-guide tells you.

The other suggestion is to get a proper router that accepts the connection from your modem and can then send it out via A/B/G/N wireless or ethernet, the modem is then put into a "bridged" mode where it simply passes on data to the router, whose WAN port assumes the IP address of the modem. All this is in very, very simplistic terms, but it gives you an idea.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm successfully using Windows 98 SE with U-verse. My D-Link AirPlus WiFi card supports WPA2 encryption on Windows 98, so it just works right out of the box. However, you can (at least on my modem) downgrade to WEP if your card doesn't support WPA. Connecting directly via ethernet should also work. I don't think wired ethernet uses any fancy encryption protocols, so any system should be able to get online.

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