Power Mac - G4 QuickSilver and dial-up problem..

Question

Hi all, first post here please excuse my naiviety!
As well as owning a Macbook I've been helping a friend out with their 9-10 yr old G4 Power Mac. The problem started with it not being able to power on so I tried resetting CUDA etc; that didn't work so I sourced a replacement Power Mac (power supply being impossible to replace).
All went well, swapped the HD out of his duff M5183 and put it into the newer QuickSilver. Booted-up fine and apart from running quicker it looked like his old Mac. When he tried dial-up (he can't get BB) he kept getting a no dial tone error. So I had a fiddle and managed to get a tone... however when the 0845 number was dialled all you get is a beep....beep....beep noise like the line's engaged or unobtainable. I managed to inadvertently wipe his ISP settings so tried another ISP (called freeisp, 0844 7110059) - still get the same reply on the line with this.
Question is, I'm guessing the modem on the QuickSilver is different to that on the M5183? Do I need to install drivers? The modem seems to dial out okay so I'm a bit confused.
Any help gratefully rec'd... he hasn't been able to get online for some time now.
Ta, HB

Answer 1

According to this article:
Apple USB Modem: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
Sep 15, 2008 ... You can use an Apple USB modem with any
Mac computer capable of running Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later.
You MUST have Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3152
Even email and sparse internet activity would be slow.
Still, that invites further research to be sure; and also to
check what update or upgrade the computer hardware
may need to be ready for the demands of the OS on it.
Hardware upgrades in RAM chip & hard disk drives are
the primary ones for basic physical upgrade; and then
the OS X. And Panther is not really adequate today...
Tiger has support; Panther has increasingly more wants
that are not met and does not see updates. It's rather old.
You should check into the available "retail boxed" Tiger
full installer sets that have previously been sold to people
and now those persons have upgraded to Leopard 10.5.
These should be priced less than online reseller's retail.
In some places, the universal install DVD set is not costly
once you get away from the retail demand. Amazon is a
source of retail goods; ebay is a place to find retail prices.
Individuals, whose goods you would have to be aware of
before buying (or if given a retail box Tiger installer DVD,
be informed as to what you really had.) Be sure it is NOT a
version made for a single model or series of computer,
since those would only work in that one model line.
Without access to DSL or faster cable broadband, getting
all the update bits for the system would be prohibitive; no
matter the version of OSX (or any OS) it would be too slow.
You may be able to get copies of the correct downloads
from persons you know; but you have to be sure they are
the correct ones, and not versions for some other device.
(Some update files are for Intel-based Mac, not PPC-based.)
If you have a portable computer, a list of upgrade downloads
needed (for a needy desktop computer) and a place to go and
experience fast broadband or adequate DSL, the necessary
update files a new OS X installation would require to be up to
date could be gotten; they could be saved to a CD for later use.
The latest security update, all the java updates, the Combo update,
Quicktime, Flash player, Shockwave Player, modern browsers, &
other items are required to bring even Tiger up to today's web
and daily use if going online (or if using applications needing it.)
With a list of needed applications, and/or web sites where the
downloads could be acquired, and getting 'standalone' versions
for later use in a computer later, one can deal with a slow web
access point at home, by going elsewhere to get the essentials.
And to get them with the idea of making a backup archive for
later re-install should that event of necessity occur. The Apple
Support Downloads site has OS X related updates & is search-
able. So knowing file names to do this, that way, is important.
Having the subject computer at the point where high speed
internet is available makes all kinds of sense, to just update
the newer OS X version and make it work correctly.
And the need for this would become painfully clear to even
someone with no credible amount of experience. Anyone
with hopes of getting a task done in their lifetime could see it.
Good luck & happy computing!
{edited}