This message indicates that your computer's modem is not detecting a dial tone while trying to dial out. This could be caused by one or more of the following:
The phone line is not plugged into the computer
The phone line is plugged in incorrectly
If you have voicemail on your phone line, you may have messages waiting
The jack your telephone line is plugged into may be faulty
Your computers modem may be damaged
To resolve this problem, first, make sure there is a phone line running from a wall jack to the phone jack on the computer. It is important to note, especially on desktop computers, there may be more than one phone jack, but only one will work. If you have two phone jacks on the back of your PC, each should be labeled with either a word, or a picture. One should be labeled 'Line' or have a picture of a wall jack. This is the correct jack to plug the phone cord into. The other jack will be labeled 'Phone' or have a picture of a handset or a telephone. You may plug a phone into this jack if you wish, but this is not required.
If you have determined that the telephone cord is connected properly, and you subscribe to voicemail from your telephone company, check to see if you have any messages waiting. Usually when you have messages waiting, the phone system will alert you by sounding a "Stutter Dial Tone" when placing a call or lifting the receiver of your phone. When this occurs, your modem may not be able to dial out until the messages are cleared, and a normal dial tone is restored.
If you are still not getting a dial tone at this point, the next step to take is to test the phone jack you are trying to dial out on. This can be done simply by plugging a standard telephone into the same wall jack your computer is plugged in to. If you hear no dial tone when doing this, you may need to consult the telephone company, or other telephone repair person. If you do hear a dial tone, it is possible that your modem is defective.
After following the above steps, if you still are getting a no dial tone message, you will need to contact the Help Desk.
