problem is i live in NJ. A friend of mine asked for my help and its hard to do over the phone. Couple of weeks ago he had a power surge, since then he gets error msg no dial tone when he logs on. (now i don't know much about modems, never used them. And yes i know i've tried to get him to upgrade)

He tells me he replaced the modem with a new one, and tried different slots. As he tells me he did install the drivers properly too. The phone co. claims no problems at there end of it.

I really hope it isn't the MOBO, any suggestions how i best help this person out, in another state??

Lightning is terribly distructive when it comes down the phone line. The modem can be destroyed by very small amounts of lightning voltage. But if everthing else works, I would assume the new modem is just improperly installed and he needs somebody locally who knows how to do it.
Modems can be very difficult to install, because of the way the drivers are put back into use, and the methods for testing the replaced modem. If he got a different modem, he will need different drivers, and each brand and model of modem can have different ways of installing these drivers.

A good tech or knowledgable friend should be able to fix it in 10 or 15 minutes.

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