On 17 Oct 2005 12:56:12 -0700, put finger to
keyboard and composed:

even when out of the PC-what could be the cause?

IME the most common cause is stuck contacts in the hook relay. Does
the dialtone return if you disconnect and reconnect the modem to the
phone line?

-- Franc Zabkar

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.