Most computers don't come with dial up modems anymore. You can connect to the internet with the ethernet but you have to have a cable or DSL modem furnished by the your cable or phone company.

 

Integrated Ethernet means that the Ethernet port is integrated (built-in) to your motherboard.

This means that you don't have to purchase a network interface card in order to connect via Ethernet. It sounds like your previous computer(s) have had these feature as well as ports for phone lines.

New motherboards have done away with the ports for phone lines because dial-up is practically dead. You will need to connect through a modem provided by a cable company or your phone company, as black-wolf said. If you've been on dial-up until this point, you will see a massive increase in speed once you upgrade.

 

Wow, I AM in the dark ages! I've been using DSL Broadband for YEARS and had no idea the phone cords weren't even necessary all this time! My computers had places for them, so I dutifully plugged them in! Thanks for bringing me into the 21st Century!

 

yep it's amazing what we can ignore if things work
this cable modem, can you use it to connect the two computers together in a network? share files between the two computers?

 

You're welcome. :up:

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