No Carrier Error on Dial up Cnnection

[m.e.newby]

           I live in the UK and have used Virgin Net as my ISP for 20 years. I have a Trust external modem which has worked perfectly but a few weeks ago I started to get a "no carrier" error message and have been unable to connect to the internet since using dial up. I have doubled checked all my settings and am convinced that they are correct. I am left with the suspicion that the problem is with the ISP who may be trying to phase out dial up. Any help in resolving this  would be appreciated.

[Phil]

Does your phone line work?

If you dial the Virgin number using your phone rather than the modem do you hear lots of weird sounds including a connection tone (this is the handshake)

If you do the same with your computer/modem do you hear the same sounds from the modem?

If the phone gets through but the computer/modem does not it may be the modem (check cable connections/settings)

If the modem makes the same sounds and does not connect ask Virgin (their problem)

Not sure how you test a modem or indeed if there is a test number to see if it will connect.