On 5 Dec 2018 18:46:22 GMT, KenK wrote:

Paul wrote in news
KenK wrote:
I'm about to connect my CenturyLink DSL modem to Windows 10. This is
a new computer I haven't booted yet but want to have everything I
need to know before I set it up.

I aleady use this on a Windows XP computer successfully.

I prefer to use a wired connection rather than wi-fi.

Anything in particular I need to know or have researched before I do
this?

Thanks much for any tips.

If you didn't do anything other than "plug it in"
to WinXP, then you shouldn't have to do any
more than that for Windows 10.

*******

If you provide the *Model Number* of the box, then
people will be able to identify whether it's a modem only
or a modem/router.


Zyxel model number C1100Z.


It's a combination router/modem. Even without your providing the model
number I knew it was, since you said "I prefer to use a wired
connection rather than wi-fi." Boxes that are just modems never have
wi-fi connection.

And forgive me for being overly technical, but it's really a
combination router/gateway, not a router/modem. The term "modem" is
short for "MOdulator-DEModulator." Technically, it's a device that
converts the analog signal on the telephone line to the digital signal
needed by a computer, and vice-versa. Technically, any device that
doesn't do that analog to digital conversion is not a modem (Here's my
standard post on modems:

A device that connects to a high-speed internet connection is properly
called a "gateway," not a modem, because that high-speed internet
connection is digital to begin with. So there's no analog to digital
conversion, no modulating or demodulating is required, and the term
"modem" is technically inappropriate.

However, the difference between a modem and a gateway is not widely
known, and the term "modem" is widely used for both types of devices.
Some people strenuously object to this usage, because it's not
technically correct. My personal feeling is that, leaving aside the
analog to digital conversion issue, both devices do essentially the
same thing--they connect a computer (or network) to the internet.
Since there is no term that is really correct for any device that
connects a computer to the internet, and since the term "modem" is so
widely used for this, I think insisting that a gateway not be called a
modem is just rigid and inflexible.

Despite the original meaning of the term, for all practical purposes,
calling that DSL or cable device on your desk a "modem" is far and
away the best thing to do. Like so many English words, the word
"modem" has changed its meaning over time.

A router by itself doesn't connect to the internet. Since you have a
device that does, it's a combination of a router and a DSL (or cable)
modem in a single box.

Such combination boxes are becoming more common, but some of us prefer
and have individual boxes. In my home, for example, I have a separate
DSL modem and a router. As with printer/scanners and computer/video
screens, I prefer separate devices, so if one dies they don't both
have to be replaced.