optus internet

D Link are by no stretch of the imagination a "cheap" modem.

I spent 20 years in the IT industry and the most reliable brand we ever sold was D link.

It is not uncommon for 3rd party peripheral manufacturers to take a while to catch up with driver support when a new operating system comes in.

Try contacting D Link and ask them if they have a driver available for Vista

After looking at the Whirlpool Discussion Forum ( Site Link regarding problems with Optus/Vista and DLink 302G modem, it seems that a few people have had similar problems and it seems that you have to enable the NAT mode in the modem setup.

One quote on there of how to fix it was

"In the OptusNet interface at 10.1.1.1 just click on "Advanced Network Setup" on the left, and there you can select NAT mode. You'll get a warning that OptusNet won't provide tech support with NAT mode on, but just click OK and the modem will reboot and come back in NAT mode. Should be done in less than 60 seconds"

Maybe its worth a try.

Microsoft was very late in getting the vista packs out to manufacturer's.
I mean alot of video cards still dont' have drivers for vista.

I wouldn't recommend migrating to vista until later this year when the manufacturer's have had time to write a driver to suit vista.

Why upgrade an existing Computer to Vista anyway?

XP would have to be the most stable and practical Windows platform anyway.

The only need for an upgrade is when Microsoft announce they will no longer support XP and that is years away.

I'm comfortable with XP and have no desire to "upgrade" to the latest offering just because it's there.

Why not just use the Ethernet port instead of the USB port.

USB sucks and you should only use it when there is no other option.

The only Vista you need is the one spread before you from the top of some remote mountain top.

Stick with XP as compliant goodies are now dropping in price and you've still got a few good years before Microsoft shut us out...