If your modem was connected to your computer (or inside it for internal modems) when Windows 2000 was installed, then you can skip this step - the modem was probably detected and set up via Plug and Play.  You can check this by going to Device Manager - right-click on My Computer, select Properties, then Hardware.  Click the button labeled "Device Manager" and look for the entry marked "Modems".   If you see your modem, you're set.  If you don't see it, or don't even see the entry marked "modems", then you need to install one.

To install your modem, first make sure it is connected to the computer and turned on (follow your manufacturer's instructions for how to physically install the modem).  Then, right-click on My Computer and select Properties.  Click on the Hardware tab.   Then, click on the Hardware Wizard button.  This starts the Add/Remove Hardware wizard.

Click "Next" to start the wizard, then click "Next" again to accept the default of "Add a new device."  Windows 2000 will immediately start searching for the new hardware.  With luck, it'll find your modem and automatically install the drivers.  On my system, after a few moments the following screen was displayed:

Click Next and the wizard will display a screen stating it's done.

If your modem was not found, Windows 2000 will display an option for you to install your own drivers, or select from a list of literally hundreds of modem drivers.

Dial-Up Networking (DUN) - Dialing Out - Basic Setup

Setting up a basic RAS/DUN dial-out connection is extremely easy under Windows 2000.  Like most such things, this is done through a Wizard.

First, open up the "Network and Dial-Up Connections" manager by right-clicking on My Network Places and selecting Properties.  Start the wizard by double-clicking on "Make New Connection."

If you haven't done any of this before, you may be prompted to set up your Dialing Rules - basically, you just need to enter your area code, then the Wizard will start.  Click Next to enter the Network Connection Wizard.  You'll see the following:

The default is the first option, which is the one we want here - "Dial-Up to a private network."   

Click on Next, and you'll see the window where you enter the phone number.  It looks like this:

If you check the box "Use Dialing Rules" you'll be able to enter an area code and country/region code.  For most users, you're dialing a local number anyway.

Click Next to continue.  You'll then see a panel where you can choose whether this connection is available for all users of this computer (i.e., anyone that logs on to it) or just for the currently-logged-on user.  The default is All Users.  Make your selection, then click Next.

The final window of this Wizard is where you can type in a name for this connection:

You can check that checkbox at the bottom if you'd like a shortcut to your desktop.  Click Finish.  Windows will automatically open the connection (assuming that if you just created it, you likely want to use it).  You'll see:

The user name will default to the name you logged onto your system with.  Fill out the fields, click Dial, and you're off and running!