To help all the dial-ups out there

[nictrix]

Well I have dail-up and I know how it feels when you going so slow on the web, however I can tell you how to tweak your modem for optimal performance!

Instructions:

Go to control panel then modem properties then click on properties. Next put the maximum speed up to the highest level. Then go to the connections tab and put the recieve buffer and transmit buffer up to HIGH (14) and (16). Get out of that go to advanced properties, check mark all the boxes and then put S11=40. Press okay and your done!

I don't know how much that will help people with modems, but it should a little, o did I mention restarting the computer after you did the tweaks!

[Ichabod]

I'm not an expert, but I don't see how any of these suggestions are going to help. The maximum speed you're talking about is the speed of your computer conversing with your modem. As long as it's above your connection speed you're ok. Changing the receive and transmit buffer levels may help matters or make things worse. The S11 simply changes the length of your dialing pulse to 40 milliseconds. Can't see how that's going to help matters. I think there are some things that will help some, but don't think your suggestions are going to do it.

[glc]

Jacking the buffers up to max will help keep the data flow smooth, but playing with S11 won't do anything. Tweaking a modem is not an exact science, different modems and different conditions all require something different. I have a lousy line - I'm 24000 feet from the switch and the wiring in my neighborhood is quite old - and my USR ISA Sportster works best just leaving it be at installed defaults. It never fails to connect at somewhere between 36k and 40k and seldom disconnects, and my download speeds are in the high 4's. Being a hardware modem with jumpers, it uses a real com port, which I have made sure is set to 115200, 8, none, 1, hardware. I have tried a Supra Express and it only connects at 28.8 (adding the trusty S202=32S95=1 to the string sends it up to 44k but it doesn't go anywhere, that's too fast for the line conditions), and my Lucent Venus-based Actiontec card modem in my laptop connects at 30.6k. The best way to tweak a modem is to buy the correct modem for your conditions in the first place. In general, USR's are best for lousy lines and Supra Expresses are best for good clean lines. Note that I am referring to either ISA hardware modems or external serial modems. The only really decent PCI modems are USR hardware models, Conexant doesn't make a true hardware chipset for PCI modems and Lucents are just average. PCTel, Intel (Ambient/Cirrus), and ESS don't compete in the quality modem chipset market, they are all budget solutions and perform accordingly. Software modems (winmodems) and USB modems just don't have the horsepower to perform well over dialup, they are okay for faxing and casual email/surfing but suck up too much system resources when you are trying to game or multitask.

[KR0316]

GLC........Can you get a modem that isn't a software modem for laptops like my Dell Inspiron? I am always looking for ways to up my dial up on my laptop because I use it when I am on the road.

[glc]

Yes, there are true hardware PCMCIA modems - my Actiontec is one. I would prefer to have a USR-based modem, but the Lucent Venus does the job well on decent lines. My line is bad - and it connects at 30.6, but at a friend's house with a really good line it connects at 52k. My friend has a Supra Express in her desktop which connects at 49.3 on the same line. Throughput is outstanding with both modems in those conditions.

It really doesn't make much of a difference in most hotels - the PBX will restrict it to 28.8 in most cases anyway, the internal software modem in most of today's laptops is usually adequate. You might be better off spending the money on a wireless NIC because more and more hotels are offering wireless broadband now and the price of wireless nics are well under $100.

[TMAN]

I find that tweaks can cause adverse affects if you have a noisy line. To reduce noise, make sure the modem or as few things as possible are connected to the line. You can call your phone company to reduce line noise. I dont know what the fee for this might be but you'll get more stable connections and better performance.

[cobra]

Where's reboot when there's a modem thread?

[glc]

I'm trying my best - but nobody can replace him OR Sarge!