Think of your dial-up modem as your computer’s link to the outside world. It’s a slow, noisy device, but it gives you access to millions of Web sites, email, and all the marvels of the Internet when it’s working. When it’s not, a modem can be as much fun as a dentist’s drill. To fix it, you first need to gather some basic information about the modem you have. Nearly all analog modems (as opposed to cable and DSL [Digital Subscriber Line] modems) are internal. Just look for the phone jack on the back or the side of your PC, and you’ve found your modem. You can find out the manufacturer and model number by looking in the Windows Device Manager.
In Windows XP, click Start, then right-click the My Computer icon. Choose Properties, click the Hardware tab, then click the Device Manager button. Now click the plus sign next to Modems to see each modem installed on your system. If you want more information, right-click your modem and choose Properties. If you don’t find what you need here, you can always check your modem’s or your PC’s users guide and packaging, where you’ll get a complete list of tech specs. Find The Culprit You also need to know if the problem is your modem or something else that’s keeping you from connecting to the Internet. Plenty of problems can keep your computer from getting online, including your phone line itself. When you pick up your phone, do you hear static, hissing, or crackling? It’s called “line noise,” and it can prevent modems from connecting or keeping a connection active. (We’ll discuss line noise in more depth below.) Bad weather can also give your modem the blues, because rain and excessive humidity can introduce noise into an otherwise normal phone line. Adapters, line splitters, and cable extenders can do the same. Have you tried a different phone jack? If you can keep a connection on one jack but not another, there’s a good chance the problem is the jack itself, or frayed wires inside it. Try removing the phone jack’s wall plate and looking inside; if you see exposed copper or old, decaying plastic, you may have found the root of your connection woes. Even software can prevent you from getting online, or staying online once you’ve established a connection some software, such as Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, can disconnect your call after you send and receive email. In Outlook, click Tools, Options, Mail Setup, and uncheck the box marked Hang Up When Finished With A Manual Send/Receive. You should also consult your firewall’s users guide for issues that mask themselves as modem problems.
Problem: I can’t get the modem to connect.
Solution: Let’s start with the basics. Does your modem have the most up-to-date software, including drivers and firmware? Drivers are programs that let your modem communicate with your system. Firmware is software that resides on the modem itself and governs how the device acts. Both can be flashed that is, updated with a download from the manufacturer’s Web site. So before you do anything else, find a computer with an active Internet connection, get online, download an update if one exists, and copy it to a floppy diskette or burn it to a CD. The Web site should tell you how to install it. If your modem starts a call and only gets halfway through the handshake the loud, high-pitched noise that indicates your modem is connecting to a computer on the other end of the line—open the Device Manager and click the plus sign next to the word Modems, then right-click the modem you’re using and choose Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Change Default Preferences button. Set the number in the Cancel The Call If Not Connected Within box to 180 or even 240 seconds (the default setting is 60). Click OK twice to return to the Device Manager, then close the Device Manager and try to connect again. Still no luck? Sometimes it helps to add special commands to your modem’s initialization string (a special set of numbers and letters that tell the modem how to connect to a computer on the other end of the call). The commands you’ll add are text strings themselves, such as S95=1+MS=11 or &KO. To find them, check the Web site of your modem’s manufacturer or search the large database at www .ModemHelp.org for your modem’s make and model.
When you’ve found the string you’d like to try, first open the Device Manager, right-click your modem, choose Properties, and click the Advanced tab. Enter your commands in the box named Extra Initialization Commands and try to connect again. If that fails, line noise or faulty hardware in the modem could be to blame. There’s no fix for faulty hardware; only a replacement modem will do. If you checked for line noise before getting started, keep in mind that modems can detect far more noise than the human ear. Call your phone company and tell them you think you have a noise problem that’s preventing your modem from connecting; they can test the line from their office or send a specialist to your house to tweak line settings such as gain control that is, how much their equipment boosts your phone line’s signal, adding noise in the process.
Problem: The modem connects, then drops the call.
Solution 1: If you can get a connection but can’t keep it, try everything in the step above, as it applies to this problem, too. Remember that certain software (email programs are constant offenders) can disconnect your call after performing key functions. If your call disconnects after 10, 20, or 30 minutes, call your ISP (Internet service provider) and ask if they use a heartbeat message for incoming modem calls. A heartbeat is a small signal sent from the ISP’s server to your computer, to see if your machine is still active. If not, the ISP will disconnect you, to keep its lines open and save money. You can also download freeware or shareware that sends regular data packets to your ISP to defeat heartbeat systems. One well-known program for this is Stay Live 2000 (www.gregory braun.com/StayLive.html).
Solution 2: Do you have call waiting? If so, incoming calls may force your modem to drop a connection. Your phone company can tell you how to disable call waiting prior to placing a modem call; often, it’s as simple as pressing #43# on your phone.
Solution 3: If that fails to work, you should turn off your modem’s data compression feature. Open the Device Manager, right-click your modem, choose Properties, then click the Advanced Tab and the Change Default Preferences button. In the Data Connection Preferences section, set the Data Compression menu to Disabled, then click OK twice to return to the Control Panel. Close it, reboot your system, and try your connection again.
Solution 4: If the problem continues, try connecting at a lower speed. The higher your connection speed, the less stable your call. To change your connection speed, open the Device Manager, right-click your modem, choose Properties, then click the Advanced Tab and the Change Default Preferences button. In the Data Connection Preferences section, set the Port Speed to a lower number and try to reconnect. Repeat the process if the problem persists, choosing a lower number each time. You can also click the Advanced Port Settings button on the Advanced tab and set both the Receive and Transmit buffers to their lowest options. If that fails to work, uncheck the Use FIFO Buffers option and try to reconnect. If your modem continues to drop calls, call your ISP’s help desk or the support line at your modem’s manufacturer.
Problem: The modem’s download speed is extremely slow.
Solution: Does your connection slow to a crawl? Are you a year older when a page loads? If so, remember that analog modems aren’t the fastest connections around. DSL and cable boast speeds up to 50 times faster, and sometimes more. What’s more, even a 56K modem won’t connect at 56K. Speeds in the 30 to 50Kbps (kilobits per second) range are far more common, given problems with phone lines, line noise, and modems themselves. In fact, when computer and modem makers say “56K,” what they mean is “56K under ideal conditions that don’t exist outside our labs.” Problems that keep your connection from achieving its fastest speed include your distance from the phone company’s switching station and whether your neighborhood or apartment building has a concentrator (a device that converts analog phone lines into digital signals). Last, your DNS (Domain Name System) and DUN (dial-up networking) settings can add molasses to your modem. Rather than tweak them yourself, it’s best to call your ISP’s help desk, explain the problem, and ask them for guidance, as the settings they recommend may depend on the configuration of their internal systems.
Problem: My modem’s “handshake” process goes on and on and on but never connects.
Solution: The handshake the loud, high-pitched noise that indicates your modem is connecting to another computer is a key step in the connection process. It helps your modem identify connection settings and error correction rates (error correction lets your modem deal with a change in the quality of the phone line’s signal without disconnecting the call). There are two types of error correction: hardware and software, of which hardware is far and away the best. Check your modem’s users guide to see which type of error correction you have. If it’s software, consider buying a different modem, as software-based error correction can slow down data rates drastically. If your modem’s error correction feature is hardware-based, update your firmware using the directions outlined above. Old firmware is a common cause of long handshakes.
Problem: When I try to connect, I’m told there’s no dial tone.
Solution: Have you checked the phone line itself? If your phones get a dial tone but your modem doesn’t, check your modem’s connection to the wall jack. Make sure it’s tight. If you have an external modem, check your modem’s power cable and power supply. If they all check out, you may have too much line noise in your connection, or your modem itself may need to be replaced.
Problem: When I try to connect, I see a message that says “A dial-up connection could not be established” or “The protocol is not configured.”
You may have a problem with your network protocols. A protocol is simply a convention used to govern the connection between devices. Common protocol names are TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), IPX/SPX (Internet work Packet Exchange/ Sequenced Packet Exchange), and Client for Microsoft Networks. Different ISPs use a different blend of protocols to let your modem connect to their machines; if you receive an error message that mentions protocols, call your ISP’s help desk to see which protocols they use, then turn off extra protocols that can interfere with a connection. (Often, your ISP won’t need the IPX/SPX protocol, which Windows turns on by default.) To turn off a protocol, click Start, Control Panel. Double-click the Network Connections icon and right click your modem’s dial-up connection. Choose Properties from the context menu. In the section named Use These Components With this Connection, click the Networking tab and uncheck the box next to any protocol you don’t want. If you need to add a protocol, click the Add button and select your protocol type from the list. Then follow the prompts to add it to your system. If all else fails, call your ISP’s help desk again and report the problem in detail. Often they’re a better source of advice than your modem’s manufacturer because they deal with modem problems day in, day out, all year long. With some luck you’ll get your problem fixed and be surfing in no time.
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