Got a new 56k modem, have a problem.

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Xiepher

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Mar 4, 2004
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I just got a USRobotics 56K external modem and had quite a time to get it working, but now I've ran into a problem. The modem will only connect successfully if the port speed of the com port AND modem speed is at and only at 19200, if I try any other speed higher or lower it'll just try to dial out and try to connect, but won't connect at all. Anyone have this problem before and know of any possible way to fix this so I can up the modem speed if possible?
 
I would expect the autonegotiation to detect if a line speed of 19,200 is required so its hard to suspect if you have a bad telephone line.
It is possible however.

If another modem connects at a speed near that, your telephone line is noisy.
I imagine thats not it though as you must have had another modem before that.

Can you try the modem on another PC in your house?
If it works, its a software/configuration issue on your PC.
If its still a problem, try the modem on a friends pc with a known good phone line preferably.

Its possible the BIOS is very old and in need of an upgrade.
BIOS updates for USR modems are tough to track down as you need to know the exact model and version in many cases. Also the BIOS files are hard to find.

If you can test the above first and still have a problem, let me know everything thats written on the modem or stickers. I may need you to run a few commands to the modem as well to get more info. Then I will try and find the latest BIOS for you.
No guarantees though as they were a trauma to get hold of over 3 years ago.
 
They haven't updated my bios(intel board) in over 3 years, unless you know of a possible beta, board's a Intel® Desktop Board D845PESV.

Don't got another PC at home nor I have any friends nearby that I can goto anymore that has a PC. My old modem(supra express 56k USB) connects close to 33.6k, but I switched to the new hardware modem because it was hardware based and was hoping for it to be somewhat better on lag/pings in games.
 
Xiepher said:
They haven't updated my bios(intel board) in over 3 years, unless you know of a possible beta, board's a Intel® Desktop Board D845PESV.
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Chernobyl1 is asking about your modem model, there might be a firmware update for it.
 
Oops, thanks for catching that, I read that part wrong, was thinking he wanted my motherboard bios.

Never flashed a modem before so kinda iffy on that, afraid I'd mess it up, unless they're easily done? Full name of the modem is U.S.Robotics 56k Faxmodem and it's model # is 5686, PN(pin?) # is 5686E, and SN is 2ABLY2AG1751
 
Ok, just flashed modem, updated driver, and then rebooted. It'll still dial out, but won't connect unless I keep the port speed and modem speed at 19200
 
Those 5686's are good modems. Make sure you ratched up your COM ports speeds a bit..in Device Mangler...defaults will be 9600...crank it up to 57 or 115. Can try 230 even.
 
Xiepher said:
Ok, just flashed modem, updated driver, and then rebooted. It'll still dial out, but won't connect unless I keep the port speed and modem speed at 19200
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Bizarre.
If you can find a way to test the modem on another machine you will be able to diagnose whether the problem lies with your modem or PC / Phone line.
 
If you still have a 56K get off of hardocp. You have no place here. This is only for people that are running 1995+ tech
 
DaKozMan said:
If you still have a 56K get off of hardocp. You have no place here. This is only for people that are running 1995+ tech
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hey, quit flaming. this guy is asking for help. and besides, dial-up modems are still used quite a bit in the real world, hence why there is only like 30% of internet users use broadband...or maybe it is a little higher, but definately not 50%.
 
DaKozMan said:
If you still have a 56K get off of hardocp. You have no place here. This is only for people that are running 1995+ tech
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If you're not willing to help, get off of hardocp. You have no place here. This is only for people who are trying to give or receive computer help. You're a waste of bandwidth.

Not everyone has the money for broadband, or even the access to broadband.
 
Has the OP tried to use a different serial cable, and checked the serial connection on the motherboard? I'd take a look since the port speed should easily handle 115200. I have one of those 5686-03 modems as a backup and it still works fine, and I recently flashed it to v.92 firmware.
 
I'd be on broadband if I could, but DSL nor Cable reaches out where I live. I live about 30 miles from any town so unless technology improves, I seriously doubt I'll ever get anything that good so that's why I'm still on 56k. As for the port/baud speeds I have to keep it at 19200 on both settings(port-COM1 and modem baud speed) or it won't connect at all. It'll attempt the connect, but won't unless both are set right at 19200.


I'll go get another serial cable, but this one I'm using is brand new. Made sure both ends are connected tightly and correctly and they are.
 
Xiepher said:
I'll go get another serial cable, but this one I'm using is brand new. Made sure both ends are connected tightly and correctly and they are.
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I'd guess that the cable is ok then. Have you tried setting the port speed higher and forcing speeds via an init string?
 
Xiepher said:
I'd be on broadband if I could, but DSL nor Cable reaches out where I live. I live about 30 miles from any town so unless technology improves, I seriously doubt I'll ever get anything that good so that's why I'm still on 56k. As for the port/baud speeds I have to keep it at 19200 on both settings(port-COM1 and modem baud speed) or it won't connect at all. It'll attempt the connect, but won't unless both are set right at 19200.


I'll go get another serial cable, but this one I'm using is brand new. Made sure both ends are connected tightly and correctly and they are.
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well, hopefully you can get this working a bit faster. a bit off topic, but do you have access to satellite internet? it is faster than crappy dial-up, but as far as i can remember, it costs a pretty penny too.
 
Don't know of any init strings that'll work with this modem, never could find anything through google so no idea if that'll work or not. Will try just setting the com1 port speed up again and try it. I can get sattilite, but find it a waste since most of my time I'm playing online games when I'm on a computer during free time meaning sattilite won't go well with gaming due to the 2ish second lag time constantly.
 
Xiepher said:
Don't know of any init strings that'll work with this modem, never could find anything through google so no idea if that'll work or not. Will try just setting the com1 port speed up again and try it. I can get sattilite, but find it a waste since most of my time I'm playing online games when I'm on a computer during free time meaning sattilite won't go well with gaming due to the 2ish second lag time constantly.
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If you have the money, look into ISDN. It's 64 or 128K depending on if you use 1 or 2 channels, but the latency is <40ms, and it some areas it's not much more than dialup.
 
Tried, they claimed that the phone lines are so old out here that IDSN wouldn't work at all, don't know if they're lying or not. Last time I checked though IDSN out here costed a chunk of money as well and had no ulimited type plan like dial up and broadband has.
 
Xiepher said:
Tried, they claimed that the phone lines are so old out here that IDSN wouldn't work at all, don't know if they're lying or not. Last time I checked though IDSN out here costed a chunk of money as well and had no ulimited type plan like dial up and broadband has.
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That sounds like a lie, as most of the phone network is already 64K channels. Most places you can dialup on the same line for dialup or ISDN, since it's an ISDN line at the other end anyways.
 
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