HELP please - rooted modem?

[Darky]

Last few days I've had a horror run with disconnections, slow connection speeds, failed dial-ups etc...

I use two ISPs, and all of the above happens with both of them... I have created the same settings on my housemate's PC, and everything works fine there.

I'm presuming it's a problem with my PC, but have no idea if it is :
- the modem itself, OR
- another part of the PC which stops the modem from running properly.

An internal modem is cheap and easy to install, obviously if there are further problems elsewhere, that might not be the case.

Some of the error messages I get when dialing-up are :

(it dials, says "connecting" then buzzes and whirrs for about a minute before disconnecting with ne of the following messages)

Error 629 : You have been disconnected from the computer you are dialing.

Error 678 : The computer you are dialing to is not answering.

Error 680 : There is no dial tone. (when a dial tone is present)

Others errors include stuff about remote computers, busy lines, etc.


Can anyone advise whether I should just replace the modem, or if the problem is being caused elsewhere in my PC.

 

[Minkus_Swan]

I used to have to same problem with my old modem. It used to “warm up” by disconnecting 3 or 4 times before staying connected for more than an hour. I always thought it was the computer, but after 2 years of huge phone bills I bought a new one. I could have saved my parents a lot of money!

Think, have you had any storms lately? Or power surges? Chances are it's damaged and not worth repairing.

my advice: buy a new modem

 

[Joel]

...or, borrow one from a friend and test it on your computer.

 

[nonchalance]

Joel's got it.

Borrow a modem. Better, borrow two - one internal, and one external - because it might be the motherboard slot, although that's unlikely.

 

[jim boy]

Agree with everything said so far, but it might also be your phone extension/point, which was a problem I recently had.

Plug in your mate's PC into that point and see if the problem goes.

 

[mellowyellow]

Originally posted by Darky

it dials, says "connecting" then buzzes and whirrs for about a minute before disconnecting )

I had a problem with mine a month ago when we had some electrical storms and the modem played up for about a week after that.
Although i never encounted error messages i had the same problem with the noises slow connection speed and drop-outs.

I was going to dump the old ( thinking it was fried) for the new when i found that the problem wasn't my modem but the Telstra lines in my area had been affected by the storm.

Maybe worth taking into account when you tick off the list of all possibilties.

 

[Darky]

Thanx for the suggestions folks.

I bought ai ninternal modem today and tried it out, and.. well I'm on here aren't I?

Will be monitoring things cautiously over the next few days.

 

[Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk]

threw out a pretty fast external modem the other day

 

[myee8]

I get those errors too sometimes with my internal dial-up modem. The thing is that i just try again a few more times. Sometimes it works after another few dial-up attempts, and sometimes it refuses to work. If the latter happens i just give it till next morning and everything is fine. Not sure how to explain this, except that for me it must be just booting some bugs out of the system.

 

[Katthawk]

Forgive me for the layman's terms.

I too have the problem of a modem that is stuffed. It is an external modem with just a phone line out and a line to the hard drive. Have checked all phone connections, all lines, all cords etc.

I am working on a serial modem ie one that has a 'proper' computer line as well as a phone cord. This doesn't have the drop outs that I get with the basic modem.

Can anyone explain why? I think this is called a serial modem.

What I am asking is, I had to move my comp to here and yet cannot connect my modem to the basic phone line even if all lines work ( have checked everything) The ISP is not a problem but I still get the message - No dial tone.

I do have a friend working on it even if it ain't a big job, would love to hear some explanations to try some things myself. ie sites to check out.

Thanks in advance.

 

[otaku]

if you have constant drop outs, try things like

*disabling call waiting
*turning off answering service
*only use your modem on the line (ie no other faxes/answering machines etc)
*making sure you have correct drivers for modems
*look for the initilization string for your modem

 

[Katthawk]

Originally posted by otaku
if you have constant drop outs, try things like

*disabling call waiting
*turning off answering service
*only use your modem on the line (ie no other faxes/answering machines etc)
*making sure you have correct drivers for modems
*look for the initilization string for your modem

done all except that there is a fax on-line. But would that make a serious difference?

The last is something I have an expert looking at. He found that the modem worked fine elsewhere.

Is a serial modem better in any case?

 

[Katthawk]

I should say, this only happened when I moved to a new place. I got the modem connected (in the sense that it was acknowledged) but thereafter it just never connected.

Somehow a serious malfunction in that the comp found the modem but never the phone line. But the phone line and cords etc all worked.

 

[otaku]

Originally posted by Katthawk
done all except that there is a fax on-line. But would that make a serious difference?

The last is something I have an expert looking at. He found that the modem worked fine elsewhere.

Is a serial modem better in any case?

a fax can cause line noise that will cause your modem to d/c.

I have no idea if a serial modem is better or not.

 

[otaku]

Originally posted by Katthawk
I should say, this only happened when I moved to a new place. I got the modem connected (in the sense that it was acknowledged) but thereafter it just never connected.

Somehow a serious malfunction in that the comp found the modem but never the phone line. But the phone line and cords etc all worked.

have you checked for line noise?

a poor quality line (from telstra) can cause all sorts of problems

 

[Docker_Brat]

Originally posted by otaku
have you checked for line noise?

a poor quality line (from telstra) can cause all sorts of problems

I had that problem for a fair while with constant drop outs. Blamed BigPond (well they are pretty crappy) but it was static noise in the line.

 

[otaku]

yup, crappy line quality is a problem.

Those are the things i would check out. If they dont work : buy a new modem. If taht doesnt work : move house again...you cant live without internet access