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| COM Port |
IRQ |
I/O |
| 1 |
4 |
03F8 |
| 2 |
3 |
02F8 |
| 3 |
4 |
03E8 |
| 4 |
3 |
02E8 |
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- Make sure the telephone line is actually connected into the modem.
- The telephone line may be connected to the wrong jack on the modem. Make
sure it's connected to the Line jack, not the Phone jack.
- Check the modem's volume. It may be set to low or off. Refer to the
communication software on how to change the modem volume.
- Check the phone line on an ordinary telephone to see if the phone system is
working OK.
- Make sure nobody is using the phone line or may be some telephony devices
are off-hook. Double check the telephony devices that they are on-hook.
- Disconnect the telephone off the Phone jack on the modem.
- check if any device is connected to the main phone jack in the household.
For example: A device that change channels for Direct TV.
- Make sure that the modem is connected to an analog telephone line, not into
a digital PBX line. Contact the System Administrator to verify that the PBX line
is safe and have the System Administrator install an analog PBX line if
necessary. CAUTION: A digital
telephone line will cause damage to your analog modem.
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- Verify that the communication software is set to the correct COM port. The
modem and application must be assigned to the same COM port.
- Make sure no other communication softwares are loaded that may conflict
with the present application. Also, check the AUTOEXEC.BAT and
CONFIG.SYS for any line that may load TSR's that can conflict
with the communication software.
- Wrong initialization string used. Try using AT&F to
see if the modem will respond.
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- If the BIOS supports PnP, you may have these two features that allows the
OS to handle the PnP peripherals and setup the IRQ's to be for ISA or PCI/PnP.
Here are a few samples from AMI BIOS:
Please refer to the motherboard manual for exact location of these features. If
you notice, that Plug and Play Aware O/S is set to No. In this case, the BIOS
will control the PnP peripherals, not the OS. Here are the common names for the
BIOS/OS to handle the PnP peripherals:
Plug and Play Aware O/S No
ISA PnP Function Yes
Assign Resource to ISA PnP Card Yes
In this sample, you will see that IRQ 7 is reserved for Non-PnP. Usually, this
is done to prevent any PnP peripheral of using this IRQ, unless you manaully
configure that peripheral into that IRQ. Here is a sample of how the IRQ's may
be setup for ISA or PCI/PnP:
IRQ 3 PCI/PnP
IRQ 4 PCI/PnP
IRQ 5 PCI/PnP
IRQ 7 ISA/EISA
IRQ 9 PCI/PnP
IRQ 10 PCI/PnP
IRQ 11 PCI/PnP
IRQ 14 PCI/PnP
IRQ 15 PCI/PnP
- Boot Windows 95 into Safe Mode. To do so, Press the F5
key when it says "Starting Windows 95..." Then goto Device Manager and
remove all refereneces under Modem. Also, remove all the COM
ports under Ports (COM & LPT). Do not remove COM port 1 if
you have the mouse in COM port 1.
Reboot the computer and Windows 95
should redetect the modem(s) and COM port(s).
- If the above solution does not work, repeat the steps, but this time you
shut the computer off and reseat the modem.
- Try booting the computer with the PnP modem only -- without any other PnP
peripheral like a sound card. Sometimes, PnP peripherals can conflict with each
other when they are using the same IRQ or I/O.
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- If you consistently connect at 26400 or above, consider yourself fortunate
-- it is simply not possible to go faster than that on many phone circuits. This
is not a rip from modem manufacturers. 28800/33600 modems are designed to
squeeze as much speed out of the actual real-world connection as possible, and
28800/33600 is only possible on a crisp and clear phone line. Remember, most
phone companies will only guarantee to transmit data at 2400 bps on your phone
system.
- Make sure that the bps (some programs calls it baud rate, which is
inaccurate) is set at 38400 or higher. This is usually set within your
communcation software, not in the Control Panel.
- Make sure the modem is not using a splitted phone line (a splitter used to
connect more telephony devices). Try to connect the modem to the main line jack.
If the connections improves, then some telephony devices are causing the
distortion, not the modem.
- Turn off the television, stereo, etc.
- Pick up the handset, dial 1 (this will silence the dial tone) and listen
very carefully. If you can hear a lot of hiss or, more likely, an occasional "scratching"
noise, there is definitely a line problem and you should report it to your
telephone company. Unfortunately, a line that sounds "quiet" may still
be faulty.
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While on-line you escape your modem to command mode with "+++",
and then try to get back into data mode with ATO, but the remote system no
longer responds. You have to break the connection to recover. What's probably
happening is that your "+++" escape code is being echoed by the remote
system back to the remote modem, throwing it into command mode as well, a state
from which you cannot recover short of disconnecting.
The solution is to use modem register S2 to change your modem escape
character. An example is to use S2=61 to change the escape character to "=",
which is on the same key as "+", making it easy to remember.
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- Did someone in the household picked up the phone while you are online? Some
modems are very sensitive, which can disconnect your connection. Verify that no
one picked up the phone while you were online.
- Make sure the modem is not using a splitted phone line (a splitter used to
connect more telephony devices). Try to connect the modem to the main line jack.
If the connections improves, then some telephony devices are causing the
distortion, not the modem.
- Try disabling data compression. Add %C0 to the
initialization string.
- Reduce the FIFO Receive Buffer to the lowest and lower
the Maximum Speed to 38400. To make the changes, open Control
Panel, then double-click on Modems. Select the modem, then click on the
Properties button. Under the General tab, you can change the Maximum
Speed to 38400. Click on the Connection tab, then click on the Port
Settings button. Move the Receive Buffer slider to the lowest
(left). Also, check the Use FIFO buffers (requires 16550 compatilbe
UART) box if it's not checked. Click on OK, then click on OK again, and
then click on Close.
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Call Waiting is a phone service option that allows you to be interrupted by
an incoming call while you are using the phone line. If you are using the phone
line for data or fax, the "beep" that signals the incoming call can
cause an abrupt disconnection, which can be a problem. To temporarily disable
Call Waiting for an outgoing call, dial *70 (for dial tone) or 1170 (for pulse
dialing), before the phone number. For example: *70, 563-4800 or 1170, 563-4800.
Check with your local phone company to be sure.
You may actually want Call Waiting to interrupt a data or fax call, so that
you do not miss an important incoming call. However, some modems will not be
disconnected by the "beep," and there may be no possible work-around.
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- V.FC
- A proprietary specification for speeds up to 28800 bps, based on an early
draft of the V.34 standard, that was rushed to market by modem chipset leader
Rockwell International. It works reasonably well, but lacks the sophistication
and robustness of V.34; for example, V.FC does not support split speeds. Many
(but not all) V.FC modems are upgradable to V.34, but the modem typically has to
be returned to the manufacturer for a "datapump" change. V.FC-only
modems will not connect above 14400 bps to V.34 modems that lack V.FC support.
With the advent of V.34, V.FC is rapidly fading as modems are upgraded. In the
opinion of the author there is now little or no reason to get a modem that has
V.FC but not V.34, although until V.FC fades completely there will still be a
significant advantage to a modem that supports both V.34 and V.FC.
- V.34
- A true international standard for speeds up to 28800 bps that is more
sophisticated and robust than V.FC. Some (but not all) V.34 implementations
support split speeds. Extensions to V.34 for additional speeds up to 33600 (on
extraordinarily good connections) have been drafted and are expected to be
approved in 1996, although early products are already starting to appear from
some companies (e.g., Motorola, Diamond/Supra, USRobotics). V.34 is rapidly
replacing V.FC in the marketplace. V.34-only modems will not connect above 14400
bps to V.FC-only modems. In the opinion of the author V.34 is clearly the modem
standard of choice. It may well prove to be the last widely-supported analog
modem standard.
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The user has the phone line connected to the Phone jack of the modem,
instead of to the Line jack of the modem. Reverse the connection.
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Use this initialization string to see if any improvement on the connection.
AT&F&C1&D3\N6S7=60
This will reset the modem after DTR toggle
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Formatted: AT#CC1
Unformatted: AT#CC2
Here's a sample of the Caller ID information in Formatted mode:
RING
DATE = 0828
TIME = 1200
NMBR = 9085634800
NAME = JOHNDOE
RING
Here's a sample of the Caller ID information in Unformatted mode:
RING
0412303332323234303539134353531323343546466F46444F4213
RING
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Distinctive Ring is a service offered by most regional telephone companies.
When you subscribe to Distinctive Ring service from the telephone company, you
will get multiple phone numbers that all ring on one telephone line. The only
difference is the ring pattern.
For example: Your normal ring pattern may have one ringing sound every 3-4
seconds. With Distinctive Ring service, you can get a second telephone number
which will ring with two short ringing sounds instead of the single ringing
sound. Furthermore, you can have a third telephone number with another ringing
pattern. Refer to your telephone company for more information on such service.
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No, currently our voice modems don't have the hardware capability to
distinguish between all three. Our modems will answer any type of call, whether
it is voice, fax, or data. Some communication software that came along with the
modem has features that can be setup to prompt the caller to press a number to
leave a voice message, send a fax, or send data. In addition, Microsoft has a
program called Operator (Included in UNIMODEM/V and Microsoft Phone), which is a
program that routes the calls, but you still have to press a number for
Operator to determine the type of call it is. Most of these programs has the
option to default to a desired call type if the caller do not press any number
in an appropriate time. Please refer to the software manual for more details on
these features.
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Flow Control is a technique that lets your computer rate (computer to modem
or DTE rate) be different than your connection rate (modem to modem or DCE
rate). Flow control is useful with data compression because your throughput is
higher than the connection rate and becasue the throughout changes depending on
the compressibility of the data being sent. Flow Control lets your modem and
computer tell each other when they can accept more data for transmission and
when to wait. This handshaking prevents data from being lost because the
computer or modem was busy.
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Due to changes in the CompuServe network, compression must be turned off to
get a successful connection (%C0). To change your existing
script, Open CompuServe Information Manager (WinCIM). Then choose Special,
Session Settings, Modem and add a %C0 to the initialize
section.
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America Online introduced 28,800bps access to their network since 1995. This
uses a new network called AOLnet. Currently AOL has three different providers
-- that we know of. As a result, connections vary in reliability from one node
to another. Line quality will also vary from one connection node to another. In
some cases, if you are having difficulty connecting to one node, the best
answer is to try another node. Since AOL offers multiple access numbers in most
urban areas you should be able to find a node that works for you. But first,
try the setup listed below.
- At the Welcome window click on the Setup button. This
will open the Network and Modem Setup window.
- Click on the Edit Location button.
- Select AOLnet for the Network.
- Select 57,600 for your Modem Speed.
- Enter your AOL access number in the Phone number field. (Click on Cancel
then click on the Help & Info button in the Network and Modem Setup
window for more information on how to obtain one or more access numbers). If
you need to dial an outside line prefix or disable call waiting, check the
appropriate box. Save your settings by clicking on the Save button.
- Select Setup Modem from the Network and Modem Setup
window.
- Select the "SupraExpress 288 PnP" selection from the list of
modems and click on the Edit Commands button. If prompted, click Yes to copy the
current info to the Custom Profile area. A window similar to that shown below
will open. If your settings are not the same as those shown here, change your
settings to match these.
| Setup Modem String: |
AT&F2S95=1^M |
| Restore Modem String: |
AT&F^M |
| Dial Prefix: |
ATD |
| Dial Suffix: |
^M |
| Disconnect String: |
ATH^M |
| Escape String: |
~~~+++~~~ |
| Reset String: |
ATZ^M |
- If your Custom Modem Profile window does look the same as that shown above,
and you are having difficulty making or maintaining a connection, try changing
the Setup Modem String to match that which is shown below. The string is
AT&F2S95=1\N5^M
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Some systems was shipped out without the Microsoft Create System Disks
program, but has the MSPHONE folder in the C drive. To backup
the Microsoft Phone program into floppy diskettes, just label three diskettes
Disk 1, Disk 2, and Disk 3. Then copy the following files from the MSPHONE
folder to the appropriate destination.
| Disk 1 |
Disk 2 |
Disk 3 |
ACMSETUP.EXE
ACMSETUP.HLP
AUTOFAX.LST
DISK1.IMG
MSSETUP.DLL
README.TXT
SETUP.EXE
SETUP.INF
SETUP.INI
SETUP.LST
SETUP.STF
SETUP.TDF
TSETUP.DLL |
DISK2.IMG |
DISK3.IMG |
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The file is called MACHINE.TAM. It's located in the
Microsoft Phone folder. Best method to delete the file is to do a search for it,
then delete it once it is found. If you delete this file, all your greetings
and mailboxes will be wipe out. Sometimes this is helpful if you want to go
through the Wizard Setup screen again to start off fresh.
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No, the MDM-DFVS2828/W and MDM-DFVS2828/G modems are incompatible with
Microsoft Phone. Microsoft Phone will not recongnize the Sierra Chipset.
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