Bear wrote:
> As a computer tech I hate ISP issues, they are three pronged
> especially dialup. You have the computer which connects to the phone
> company, which then connects to the ISP. The phone company and the
> ISP tend to hate admitting to issues with their equipment, this isn't
> true of all of them and they also like to point at each other and
> your computer.. Finally if it is the phone lines, per FCC regulations
> as my phone company has told me several times as long as you connect
> at like 1200 baud the phone is acceptable to the regs. Of course it
> generally takes a few attempts by the phone company to fix the lines
> before they try and weasel out though
And as an ISP tech, I hate it when any of this stuff goes south and no
one wants to accept troubleshooting steps. Sure, ISP modems can go bad,
but that is rare, and I always do a health-check to see if maybe that
has happened. But to help...
First, identify the type of modem:
If it's a software modem it'll say "WinModem" or "SoftModem"
These use the MS-Windows driver to do all the work, so if MS-Windows
gets a little screwy, it can affect the modem.
Checking for updated drivers isn't a bad idea, but hold off on that.
If it's a hardware modem, all the smarts are in a chip on the modem
itself - extrenal modems are nearly exclusively hardware modems.
MS-Windows problems affecting these modems are virtually unheard of.
You can see about a firmware update from the maker, but like the
WinModems, hold off on that.
Next - disconnect EVERY telephone device that shares the phone line with
the computer *at the wall jacks* and try the connection again. If it
jumps over 33.6, then one of your devices is the problem. (You can try
plugging in item, reconnect each time until you find the culpret.)
If that doesn't help, you can plug the comp directly into the phone
line's test port in the Demark box. (It's a rectangular box with a
hex-nut in the front that opens.) Simply note what wire color goes to
which terminal, disconnect them, then plug the phone cord from the modem
to the test port. If you get over 33.6, then something about the
whole-house wiring is a problem.
Don't forget, "throttling-back" your modem's connect speed (need to look
at user's manual on how to do that) may also give you better overall
throughput: a good 33.6 analogue connection gives better upload speed
(33.6 also) than a good 56k digital connection (26.4 Max).
Its still possible not not get much better, but the FCC regs say you
must get a Fax Quality connection - meaning 14400 bps or 9600, depending
on who you talk to. [So Bear, you might want to tear someone's head off
on your end. 8-) ]
If anyone wants to fire something my way off-list, please feel free.
(And if anyone wants to copy-paste this into the groups file area,
please feel free - just credit my email address.)
--
Shujin Tribble
Man - its amazing the crap I know after all this time.
Embrace Open Source and starve the beast!
Mozilla - www.mozilla.org | Open Office - www.openoffice.org
GIMP - www.gimp.org | Blender Render - www.blender.org
Received on Mon Dec 20 2004 - 12:56:18 CST