What type of modem is in your computer is one of the most important pieces of information you must have. It must be said that if a modem cannot connect, it doesn't mean that the modem is bad. It might just mean that our system couldn't establish a solid connection with it. Of course, sometimes a modem is bad, but you should never automatically make that assumption. Although an LT Winmodem or a Conexant HCF is considered a "lower quality" modem, many of our customers have success with it. Also, several customers might have trouble with a "good" modem but not a bad one. There are two major categories of modems, hardware and software. It's very important to figure out in which category the modem in question belongs.

1. Hardware (DSP) modems – These modems are your basic type of modem. They come in different types (ISA, PCI, USB), but all of them are independent of the OS. Most external modems fall into this category. They are also generally the more expensive category of modem. All of the processing that this modem does occurs on the modem.
   • Modems of this type include USRs (non-win), Diamond SupraExpress, Zoom v.90, and many (many) other brands.
   • A lot of hardware modems perform great. Of course, there are some modems that have trouble connecting, especially older ones (28.8 or 33.6).
2. Software (HSP) modems – These modems are dependent upon your system. A software modem is reliant on the CPU for most of their tasks and are generally less reliable than hardware modems. Not surprisingly, they are also cheaper. The MOST important thing to a software modem is its firmware. Some software modems are easily upgradeable (therefore easily fixed) while others are just a lot harder to track down. What matters is the availability of firmware updates. Since most Software modems are OEM (original equipment), firmware is scarce. Some software modem companies don't even support their own products, which makes finding updates very hard.
   • LT Winmodem and Conexant HCF are the two most famous software modems around. Both of these are usually fixed with firmware updates. The LT Winmodem has the added benefit of having what is called "Generic Firmware" (which means one download works for any modem with that chipset). HCF modems upgrades must be found for that specific model name.
   • HSP modems (such as the Motorola SM56 or PCTel HSP) are another type of software modems. These types of modems require even more horsepower than the LTs or HCFs. Finding drivers for these modems is possible, but not always easy. Look to the computer/modem manufacturer for the first clue.

These type modems (HSP) use a lot of your computers memory. Unless you have a lot of excess memory, they will cause problems. 

As you can see, the type of modem is amazingly important. Most of the time, you can deduce the problem (even if its wrong) just from the modem type. Here are some basic problems that you might see regarding modem issues:

• Error messages such as "Unable to Establish Connection" or "You've been disconnected". 
• Ugly sounding handshake noises which ends in an error. 
• Constant/Random disconnects.
• Long login and disconnect times. 
• Bad transfer rate.

These types of problems might or might not be modem related. Certain clues will lead you to the assumption that the phone line or something else is not the problem and that the modem is (NOTE: When we say that the modem is the problem, we don't mean that the modem is bad. We just mean that the problem will lie with configuring the modem in some way or another). The first clue will be which type of the two categories the modem falls in. If it falls in the software category, it is highly possible that the modem is either the whole problem or part of the problem. If it falls the hardware category, you will need to rule out phone line or other issues.

If you have a good feeling that the problem with connecting is because of the modem, we need to start thinking about how you are going to fix it. First of all, we need to get actually connected. This usually involves manipulating the modem settings. The first step is to find out what type of modem the computer is actually using. To find this out for sure, go to the "Control Panel", then to "Modems". (Win XP - "Control Panel" then to "Phone and Modem Options")

Click on the "Connection" tab. The default settings for Data Bits, Parity, and Stop Bits should be fine. Click on the "Port Settings" button.

The default settings are shown below. It might help the connection if these "FIFO" buffers are lowered. Try to lower them by one setting at the time and see if it helps. If not, set them back to default. Click "OK" to return to the "Connection" tab.

Click on the "Extra Settings" button. This window will allow you to make significant changes that will either help or hinder connection to PVNS.Net. The first thing we want to make sure of is that "Use Error Control" is checked and that underneath that "Compress Data" is also checked. These two are checked by default. Under "Use flow control", set this dependent upon what TYPE of modem you are using (HCF and HSP should be set as software, USR win and LT win should be hardware). The "Modulation type" should be set to "Standard" and (by default) the "Extra Settings" box should be blank. This is where you would enter in an Initialization (init) String if necessary. Please see the next section for detailed information on Initialization Strings.
For Windows XP find Phone and Modem Options - Click Modems - Advanced

What is an Initialization String?

Before your modem software dials a phone number, it initializes (inits) the modem by sending it a series (string) of commands, typically Hayes commands. These commands configure the modem's options for things like error correction, data compression, flow control, and many other parameters. The modem manual should list the Hayes commands the modem recognizes, and what effect each command has.

The important thing about modem init strings is that having the right one often makes the difference between connecting and not. Init strings are fairly specific to each modem. The string that made your friend's modem fly may not work at all for your modem.

Where do you put an Initialization String?

For Windows 95/98/2000/ME/XP, the Initialization String goes into the "Extra Settings" box under the "Modem Properties". 

When do you use an Initialization String?

The best time to use an initialization string is when a connection cannot be established. This can be because your computer's modem is just unable to communicate well with our modems. It must be said that using an initialization string for a problem such as this is a good way to get your computer online, but is only a "Band Aid" for the problem. The problem will most likely be alleviated by downloading the most current drivers/firmware available for the particular modem you are dealing with. Until we can get it that far, we need to use a specific "protocol" to connect. The protocols that modems use are considered connection "standards". At this time, there are three standards that our server supports. These are V.90, K56 Flex, and V.34 (V.92 modems will work with our servers, but we may not support the changes at all locations).

• V.90 is the newest 56K protocol setup. Prior to V.90, there was not specific "standard" for 56K. V.90 was created so that ISP's could use any type of equipment for users to connect.
• K56 Flex is an older 56K protocol. It still works at the same rate as V.90, but was replaced when the newer protocol was created.
• V.34 is the protocol for 33.6K connections. It is a solid protocol, tested over time, and is a good protocol to set if you can't connect at all.

What Initialization String should I use?

Init strings are almost always dependent upon which "chipset" is in your modem. The strings that will have the best results are the ones that specifically disable protocols for the modem. If a modem cannot connect, it is because the your modem cannot talk with ours. In this case, we want to revert back to an older protocol (such as K56 Flex or v.34) in hopes that they will be able to understand each other better.

Of the Big Four software modems.... the following is a process for getting them online:

1. HSP
   Disable v.90 or Kflex or both. Get online to (hopefully) upgrade the modem. THERE IS NO GENERIC FIRMWARE UPDATE for the HSPs. However, there is firmware available for the E-machine modems. If no update can be found, keep the string in there. You should be ok connecting at 28.8K.
2. HCF
   Disable v.90 or Kflex or both. Check this page: http://808hi.com/56k/hcf7.htm. There are NO GENERIC FIRMWARE for HCF modems either. As with before, if you can get on with v.34, then leave it that way.
3. LT
   Disable v.90 or Kflex or both. Check this page: http://808hi.com/56k/ltwin7.htm. There ARE GENERIC DRIVERS. Have them upgrade to that to better fix the problem. Otherwise, v.34 is best you are going to get. To check what version firmware you have if you have an LT Winmodem, do this: Control Panel to Modem to Diagnostics to com# to More Info to ATi5. The first number there is the firmware version.
4. USR WIN
   Disable x2 or v.90 or both. Check this page: http://consumer.3com.com/winmodem/. Its a bit trickier to update a USR, so we can't help you. Just go to this page and call either the modem manufacturer or computer manufacturer.
   
5. CAUTION - Before you start - Write down any strings already there exactly so they may be restored if necessary.