you're talking about FIFOs, good idea but not relevant in this case, unless for some bizarre reason Rob's changed them from the defaults, and it would only matter if he was using the physical serial ports COM1 and COM2 not the software ones internal modems use (usually 3, 4 or 5)

just a sec..

it worked fine on 98se, but you get about half the speed on XP, is that right?

Edited by - Tawakalna on 2/21/2004 1:35:44 PM

yep, I lose almost half the speed from Win98 ---> WinXP.

All downloads are done now. The modem sits on COM3 by the way. I think I'm only left with initiation strings. UUGHHH!!!!

That double handshake might be a key indicator of the problem. Funny thing is I have about 4 different ISP's I can actually log into (working on setting up other comps and remembering passwords does have it advantages sometimes). All of them .... 28.8 connection like clockwork.

You know, I wonder if going off-line on my DSL might make a difference while I'm trying the same phone line with this modem. In theory it should make no difference whatsoever since they use different frequencies...but who the hell knows.

I appreciate all the feedback thus far, it's been keeping my troubleshooting skills sharp.

Indy - The UART chip is the chip required for external modem use through the COM ports. I do not recall it being necessary for internal modems.

Stinger - You have an internal modem!?!? I feel sorry for you! Damn cheap things, steal time away from the CPU because it can't process much on its own, resource-hungry... sorry. I had one once, but I switched to external years ago.

As I said before, I'd get the phone line checked. Until that has been eliminated as a cause, we're assuming too much.

@Esquilax, yea, internal modem.

I concur. I did the normal checks a user can do for line noise and it's pretty crisp from what I can tell. It appears as though I'm not the first lost soul to run into this degredation of connection speed when going from Win 98 to Win XP.

Just bugs me, you know? I think I might just suggest this family member move to Broadband and call it a day. Problem will solve itself then. I do not miss the days of messing with modems for my lifeline to the internet...not at all.

I've got nothing left to test other than playing with the initiation strings and anyone who has ever messed with them will tell you it's like trying to run in quicksand. I doubt I will do that, losing motivation at this point.

Rob, try here

i dug into this site a bit and i found loads of stuff out i didn't even know could affect connectivity!

Been there done all that Taw. At least we seem to be able to find the same site on the internet when we research.

Stinger, there is one other possiblity, the main line between your house and teh phone comp relay may have had a repaire that rerouted the signal through a patch to get it up again. It happened here in fayetteville when a large pole was taken out by a speeding car. It took a week to get it back right. I am 1.5 miles from a phone relay center, and get 52K connections all the time now. Internal Modem.

Finalday

Until that final day. /Keith Green\ (1953-1983)

oh sod it I give up. This is for a family member right? tell em its a virus and theyve trashed their machine and you want $200 to put it all right

cmon we've been through the lot..

modem itself
firmware
drivers
motherboard
phone line
phone company

etc etc

did you say you'd tried an external, or not? that's the only thing left that I'd try myself before calling it a day.

tried everything but using an external (don't have any handy) and contacting the phone company. That wouldn't make snese at this point because I'm working on this at my home, not theirs. Bottom line is the deal is done and I'm giving the comp back tomorrow with a mdeom that can't connect faster than 28.8. I've pretty much accepted that sometimes upgrading from Win 98 to Win XP will reduce your connection pseed. Live and learn.

Too bad, old son. Still, the modem can be quite useful; when it works! As least, mine is still adequate for my needs.

sorry Rob, we failed we're all cr*p.

*Hands Taw a whip* Let us flagellate ourselves! We are not worthy to be help people with IT queries! We aren't worthy!

i hate failing

It happens, old son. We can't know everything after all. Besides, comfort yourself with this knowledge; if you had been able to physcially interact with Stinger's computer, you probably could have solved the problem. This was an online enquiry, and most are impossible to solve without an on-site visit.

Buck up, old chum!