Dial-up weirdness

[Comp625]

So I just built a brand new computer for a disabled gentleman. Throughout this guy's house, he has a bunch of older computers (all Windows 98) with crappier, inferior hardware. Oddly, all of those computers are able to connect at lightning dial-up speeds (around 50kbps).

The modem that I included for him in the new computer is the US Robotics 5699B v.92 modem. I have the most up-to-date drivers for it. I'm using the same access number that he is on the other computers. Yet it usually connects at something crappy like 37kbps.

He's disabled so all he does is play online poker with the computer. Unfortunately, the online poker programs require you to connect at 45kbps or higher. He DOES NOT want broadband so that option is out the window (you know how raggy certain old people can get).

He wants me to revert his new computer from Windows XP to Windows 98. I don't think that's a good idea but he thinks that is the cause to why his modem doesn't connect at faster speeds. Help?

 

[JBDan]

lol my folks are still on dialup as well. They get approx 24kbps. Many factors as to why dial up rarely gets the full 56k. Tops are in the 40's. Old lines, different devices connected to the line (answering machine, other phone, splitters, etc..) all contribute to the slowness of the already slowness of dialup. You can go to www.dslreports.com and also to the robotics website & even google for that matter, and get plenty of info on how to maximize the settings for your modem. There are many settings to tweak as I forget them all because its been so long. But it can, and in most instances it does, make a difference in getting better speeds.

 

[Fresh Daemon]

Are these other computers using the same phone jack? Sometimes some jacks in the house can be of lower quality than others, which causes a lower-speed connection. Happens with cable outlets too, sometimes a cable modem won't sync up on certain outlets.

Why not try pulling a modem from one of the older systems that connects at 50kbps and putting it in the new system?

Has he thought about one of those broadband lite packages? You know, twice the speed of dial-up. It probably won't cost more, if anything, than his dial-up ISP is costing him, especially if he already has cable TV or satellite and can get a bundle deal, and it'll be a much better service.

 

[Comp625]

Yeah, it's actually the same exact phonejack that he was using on his old IBM Thinkpad (Win98 based). That's the part which boggles my mind!

 

[GamerExpress]

I do quite alot of housecalls to people that are still on dial-up. The really sad part is that some of the machines are actually new. I don't mind since it's all side work for me, if I need to download something off the internet at a whoping 4-5 kbs, it works out cause I charge by the hour......lol

 

[LED]

It's not XP it's the Modem as I have been on dialup since the get go and through 5 OS's. Some modems work better than others just because of thevariants so I would suggest swapping out the modems. Even the Robotics now come with a software variant which nowadays should not make any difference.

 

[Comp625]

Originally posted by: LED
It's not XP it's the Modem as I have been on dialup since the get go and through 5 OS's. Some modems work better than others just because of thevariants so I would suggest swapping out the modems. Even the Robotics now come with a software variant which nowadays should not make any difference.

That's the part I don't get though. You would think that after all these years, they've at least made dial-up more reliable and consistent in performance.

 

[corkyg]

When I travel, I sometimes have to use dialup in motels, hotels, and other people's houses. My laptop has a built-in V92 modem - and it performs well in that role. Connect speeds vary all over the place - some as low as 26 - others at 51. Most are at about 45.2. The same number and same location can also vary by time of day by as much as 6 kbps.

Dialup has many variables at play - line noise, queueing, connection through a PBX or direct - lots of things. 41 is not bad.

 

[imported_goku]

I don't know if he realizes this, but you can get 1.5Mb DSL for like 14.95, cheaper than AOL so I don't understand why the old dude doesn't just get it anyway.

 

[bendixG15]

The modem that I included for him in the new computer is the US Robotics 5699B v.92 modem. I have the most up-to-date drivers for it. I'm using the same access number that he is on the other computers. Yet it usually connects at something crappy like 37kbps.

I have spent a lot of time playing with that modem.
My opinion is that it is a POS. connects speeds were way off.
I bought it for a friend when the rebates were like $30.00.
Waste of time and money for me. They were just cashing in on the US Robotics name.

Ended up with a $12.00 job from Newegg and it always connects over 50,000.
So Long........

 

[woodchuck69]

Ebay is where you go for the firesale on the usr courier or 3com courier modems.

 

[Zepper]

Yup, given a decent phone line, the cheap generic modems from geeks.com based on Conexant or Intel chipsets almost always connect at 48.2k or up - don't ask me why. Check the init string for the USR modem in the Registry to see if it activates v.90 or v.92 as default. I always have to manually tune the init string for best results. You can do that under Phone/Modems in the Control Panel. The command reference for the USR should be on the driver CD.

.bh.