
Posted: 3/26/2002 6:01:05 PM EDT
In the last 8 months I've gone through 5 modems. What the hell am i doing wrong?
I got a Compaq Pressario, its going through modems like my old 77 power wagon was going through starter motors.
I'm obviously a dinosaur when it come to this kind of stuff. Any answers for this happening?
Thanks to all who reply.
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what happens to the modems? do they just crap out?
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Forget about the modem. Go to a cable hookup or better yet DSL.
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Are these internal modems or external? Modems are very reliable so this is very rare. If it's an internal modem, have you tried putting it in a different slot?
Let me know more specifics and I can give you some more info.
Thanks.
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First indication is weird sound in place of dial tone [on phone]
Try to get on line and screen pops up saying connection failed.
Now, when i unplug phone line from back of puter and plug directly into phone jack [on wall] phone works fine. Run it through my puter, doesn't work, so I change modems. Then all works fine again.
Luckily, the store keeps swapping them out for me, so at least i'm not dropping 20 bucks each time.
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Originally Posted By rainman:
Now, when i unplug phone line from back of puter and plug directly into phone jack [on wall] phone works fine. View Quote |
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I'm going to approach this from the assumption that it is extremely unlikely that you would get five bad modems in a row. This would only happen if there was some cause such as a conflict in hardware design such as power levels that caused failure or fluctuations (do you have a ups?) etc.
I'm going to suggest that what you may have is a problem with your telephone circuit that is probably in your wall jack or cord from jack to modem.
Your wall jack, if it is of most common designs, is not airtight and every time there is an air temperature and/or pressure change in the wall, (outside wind, doors opening, day/night etc.) is sucking air in and out through the port. Think of it as a strainer for dust and moisture. Your computer has a fan ventilating inside which causes a constant pressure change and if the port of the modem is not relatively airtight, it too will act as a strainer catching dust anytime the computer is on.
Your computer is probably in your bedroom where you sleep, or may be near a bathroom or kitchen. The dust by itself won't cause much trouble, but minor increases in the moisture level that you probably wouldn't notice (from breathing, cooking, showers) are enough to cause corrosion; the dust acts as a bridge for the moisture, contributing to corrosion and run-on sentences, which may be causing the resistance between the metal-to-metal contacts of the jack and cord to increase, (dirty open, which is what I think is happening), or the corrosion may be causing a high resistance short, usually accompanied by static, which can be at low levels and not be obvious (or may be what you are hearing) or both. Also, the baseboard type jack is prone to this problem, especially when it turned upwards so that foreign material falls into it.
So, what to do? Remove the cord from the wall and inspect it. The contacts should be shiny gold and clean. if you see a dark spot in the plastic under the contacts , moisture is a definite problem and the cord is garbage. Any blue-green appearance is a sign of corrosion.
Look also at the modem end although the trouble is less likely to be there. Now its just me, but I'd replace the cord just to eliminate it as a cause of your poblems. I've seen them cause many problems from being stepped on, chairs rolled over them, melted by heaters etc. And they're cheap. Don't waste your money on high falutin gold plated super duper cords, just don't get one longer than you need and don't coil up any extra.
Now look at the jack. Again, only clean, shiny straight. wires that look like they are not bent, and under enough tension to make a good contact when the conector is in place. Sometimes, a wire is weakened and doesn't make a good connection. Or has been bent or out of position. If it doesn't look clean and straight, you may have a problem there. Same with the modem ports.
I think that when you experience a problem, your "test " of plugging the phone into the wall may be causing enough movement that the corrosion is temporarily rubbed enough to allow a good enough connection for the phone to seem to be working fine.
The next time it happens, wiggle the cords, unplug and replug, and see if starts working again. Then we can get into the exotic stuff.
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My politics are the faith, principles and intent of the Founding Fathers of this Great Nation, formerly known as the "melting pot".
I support the people and State of Israel. Teach Peace-Live War. Teach War-Live Peace. |
Exotic stuff! Oh God.
Thanks again to all. I'll inspect all connections.
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Axel
I'm going to approach this from the assumption that it is extremely unlikely that you would get five bad modems in a row. View Quote |
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Originally Posted By EricTheHun
I think maybe you oughtta get yourself an M-16 ~ Col Hal Moore Time comes I need one Sir, there'll be plenty of 'em lying on the ground ~ Sgt Maj Plumley ar15.com ar15armory.com thetreeofliberty.com |
power surge on the phone line is probably frying the electronics
have any thunderstorms around the time they stop working?
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Vote for freedom, not political parties
http://www.ytedk.com/ Kann ich bitte ihre Papiere sehen? Is it me or is it getting hot in here? And how did we get in this hand basket? |
Thats a damn impressive assumption.[smoke]
View Quote |
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My politics are the faith, principles and intent of the Founding Fathers of this Great Nation, formerly known as the "melting pot".
I support the people and State of Israel. Teach Peace-Live War. Teach War-Live Peace. |
Originally Posted By rainman:
I got a Compaq Pressario. View Quote |
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"You can watch things happen, you can make things happen, or you can wonder what the fuck just happened." ~ Phil Harris RIP
"Differing opinions are not trolling." ~ The_Beer_Slayer |
My Compaq Presario runs fine but then I know what the hell I'm doing where most people don't [:)]. Compaq still sells more servers then anyone else by a good margin.
I would assume the telephone line too as in a former life I use to be a telephone tech. Run a telephone line surge suppressor - some are build into the power surge suppressors.
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Celebrating the Second Amendment One Fine Firearm at a Time
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Originally Posted By Paul:
I would assume the telephone line too as in a former life I use to be a telephone tech. Run a telephone line surge suppressor - some are build into the power surge suppressors. View Quote |
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My politics are the faith, principles and intent of the Founding Fathers of this Great Nation, formerly known as the "melting pot".
I support the people and State of Israel. Teach Peace-Live War. Teach War-Live Peace. |
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