i need more speed. i'm connecting at 24k (with a 56k v90 running win 98 and compuserve) on a line that all other modems are clocking 49k.

hints? suggestions? settings? calibre i should use to shoot the modem with?

Well, I can't be of much help other than to tell you to get DSL, cable or some other high speed connection. I've got DSL and I download about a meg every 15-20sec. Other people get better or worse depending on the service they ordered and their location, plus Im on a relic 233mhz pentium II.

I do however suggest you probably keep the modem and not shoot it. In 10yrs or so you might be able to sell it to a museum.

What Kind of Modem is it?

Manuf. Model. ??

bob, i wish i could tell you who made it. it came pre-configured on my box at work (i'm home now). all i know is it's a 56k internal pci card.

i can't force a "connect only at" speed setting.

the box is a 1gig p3, plenty of ram, 32mb agp graphics, etc. i can't imagine they crammed a $10 winmodem in it...but it runs like it's half dead.

pony...no dsl in my area (can you say "boonies"?!)

Try these.....

[url]http://www.modemhelp.org[/url]
[url]http://www.56k.com[/url]

You will need to find out the manuf. there are instructions to do this on these sites, next try INIT strings for the manuf you have...

If you get stuck with a not responding error, try another if it doesn't get you unstuck use ATZ and reboot.....

thanks bob. i'll give it a go. i'm no hayes command warrior, but the init strings have helped me in the past.

i've never run into a stubborn cuss like this one, before...just seems that no settings can be forced and no config tabs will get me to a point to alter anything that affects the performance!

i was so boned, i went downstairs a set up an old office computer (a 166hz pentium clunker in the spare room) with a spare 56k modem. 15 minutes later i'm sailing along at 49k+!!! wth! lol!

The one qiving you all the problems is probably a Winmodem of some sort..... these work as long as you have at least 80% of your system resources free...  but they won't work with my box, because i usually only reboot about once every 2 months unless I install hardware or software that requires a reboot...

i'm running fairly "clean"...but something just occured to me. i'm running norton antivirus. hmmmm? i wonder if that is screwing with things?

my workstation is a fairly beefy box. i do daily cold boots (it is windoz, afterall!), keep it defragged and do the occassional msconfig to keep things simple.

this 4 bone$ e-machine, here at home, is a true bottom feeder...and worse, out here in the sticks, they run the phonelines on fenceposts (no shit). i'm showing a 48k connect speed. but, if i bog this thing down with macafee antivirus...it runs like the silicon is cement.

Gotta be a Winmodem.  I had the same problem with a 56k v90 awhile back.  You need to find out exactly which modem you have.  Might have to open the box to find out.  Once you know what it is, call CompuServe tech support and have them look up the string.  They have a book with a list of strings that work best with CompuServe for all the modems.  Once you get the right string, you'll be flying, and this is a lot easier than trial and error.  Good luck!

My connection is also ridiculously slow.  I am going to look through some of this stuff and see if I can figure anything out.  

ok.. here is a good way to find out...

right click my computer, hit properties, choose the device manager tab, click the plus next to modem and it will list what you have....

i had to turnoff my virus protect to get on at a decent speed.you might try that.mmk

thanks ar-15gal...after "improving?" to 21k this morning, i am calling cserve for advice.

but first, i'm gonna reconfig norton and shut it down. man, i hate running naked!

bob, i'm showing an "ambient HaM" modem. there is a HaM modem config iconin the control panel...but no option offered in that area has changed performace.

time to lose norton anti-virus and recheck.

thanks. again.

Just be sure to keep something available to check any downloads or diskettes you get.

I'm convinced my Norton has caused lots of trouble but still worth the peace of mind against "Computer Clap"

Still, when my free updates expired, I didn't pay for more - so now have no new signatures since _________( a long time ago)

DUN Error 645: "Internal Authentication Error", they may have a problem with X2 or bad V.90. Disable 56K, connect at V34 speeds and update the modem.
If the member is getting DUN Error 650: "The Remote Access Server is Not Responding", it's a problem may be with KFlex or bad V.90. Disable 56K, connect at V34 speeds, and update the modem.
Everything you wanted to know about INITialization Strings,
but were afraid to ask!
What is a INITialization String?

Quite simply, a INITialization String is a set of modem AT commands combined into one string.

You could send the following three commands to the modem one at a time:

AT &F

AT &C1

AT &D2

Or you could combine the three commands together to form a "string" as follows:

AT &F &C1 &D2 {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}

The above string is considered a INITialization String.


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What is the default INITialization String for my modem?

The default INITialization String that will work for all modems is as follows:

AT &F &C1 &D2 {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}

There is one additional command that you may want to include in the INITialization String to instruct the modem to respond with the true carrier rate when establishing a connection. This command may vary from one model to another. Models based on one of Rockwell's chipsets may use either of the following commands:

S95=3

W2

You should add one of the above commands to the end of the default INITialization String. Your new string would be one of the following:

AT &F &C1 &D2 S95=3 {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}

AT &F &C1 &D2 W2 {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}

What is special about the INITialization String?

You can use the same generic INITialization String for all models. The string will enable error correction and compression on all models that support hardware error correction and compression. Since the &F command will set all commands to the most commonly used by software and will enable all error correction and compression on models that support it. You will not need to add or even know what your modems AT commands to turn on error correction and compression are.


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Why are the &C1 and &D2 commands included in the INITialization String?

There are just two commands that most software require that may not be the factory default values. The two commands are &C1 and &D2. These two commands are very important for the correct operation of the modem when using most software.

The &C1 command is required if the software uses the Carrier Detect pin to determine if a carrier is present and thus connected or online. If the modem setting was &C0, the software would assume that the modem was online and connected before you even dialed.

The &D2 command is required if the software lowers the DTR signal to instruct the modem to hang up (most software does this when you use the software's hang-up command). This is new communications software's most popular method of instructing the modem to hang up.

There is one other method that the communication software may use to hang up the modem. With this method the software must send the escape sequence (+++) to the modem and wait for the modem to respond with OK. After the modem responds OK, the software can send the command that instructs the modem to hang up, the ATH command.

Some "Smart" communications software will do both. It will first attempt to force the modem to hang up by lowering the Data Terminal Ready signal. If the carrier is still detected after a few seconds the software will issue the escape sequence (+++) to the modem and then the ATH command.

Will the default INITialization string work with games like DOOM?

Yes, the majority of the time, for most users, the Default INITialization string! will work with most all online game programs.

If the modem you are trying to connect to requires that you send a special command to your modem before attempting the call, the INITialization string will not work! There is NOT one INITialization string that will work for all modems and all users all the time.

Following are a few examples of why you would need to change the INIT strings:

The modem you are calling is not using error-correction.
You may need to disable error-correction on your modem. This command may vary between different chipsets used. The command to disable error-correction for Rockwell based modems that support hardware error-correction is &Q6. Read your AT command manual for more information.
The software you are using requires that error-correction be turned off. You may need to disable error-correction on your modem. This command may vary between different chipsets used. The command to disable error-correction for Rockwell based modems that support hardware error-correction is &Q6. Read your AT command manual for more information.
The modem you are calling is a lower speed modem than your modem. You may need to limit the modems top speed for the attempted connection. The command to perform this function varies widely between different chipsets. Even Rockwell chipset modems have changed their methods. Rockwell currently supports 3 main commands to limit the modems top speed. For newer Rockwell based modems you should use the +MS command. Read your AT command manual for more information.

What is the purpose of an INITialization String?

A INITialization String sets up the modem for operation with your communication software. The INITialization string could vary greatly depending upon the requirements of the software.

One of your communication programs may require that a modem setting be different from another communication program that you use. Most recent communication software wants the high speed modem to be setup to respond in the same manor. Thus you should be able to use the same INITialization String for all your communications software.

In the past, software programs had a variety of different requirements including some that wanted the modem to respond with numeric codes instead of the widely adopted verbal responses. While other software wanted the Carrier Detect pin to stay high at all times.

If the software you are using wanted the Carrier Detect pin to stay high at all times, the default INITialization String would not work correctly with the software. In this case you would need to change the INITialization String by replacing the &C1 command with the &C0 command in the INITialization String. But you could not just randomly add the command without knowing a little about AT commands:

Note: Most all new communication software monitors the Carrier Detect pin to determine when the carrier has been lost.

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What a INITialization String Can do

It can turn error correction on or off. {On models that support hardware error correction/compression}
It can limit the top speed that the modem will attempt. {On high speed 14,400bps and above models)
It can change the way the modem responds. {Numeric or verbal responses, Connect message at DTE or DCE rate, etc...}
It can turn of dial tone detection to allow the modem to dial when the dial tone is not a standard frequency and thus is not detected as a dial tone by the modem.

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What a INITialization String Can't do

It can't enable error correction or compression with a RPI modem without using the WinRPI driver.
It can't get rid of hardware conflict.
It can't change the ability to recognize the telephone phone system signals used in other countries. (i.e. BUSY signal, DIAL TONE signal etc...)

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How do I add AT commands to the default INITialization String?

In most cases, when adding commands to the default INITialization String it is best if the command is added to the end of the string.

Note: Many software programs put a code, that represents the enter key, into the INITialization String. The most common codes are ^M (This is used by AOL) and $0D. If your software uses a code at the end of the string, THIS CODE MUST BE THE LAST CHARACTERS IN THE INITialization STRING. Following are a couple of example INITialization Strings with the code for the enter key.

AT &F &C1 &D2 ^M {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}
AT &F &C1 &D2 $0D {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}

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Example of an incorrectly adding a command to the INITialization String

If you wanted to add the &C0 command to the default INITialization String because the software requires that the Carrier Detect pin stay high at all times, you should not add the &C0 command at the beginning of the default INITialization String. If you did you would end up with the following INITialization String:

AT &C0 &F &C1 &D2 {Spaces added for readability, they may be used but are not necessary to separate the commands}

The above string has a couple of problems. Once you know that the modem will process the AT commands in the string one by one from the left to the right you can easily see that the &C0 command will be overwritten by the &C1 command. The other problem may be harder to detect unless you know the purpose of the &F command. If you want to include the &F command, make sure that it is the first command in the string following the AT.

It is strongly recommended that the &F command is the first command in the string unless you are adding the commands to the extra settings field in the advanced modem properties window for use with Win95/98 dialup networking, in which case you should not include the &F command because it will override all the other commands sent by the Windows driver.

Following is how the modem will react to each command individually:

AT&C0 {Set Carrier Detect Pin to stay high at all times} This is the setting the software requires
AT&F {Restore the preset factory defaults} This could override the &C0 command
AT&C1 {Set the Carrier Detect Pin to follow the Carrier} This will override the &C0 command
AT&D2 {Set modem to disconnect when the Data Terminal Ready signal is off}
You should also also check to see if the command you want to add is already in the current INITialization String. This is not very important if you add the command to the end of the INITialization String because of the way that the command line is processed. If your INITialization String consists of the following, the &C value would be set to &C0 correctly, but you sent a larger INITialization String than was required to perform the task and it will show your lack of knowledge of modem AT commands.

AT&F &C1 &D2 &C0

Example of correctly adding a command to the INITialization String

Previously it was stated that you should put all new commands at the end of the INITialization String. But since we are changing the value of a command that was in the original INITialization String from &C1 to &C0, it makes more sense to leave the command in the original position in the INITialization String.

Using this logic, the correct INITialization String to use for software that wanted the Carrier Detect pin to stay high at all times would be as follows:

AT &F &C0 &D2
Of course the INITialization String could also be:
AT &F &D2 &C0
Example INITialization String to speed up tone dialing

With the knowledge you have gained from reading to this point you can easily modify your INITialization String to change as many default values as you wish. If you now wanted to change the default INITialization String to speed up the tone, (DTMF), dialing. All you would need to do is look up the S register setting in your AT command manual and make the change. After looking in the AT command manual we find that S11 controls the tone dialing speed. We also noticed that the range for S register 11 is 50-255. To set the modem to dial as quickly as possible we add S11=50 to the INITialization String and our new INITialization String is as follows:

AT &F &C1 &D2 S11=50


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Restoring the Factory Defaults

The &F command will restore the factory default settings of all the commands and registers. Once programmed in the factory, the default settings can never change!

The &F command will turn on error correction and compression on all high speed modems that support hardware error correction and compression. This is the command that causes the Default INITialization String to enable error correction and compression on all high speed modems that support hardware error correction and compression.

If you are using a RPI model that uses software error correction, the &F command will set the modem to use speed buffering. Speed Buffering allows the modem to accept information from the computer at the highest speed the modem UART will handle, (57,600 or 115,200 bps in most cases), and use flow control to stop receiving data as soon as the buffer is full.

The &F command will also set many other commands to values that have been determined to be the most commonly needed by software.


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How to determine what the factory default values are

To determine what the &F factory default values are for your model, send the following commands to the modem while in terminal mode:

AT&F {Restore the preset factory defaults}
AT&V {View the Active and stored profiles}
The &V command will instruct your modem to display the Active and stored profiles of the modem. The Active profile contains the modems current settings. The stored profile(s) contain the settings that have been stored into the modems N.V. Ram.

Not all the settings may be displayed by the &V command. The settings that are displayed have been determined by the chipset manufactures programmers. If a setting is not displayed you may be able to query a bit mapped S register and use the value returned to determine the setting by reading the AT command manual for your modem. If you are still unsure of a setting, don't rely on the &F command. Include the command, that you do not know what the Factory Default value is, in the INITialization String.


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Why you should use the &F command in your INITialization String

The main reasons why you should use the &F command in your INITialization String are as follows:

It will reduce the amount of commands required in your INITialization String in most cases.
It gives you a starting point. If you did not know what the settings of every command and register were, you would need to send each command to the modem to ensure the proper setup. Since a INITialization String can not contain more than 40 characters, you would not be able to send all the commands with one INITialization String.
It will automatically turn on error correction and compression on models that support it.

Of all the modem manufacturers, there are only a few chipset manufacturers. So now the question is, how do you tell which chipset you are dealing with? Obviously, you want to check ATI 3 and compare it to the list of responses. But if it doesn't seem to match anything, how do you make a good guess at what commands it will take?
Below, I am compiling a list of modem manufacturers and the chipset they use. I will currently list it by manufacturer in alphabetical order with the info on this page. As work progresses, the links on this page will send you to the Chipset page that that modem has for all the info. As it stands, if you scroll past the chipset manufacturer's, you'll get an alphabetical listing of manufacturers.

Tip: Use your browser's find feature to search this page for the modem model name. (I'm still working on it.)

If you visit one of the links to find out a chipset I don't have, please let me know what you find out at [email protected].

Chipsets
Ambient/Cirrus Logic
Conexant/Rockwell
ESS Technologies
Lucent
Motorola SM56
PCTel
SmartLink Technologies/ST Microelectronics
Texas Instruments/USRobotics

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A very good ISDN Modem Manufacturer's page is at http://www.primenet.com/~towens/ISDN/

Wow!  Satcong....you sure know a lot about modems and INIT strings!  I bow to the master!!  Thanks for all the info.

By the way, I don't have permission to view the page you posted the link for. [^]

At least you can go faster. Where I am, it's the phone line that limits the speed, I think.
Out of 5 or 6 different modems, I've never been able to get better than 28,8, but only after a good rain. Is there a way to just test the speed of the phone line? I was informed that it would be another 10 to 15 yrs before I would be able to get DSL out here.[:(]

I jsut fired up Bell South DSL today........currently running at 864000bps.......................zoom...zoom.....zoom!

All I do is remove Norton and reinstall it. Run liveupdate and presto! Free updates for 90 days.