Not all of us have access to a fast Internet
connection (at home or at work). We may be geographically or financially challenged
(and that's okay). Those of us using 56k or ISDN modems may not be getting as much
bits as we possibly could. It's time to max out the BPS! The easiest way to do this
is by editing the WIN.INI file; under the [Ports] section, you'll see COM entries
1-4. Write those settings down -- in case you need to get them back. Change each
value to: "921600,n,8,1,p" (without the quotes). This'll hopefully pump up
the bandwidth for ya. When you reboot, you should have new (higher) number choices.
Open the Control Panel's Modem applet, press the 'Properties' button, then under the
'Maximum speed' section, bump it up as high as it will go.
How do I add an init string to Windows 95/98 Dial-Up Networking?
How do I disable X2,V.90 or Flex to be able to
connect to 33.6 K modem.
If you have a 56K modem but you're dialing into a V.34 modem bank, your modem will
still try to negotiate a 56K connection, even though it's impossible. You may want
to use one of the commands below to tell the modem to not attempt a 56K connection.
Check before if your modem supports X2 or Flex only, X2 with V.90 compatible or Flex
with V.90 compatible.
Modem Type and Model |
String |
Acer56K External (X2 chips) |
S32=66 |
Compaq Presario 56k DFI |
-V90=0 |
Hayes (Rockwell chips) |
+MS=11,1,300,33600 |
Magic Xpress 56 K external (Flex+V.90) |
S109=0 |
Megahertz (x2 chip) |
S32=66 |
Supra 56K Internal V90 mode |
-V90=0 (To connect with 33.6 modem) |
Supra Express 56K Internal (another rockwell chips) |
-V90=0 |
US-Robotic Sporster (x2 xhip) |
S32=66 |
Viking v.90 + k56 Flex PC-card |
+MS=11,1,300,33600 |
Xircom (another Rockwell chips) |
+MS=V34 |
For X2 USRobotics Chips (X2 Only)
x2 off |
x2 off, V.8 on |
|
Sportster** |
S32=32 |
S32=34 |
Courier |
S58=1 |
S58=1 |
X2 Plus V.90
x2 on, V.90 off |
x2 off, V.90 on |
Both off |
Both on* |
|
Sportster** |
S32=66 |
S32=34 |
S32=98 |
S32=2 |
Courier |
S58=32 |
S58=1 |
S58=33 |
S58=0 |
The other X2 modems use Sportster.
Modem that works with init string are : USRobotics, Megahertz, Most Rockwell chips
V.90 for Loxinfo (Phuket) connections |
N+MS=12,1,34667,56000 |
V.90 preferred (K56flex will still work)* |
+MS=12,1 |
V.90 only, K56flex and V.34 disabled* |
+MS=12,1,34667,56000 |
K56flex preferred (V.90 will still work)* |
+MS=56,1 |
K56flex only, V.90 and V.34 disabled* |
+MS=56,1,34000,56000 |
Disable V.90 and K56flex, use V.34 (28.8/33.6) |
+MS=11,1,300,33600 |
For Rockwell HCF chips:
V.90 preferred (K56flex will still work) |
+MS=V90 |
K56flex preferred (V.90 will still work) |
+MS=K56FLEX |
Disable V.90 and K56flex, use V.34 (28.8/33.6) |
+MS=V34 |
Lucent chipset modems
For Lucent-based K56flex modems that do not also support V.90, add S38=0 to
the end of your modem init string.
For Lucent-based modems that do support V.90, use one of the following strings.
For Apollo (LT Win Modem) and Mars (LT PCI Win Modem) chipsets:
Enable V.90 |
-V90=1 |
| Disable V.90 | -V90=0 |
Enable K56flex |
S38=1 |
Disable K56flex |
S38=0 |
Lucent Chipset
Enable V.90 |
-V90=1 |
Disable V.90 |
-V90=0 |
See current -V90 setting with explanation |
-V90? in a terminal |
Enable K56flex |
S38=1 |
Disable K56flex |
S38=0 |
For Venus chipsets (mostly used in external modems):
K56flex only (V.90 disabled) |
S109=0 |
K56flex or V.90* |
S109=1 |
V.90 only (K56Flex disabled) |
S109=2 |
The new V.92 dial-up modem standard promises to maximize the limited potential of analog connections. Once Internet Service Providers upgrade their hardware to handle the V.92 standard, the new protocol will shave a few seconds off of logon time, allow free Internet call waiting, and speed data conversion for faster downloads and uploads. Actiontec's Lesley Kirchman notes that, while the future definitely belongs to broadband, the V.92 standard could be the last great leap forward in analog modem technology. ISPs America Online, EarthLink, and MSN have yet to adopt the technology because it is so new, but representatives have promised that the companies will soon test and debug V.92. Among the new features are "Quick Connect" technology, which helps a modem to learn connection patterns and hook up more quickly, and the new V.44 compression protocol that makes text and Web pages move faster. (Washington Post, 23 February 2001)