How fast is my modem, really?



Q I recently installed a new .inf file for my modem to boost its speed from 28.8 kbps to 33.6 kbps. Before doing so, Dial-Up Networking's status box reported a connection speed of 115.2Kbit/sec. Now that the new .inf file is installed, the maximum speed I can get is 33.6 Kbit/sec. Is there something I can tune somewhere to get the faster connections I had before?
- Dominique Lefevre

A Don't worry, you're almost certainly making faster connections now than you were before loading the new .inf file (the driver installation file that tells Windows about your modem's capabilities). Even though Dial-Up Networking previously reported a connection speed of 115.2Kbit/sec, common sense dictates that a 28.8Kbit/sec modem can't really connect at such a high speed. What you saw was a quirk of your old .inf file, which for some reason decided to report the DTE speed -- the rate of the connection between your modem and PC. The actual connection speed was probably 28.8Kbit/sec or slower.
It's worth noting that .inf files aren't drivers and don't themselves upgrade your modem to a faster speed. The situation you're in occurs when you install a 33.6Kbit/sec modem under the original August 1995 version of Windows 95 (Version 4.00.950) or upgrade your 28.8Kbit/sec modem's firmware to support 33.6Kbit/sec transmissions. Windows 95 shipped with few .inf files for 33.6Kbit/sec modems, so Plug and Play misidentifies your unit as a 28.8Kbit/sec model. Installing an updated .inf file corrects this error.
- Lincoln Spector


Category: Win95, Hardware
Issue: Feb 1998
Pages: 176

These Web pages are produced by Australian PC World © 1997 IDG Communications