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| Setting up a modem can be easy -- or as painful as
extracting your own teeth. Our guide increases the
odds of a smooth installation.
 Windows 3.1x installations
Windows 95 installations
Troubleshooting
Windows 3.1x has no specific setup routine for modems. Instead, it
relies on each of the communications programs you use to correctly
handle the modem. As you might guess, this is not an entirely
satisfactory situation, although it's not as bad as it sounds. Here are
some hints:
- Modems come factory configured to work out of the box and,
most of the time, that's just what they do.
- If you have an internal modem, you may need to set some DIP
switches to ensure the modem doesn't have conflicts with other
devices in your system. The switch settings should be detailed
in your modem manual.
- Many modems come with their own communications program,
tested or customised to ensure that it works properly with the
modem. If you're using Windows 3.1x, you'll find it's best to
stick to the communications package supplied with your
modem, or to communications packages which specifically
recognise your modem.
- If the communications program you want to use doesn't 'know'
your modem, you can usually get by with selecting 'Hayes
compatible' from the list of options. The US company, Hayes,
used to dominate the modem world, and developed a set of
commands (called AT commands) that still form the basic
language of modems. Chances are your modem will function
adequately if you identify it as Hayes compatible. You may
even be able to choose a similar speed -- for example, if you
have a 14.4Kbps modem, you may be able to select 14.4
Hayes compatible.
- One word of warning: if you want to use an external
high-speed modem (anything over 19,600bps) then you need
to ensure the serial card in your computer has a 16550A
UART chip. Specifically, an NS16550A chip from National
Semiconductor. The acronym stands for universal
asynchronous receiver transmitter (I'm sure knowing this will
enrich your life) and this little chip controls the speed your
computer can pass information to and from the modem. You
can get non-NS16550A chips, but they're not always
compatible with all serial devices.
- Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11 both have some troubles
handling communications at these higher speeds. You'll need a
piece of software called a communications driver to update
your system and gain the benefit of the high speeds. For
Windows 3.1, you'll need a program such as cybercom.drv
(available to download from ftp://ftp.tiac.net/windows -- look
for cybercom.zip). For Windows 3.11, you may find you need
an updated version of the serial.386 file (from
ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/Softlib/MSLFILES -- look for
wg1001.exe).
- Frankly, Windows 95 runs rings around Windows 3.1x when
it comes to communications and the best advice I can give to
anyone serious about spending time online is to take the plunge
and upgrade. It'll make installation and connections easier,
provide full in-built support for high-speed modems, and allow
you to perform other tasks while waiting on those eternal
downloads from the Web.
Windows 95 knows about modems. If you have a modem connected
when you first install Windows 95, it will be recognised and a driver
will be installed to control your modem.
If Windows 95 doesn't recognise the specific type of modem, it will
offer to install it as a 'standard modem'. Instead of simply accepting
this, choose the 'standard' setting that best fits the speed of your
modem. If you have a 28.8Kbps modem, for instance, choose
'standard 28.8 modem' from the list.
If you've bought a modem since installing Windows 95, you can use
the Add New Hardware wizard in the Control Panel to set it up.
To install your modem:
- Open the Start Menu, choose Settings, Control Panel and then
Add New Hardware.
 In the Add New Hardware wizard, don't
let Windows search for your new
hardware. Instead, deselect this option,
click Next, and then choose Modem from
the list of hardware provided and click
Next. This will jump you into the Install New Modem wizard.
(If you already have a modem installed but want to add a new
one, you can go directly to the Install New Modem wizard by
double-clicking the Modems icon in the Control Panel and
choosing Add, instead of using the Add New Hardware
routine.)  If you like, you can let Windows detect
your modem and work out what type it is
by simply clicking Next. This is worth
doing -- if Windows 95 doesn't recognise
your modem, you'll get a chance later to
specify it yourself. However, letting Windows do the initial
work will at least give you a chance to see that it's found your
modem connected to the PC.  If Windows 95 correctly identifies your
modem, you're ready to go. If it didn't,
click the Change button and either select
one of the standard modem types or, if
your modem manufacturer has supplied a
disk with a modem driver on it, you can click the Have Disk
button and insert the disk in your floppy drive and select the
driver from there. - If you haven't previously set up a communications service, you
may need to specify your location in the Location Information
dialogue box. Choose Australia from the list, and insert your
area code without the preceding zero.
- In the Modem Properties dialogue box, click the Properties
button and change the Maximum speed to the highest possible
setting. Don't worry if this setting is greater than your modem's
rated speed, you'll get better performance with a higher setting.
The only time you should reduce this setting is if a
communications program reports you're getting 'bad packets',
or you seem to have consistent file transfer problems. You can
leave all the other settings in this dialogue box as you find them,
and click OK and Close to finish the process.
Troubleshooting communications problems is a pain. There are so
many things that can be wrong -- your modem setup, your serial
communications card, the communications program settings, the
phone line, or the modem or service at the other end you're trying to
connect to.
Here are some simple steps you can take to try to get the bits flowing:
- Check all the cables, including the serial cable connecting your
modem and computer, phone cord and power lead.
- Check the power to the modem is switched on and the modem
itself is switched on.
- If you're getting 'no dial tone' messages, connect a phone to
the line and check that you can hear a dial tone.
- Double-click the Modems icon in the Control Panel (if you're
using Windows 95) and check that the modem and dialling
properties look okay.
- Try connecting to a phone number you know works. If you
have a second phone line, use HyperTerminal (you'll find it in
your Accessories folder -- if you're using Windows 3.1x, use
Terminal instead) to try to dial yourself just to check you're
making a connection.
- You can also use Terminal or HyperTerminal to check your
modem is responding. In HyperTerminal, for instance, create a
new connection and then, instead of dialling the connection,
click the Cancel button to return to the blank screen. Type
ATI and hit Enter. Your modem should respond with its name
or identification code if it's connected properly.
- Pay attention to the lights and sounds. If you have an internal
modem, this won't be much help. If you have an external
modem with a speaker and leds (the flashing lights on the
front), listen for the connection sounds and watch those leds.
They'll tell you if your modem is getting a dial tone, whether it's
'handshaking' (trying to connect) with a remote modem, and
whether data is passing back and forth. This information can
be very useful.
- If you're dialling an online service, give their support number a
ring to check if they have a known problem at their end.
- Once you've checked all this and run any diagnostic
procedures recommended in your modem manual, ring the
manufacturer's support line, or get in contact with your Internet
service provider's support line.
By Rose Vines
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