# ARGH! Modem help, please? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 12, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261 "2005-03-12T23:21:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Dark\_Side\_of\_the\_Floyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Side_of_the_Floyd)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2005, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/1 "2005-03-12T23:21:24Z")
I have an internal modem. For some stupid reason, it decided not to work, and has left me internet-less. It was working before. It’s like Windows won’t recognize the modem. Whenever I search for modems on my computer, it doesn’t find any. Knowing that some problems can be fixed by removing and re-installing, I deleted it from the list of modems. Now I do not have the name of the modem in “Phone and Modem options”, and I cannot find it on the list. Windows won’t recognize it anymore. I’m using an internal phone line (dial-up) modem, my operating system is Windows XP, and I’m becoming one frustrated person. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/2 "2005-03-13T03:01:46Z")
Have you tried physically removing the modem, booting Windows and ensuring it’'s not there? Then, shut down, re-install the modem and start up. Cross fingers that Windows does the “found new hardware” routine. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/3 "2005-03-13T03:08:30Z")
Modems are among the more delicate peripherals, and can die at any moment if a surge decides to come up the telephone line. If reseating it won’t get it re-initialized just get other one. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/4 "2005-03-13T10:39:44Z")
- - - In this situation I would first try to physically install the modem into another PCI slot. Unless it’s a CNR modem, in which case don’t bother getting another CNR modem–get a PCI one and put it in a PCI slot. - Some good news: cost is not a big deal here–good Winmodems go for ~$40 retail, as little as $15 for whitebox/OEM ones online. And by “good” I mean a US Robotics-brand internal PCI-slot modem. - If you are stuck on regular dial-up service and wanted to get the _best possible dial-up modem you could_, then get a US Robotics serial-port (hardware) modem, should cost right around $120. Connects by the serial-port, NOT a USB cable. The USR model# on the last one I bought is USR5686E. It will run a bit faster than a Winmodem, and the driverless aspect of it means it works easily in Linux or pretty much any other OS. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/5 "2005-03-13T11:01:01Z")
I second the external modem suggestion. I use one for my Linux machines and I get reliable service out of it. (Well, I get as reliable a service as I can with dialup in my area. But the problems I have aren’t related to anything at my end.) External modems don’t need drivers. They do everything you need on their own, and pretty much every OS can talk to them. If you have a nine-pin serial port on your computer, you’re all set. Plus, they don’t take CPU time because, again, they’re actually capable of working on their own. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/6 "2005-03-13T11:02:23Z")
Sorry about the rapid posting, but are there any internal hardware modems? I’m sure somebody is making at least a few. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/7 "2005-03-13T15:59:06Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Sorry about the rapid posting, but are there any internal hardware modems? I’m sure somebody is making at least a few. [They’re often called “gaming modems” these days](http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/gamingmodem/default.asp) and go for 60-120. In general they offer almost no real world performance gain over 10–20 (after rebate) modern winmodems/softmodems. For maximum ease of use I’d get USB modem so I didn’t have to fiddle with IRQs etc. I’ve tried them and they work just fine. [Here’s one for $ 20](http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=25-100-104&depa=0) (no rebate required) ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/8 "2005-03-13T18:15:34Z")
- - - Re: “Gaming Modems”–I would not buy one of these anymore. I did once, and got had. - A few years back I bought a US Robotics “Gaming” modem for around $80 because I THOUGHT it was a hardware modem, and it turns out it was not–it ended up needing drivers before it could be used. This was on Win98, and Win98 did not have drivers built-in for it. The reason they called it a “gaming” modem was because it had some wierd _software-driven_ “accelleration” feature, that was supposed to improve online gaming but that turned out to be fairly pointless–but it was most-certainly NOT a hardware modem. At the time, I remember there were two internal USR modems for around $80, and one of them I couldn’t find for sale _anywhere_. I don’t mean “out of stock”, I mean **no retailers anywhere carried that USR model number**. The one I bought was the “Gaming Modem”, that was easily available. - There are also now (apparently) serial-port modems _that require software drivers_. I noticed this back when I was shopping for the Gaming Modem. These “fakes” were priced WAY less than what the real hardware-versions did. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/9 "2005-03-13T20:12:19Z")
I use two almost identical computers, and they were networked and had a hardware modem in one of them that was the internet gateway. The modem stopped responding and even though I tried switching installation slots, it went copletely unrecognised, by either windows or linux. Transferred it to the other machine, works a treat under either OS. Although on braodband now, I would certainly opt for the external modem if I was to buy another one. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/10 "2005-03-13T20:42:06Z")
> [@DougC](#): > > - If you are stuck on regular dial-up service and wanted to get the _best possible dial-up modem you could_, then get a US Robotics serial-port (hardware) modem, should cost right around $120. Connects by the serial-port, NOT a USB cable. The USR model# on the last one I bought is USR5686E. It will run a bit faster than a Winmodem, and the driverless aspect of it means it works easily in Linux or pretty much any other OS. > ~ The Courier v.everything probably outperforms that one (don’t have my stats handy), but it also runs about $300, so it’s only for the serious dialup user. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/11 "2005-03-13T21:11:18Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > The Courier v.everything probably outperforms that one (don’t have my stats handy), but it also runs about $300, so it’s only for the serious dialup user. Increasing broadband penetration means there are a lot of high end modems out there looking for a home, and available cheap. [NEW US ROBOTICS COURIER V.EVERYTHING EXTERNAL MODEM $ 34.95](NEW US ROBOTICS COURIER V.EVERYTHING EXTERNAL MODEM) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/argh-modem-help-please/294261/12 "2005-03-13T21:13:32Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Increasing broadband penetration means there are a lot of high end modems out there looking for a home, and available cheap. It would work even better with a working link [NEW US ROBOTICS COURIER V.EVERYTHING EXTERNAL MODEM $ 34.95](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14920&item=6750868876&rd=1)