I bought a new system a week ago, but the modem from my old computer didn’t quite fit in the case, so I kinda hacksawed off a few parts, but then it was just hanging the slot without any support so I used that as an excuse to buy a new 56K modem. So I got an AOpen FM56-ITU/2. It’s an internal ISA modem, and I just plugged into my computer and plugged in the phone line. Then I copied the initialization string from the .inf file to my chatscript and linked the modem device to /dev/modem.
It worked, but I keep getting disconnected. Often, several minutes after connecting to my ISP. Sometimes after a few hours, and once for ten hours. I get decent connection speeds, like 44000-45667, but I’d like stability too. With my old modem, I consistently connected for ten hours straight. I’m running Debian 2.2 (frozen) with Linux 2.2.14, but I specifically chose this modem because I’ve heard many recommendations from Linux users. There aren’t any firmware upgrades on AOpen’s web site. I don’t have any devices plugged into the modem. I don’t have call waiting on this line. I’ve disabled 56KFlex since my ISP uses V.90, and I’ve tried limiting the connection speed to 42000. I’ve also tried using ATSx=x settings to increase the tolerance to line noise.
My ISP’s tech support is pretty much incompetent, and I’ve tried everything I can think of. Anyone have any ideas?
``You’re just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird.’’ – Tori Amos.
My best guess here would be the phone line. As you connect at higher speeds, the quality of the connection is of paramount imporntance. If there is a noisy connection that could often cause the disconnects.
MAke sure your using a short phone cord (3-4 feet)and have the phone company check the line for line noise and line voltage. Also make sure that the computer is plugged directly into the wall.
I have it plugged into the wall, yeah. The cord came with the modem; it’s about an armspan, but I need that length to reach my desk. I’ll try calling my phone company.
``You’re just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird.’’ – Tori Amos.
I was looking for a bios update myself. When I found it, I noticed in the release notes that “intermittent modem disconnects” was one of the issues that had been corrected in the updated version, and immediately thought of this thread. Maybe it’s worth a shot.
The length of the phone cable between the modem and the phone jack isn’t that important. What’s more important is how many other devices tap off your phone line. As an experiment you might try unplugging everthing else and see if it makes a difference.
It is much more likely to be a modem string issue, though. Is error correction turned on? You probably also want to enable “Long Space Disconnect”, which generally lengthens the time a modem will stay online before hanging up if it momentarily loses carrier. You set this with Y1 in the command string.
You might also check whether fallback/fallforward, auto-train, etc. are turned on so that the modem will monitor the line condition and re-negotiate with the other modem, instead of hanging up if the line gets worse. Most modern have a command that reports back the line quality also, you could check this after you’ve connected to see how the modem thinks the line is.
I used to do tech support at a company that made modem-related software. Now I do software development there.
My time there has taught me something that I would not have believed if I hadn’t seen it myself, again and again: consumer-grade modems barely work, and an awful lot of the modems that are sold flat out don’t work at all.
This is especially true of the no-name internal modems that are unfortunately so common today, although getting an external modem or a name-brand modem is no guarantee that it will work better. At my office, we have lots and lots of modems - internal, external, no-name and brand name. The models that have proven themselves reliable are prized around the office, the others gather dust in the corners. (You can have my old Boca 33.6 when you pry it out of my cold, dead hands.)
The modem makers want to be sure that a modem connects to the internet - and that’s all they care about. Disconnects they can blame on the ISP, problems connecting to other services are not a priority. If I sound a little bitter here, it’s because I once painstakingly tracked down a customer’s problem to a bug in the firmware of a particular model of major-label modem, only to be told by the maker that they “didn’t care” (exact words) about my problem.
If it’s possible, I’d suggest borrowing a friend’s external modem for a few days, and seeing if it works any better. Even if the modem you have now is basically OK, it might not get along with your ISP’s modems as well as another brand would. I have different brand-name modems at home and at work - and my ISP connection (to the same ISP!) is much more reliable at work.