XP/CS/modem speed help needed

Factual Questions
1

Hi folks,

I was running CompuServe 6.0 on my HP. My connect speed was around 115000. I got the CompuServe 7.0 and loadeded it on the HP. This knocked my speed to about 45000. The helpful folks at CompuServe replied to my query by saying, “Uh, we’re telling people not to load 7.0 because of bugs.” Fair enough. I uninstalled it, reinstalled 6.0, and still have a connect speed about 45000. Okay, who cares, because I have a shiny new Compaq Presario to play with. I load CompuServe 6.0, and my connect speed on the new machine is about 50000. These have all been plugged into the same phone jack. In the case of the HP, no other software changes were made. When I hooked up a different Presario on another phone line in the house, recently, its connect speed was 115000.

The slow speed is a real nuisance for much of what I do on line.

Can someone suggest ways I can try to get my speed back up on the new Compaq? I am not terrifically computer literate, but can follow directions:)

Thanks.

2

The short answer is that Windows was misreporting the connection speed before. It’s not possible to get more than 53000 bp/s over a standard phone line, and it’s often difficult to get anything approaching it. 45000-50000 bp/s are perfectly respectable speeds for dialup.

3

Thanks, Number. Another piece of the puzzle is that 6.0 used to tell me it was connecting at 46000, then (after we had digital cable TV installed), it told me 115000. So this is an artifact of something AT&T did with our lines?