modem slows down

[dbarton]

After being online for while, my dialup connection crawls to a halt and I need to hang up and redial. Then it's fine again.

XP, with an external Zoom modem. Lastest everything.

Ya think it's an ISP/modem or XP issue?

Not sure whwre to start...

 

[T3C]

i dont think that it is an ISP issue, most likley a modem issue, and also how long are you onlind befor it drops???Some ISP have it set to a a maximum of 8 hours of online time, then your dropped, but if you reconnet it is fine

 

[dbarton]

I am only online for a few mins or a few hours when it happens. No rhyme or reason to how long it takes to slow down.

I don't get dropped. It just crawls to a point where redialing is needed.

Assuming this is a modem issue, what is the solution? New modem? All the drivers and firmware are updated. Is this one just bad for XP somehow?

 

[T3C]

ya, i would say time to get a new modem, drivers wouldnt cause the problem you are describing. If it were a driver issue, it would not work at all, or at least be consitent in the symptoms

 

[kkdeals]

check for line noise...
if u r not sure mess me i will tell u how to do that
if it's not linenoise then there is a problem with your modem and u want to try updating the drivers or get a new one

 

[dbarton]

It's odd cos the modem is only about one year old, and was not that cheap.

I dont hear any line noise if I pick up a phone on that line.

Any chance this is an odd setting for the serial port since this is an external modem?

 

[stevewm]

Most likely its just the modem re-training. (basically reestablishing the connection) No noise on the line does not always mean everything is perfect. I work for a local dialup ISP so I see this kind of thing all the time. Conditions on some phone exchanges can and do vary alot. This is espcially true in rural areas or small towns that typically have old telephone systems. The ISP I work at is in such a area, and we do have occansional connection quality issues with some users from time to time, it just comes and goes. In such cases there is nothing the ISP or the user can do that will fix it, as its really the telco's fault. Give it a few days and see if the problem clears up.

All modems will re-train to a lower speed when they encounter more errors than error correction can handle. They will never re-train to a higher speed. This is why re-dialing brings you back up to speed. You also need to remember that different modems handle adverse line conditions differently. Some handle them well, why others do not.

 

[dbarton]

Originally posted by: stevewm
Most likely its just the modem re-training. (basically reestablishing the connection) No noise on the line does not always mean everything is perfect. All modems will re-train to a lower speed when they encounter more errors than error correction can handle. They will never re-train to a higher speed. This is why re-dialing brings you back up to speed. You also need to remember that different modems handle adverse line conditions differently. Some handle them well, why others do not.

VERY interesting. So the connection speed I see in the DUN is 48k, and even through this retraining that display will stay the same, right? In Dun, I do see about 300 errors right now listed and I have been on for one hour, but so far speed is ok.

I am using a different call in number today to see if the ISP's modems are an issue.

Failing all that, is there a brand of modem that might be better given I may have no control of telco issues?

(BTW, I'm in OC, CA so not a small town at all, bt we do have telephone poles so maybe slighly older system. Using Pacbell as my ISP.)