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Winmodem vs. Hardware Modem

B

Bestill

Senior member
How can you tell if a PCI modem is a windmodem (i.e. uses software) or a hardware modem? Or are all PCI cards winmodems?
 
Not all PCI modems are software based. A good way to tell may be to look you modem up at www.linmodems.org. If it compatible with Linux, it must be a hardware modem.

There may be an easier way to check, but I don't know of one.
 
Not true anymore.. some of the newer lucent chipset based are still winmodems but they've hacked out crude drivers that seem to work in linux.

Easy way to tell. If you payed under 50 bucks for it, it's probably a winmodem 🙂
 
Right, the Lucent chipsets work in Linux (I've done it, and it works just fine; better than Windows, even 🙂. And apparently there is support for some PCTel modems in Linux, but I can't say anything about the quality of the driver, having not used it.
The < $50 rule of thumb is great, but sometimes the modem came with a computer, and it's not possible to tell. Then the best way is to look it up in the device manager, and go onto the manufacturer's web site, and see there.
 
If you're looking at the modem box and it says things like legacy,
works with Win 3.1, works with DOS...then it's a hardware modem.
If you purchased a machine with the modem installed, goto the device
manager, look at the modem properties, look at the COM port.
Then in the device manager look at the I/O ports. If the COM port
you just saw on the modem isn't listed as a COM port in the I/O's
it's a WinModem..........Greg
 
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