Where to put the Init String
The init string
There are many mysteries to this seemingly unintelligible string of characters, which we put into the Extra Settings. Simply speaking, there are a set of codes, called AT commands, which can be used to tell the modem to behave in a certain way. Many of them are set by default in your modem. Some have different effects in different makes of modem. The Rockwell AT command manual (for hardware modems, RCVxxxACVx chipsets) is 186 pages in Adobe Acrobat format.
Or try this short text summary
The Rockwell SoftK56 AT command manual (for the SoftK56 PCI chipset) is 100 pages in Acrobat.
The Lucent Users Manual is a mere 35 pages.
For USR modems this text file of X2 commands is all I have available at present.
I'll add more manuals later.
To set the defaults, use the command &F . Various tweaks can aid performance though. For example, many K56flex modems with early firmware needed a string to make them connect at 56k (bypassing a minor bug in the code, which was corrected in later versions of the firmware). This is S202=32 . (Almost all K56flex modems use Rockwell chips). S11=55 can speed up dialling enormously. And if the 56k connection is unreliable, insert +MS=11 to force a V34 connection. This will be limited to 33600bps, but the throughput may well be better.
Most init strings are devised to correct performance errors, and need to be specific. Please note they rarely improve connect speeds - there is no magic init string!Try looking at the links page for a list of modem-specific strings. If you can't find yours, email me for help (make sure you change the o to 0 first!). Be sure to describe the problem you have; there is no magic string, they only correct specific problems..
In Windows 95, open up My Computer - Dial Up Networking. Right-click the connection you are using and select Properties. Next to the modem in Connect Using... you will see a Configure button - click this. Select the Connection tab, and click the Advanced button. The Extra Settings box is the place to enter the init string.