The following is based on an email correspondence to sort out a particular modem. The modem in question was a Pace so for "Pace 56 Voice Modem" substitute the name of your modem; I have attempted to generalise the procedure!
Email me if at any point in this set of checks you find anything that doesn't match and that you can't resolve.
Let's start by checking the port.
Go to Control Panel - System, and click the Device Manager tab.
First click on Modem, where you should see "Pace 56 Voice Modem". Double click on it, and you'll see the properties sheets, like the ones you configure with your dial-up connection.
On the Modem tab it should have COM2 (with an Internal you may well be using Com3 or Com4), with the maximum speed set to 115200. On the connection tab, click advanced, then add this string under extra settings (it isn't vital, but tweaks a few things. You may notice when you dial): &fs11=45%e1 - just like that, no spaces.
There's nothing else you need to change there, so click OK and again to get back to Device manager.
This time, scroll down to Ports and open those. You should see at least COM1 and COM2 - you may have 3 and 4 as well. Select COM2 or whichever your modem is on and open the Properties. On the Port Settings tab you can set te Bits per second to 115200 again. Also look at the Resources tab to make sure it is set to input/output range 02F8-02FF and Interrupt Request (IRQ) 03. (Mine is based on Basic configuration 0001 using Automatic settings).
It may tell you there is an IRQ conflict with COM4 or COM2, this is perfectly normal.
If you have a PS2 mouse your modem could be on COM1 or COM3, in which case the input/output range will be 03F8-03FF and IRQ 04. But if the mouse uses the COM port, don't put the modem on here!
Click OK to return to Device manager. Notice any yellow blobs with exclamation marks show devices with problems, maybe driver problems. Try to replace the drivers if possible - installing DirectX drivers often helps.
Click OK again to return to Control Panel.
Double-click on Modems this time, making sure the modem is switched on. Click on the Diagnostics tab, and you will see what is installed where. Select "Pace 56 Voice Modem" which should be next to COM2 (or whatever), then click on the More info... button. It will only take a few seconds if everything is OK.
You should get:
Port: COM2 (or 4)
Interrupt: 3
Address: 2F8
UART: NS 16550AN
Highest speed: 115K Baud
Pace 56 Voice Modem
Identifier: SERENUM\PMC0430
ATI1 255
ATI2 OK
ATI3 V1.200-K56_DLP-P1.03
ATI4 Pace 56 Voice Internal - V1.30
ATI5 016
ATI5 UK
ATI6 RCV56DPF L8570A Rev 45.0/45.0
ATI7 000
AT+FCLA... 0,1,1.0
(Note: if you use COM1 or COM3 the Interrupt and Address will be different!)
Click OK, and again to return to Control Panel.
Power off modem, power up again. Dial Up your ISP (I used Hyperterminal and got 50k!) just to prove the modem was working.
Phew! Bit of a marathon, but I do like to be thorough! Hope this has done the trick!
....But - If not....for example, you may find something like...
>>Identifier: SERENUM\PMC0430
>
>I have: UNIMODEM95CC1D5E
(This will depend on your modem).
Now I suspect a change of inf file might be useful then! Download http://www.b0lus.com/modeminf2.exe if you have a Rockwell chipset (for other makes contact the manufacturer).
Run the file. Not much will happen. Then go into Control Panel - Modems as before, select your modem, and click Remove.
After this, go to Add new hardware. Do not allow Windows to detect the modem (it's quicker manually). Tell it you want to install a modem. Choose Select from list, at this point Windows will build a "driver information database".
Under Manufacturers, find "Supercomputers!" and select it. On the list of Models find the one which matches your type of modem, Select that. Click Next and it will be installed.
Finally look in Dial Up networking for your ISP connection. Right-click and select Properties, the under Connect using..., make sure the "56K Voice Modem" (or whichever you installed) is selected.
Next stage....
If all is OK with the above, your modem now has a near-identical config to my own.
The suspicion now switches to your phone lines I'm afraid.
First, are you on a digital exchange? Most are now, but there are still a few isolated ones; Mine wasn't converted until this January (and I switched to cable about a month later!). The easiest way to tell is, can you get the last number who called by dialling 1471 (in the UK)?
If not, there's little chance of a high-speed connection.
If you are, good. We have a chance. First thing is to make sure your modem is connected straight to the wall box - no extensions, they lose signal. Don't use a socket doubler, and unplug any other phones you have.
Try a connection - any difference? If so we are getting near; you might like to try disconnecting things one by one and see if you can pin down a specific culprit.
If not, we'll have to examine the line quality. Is the line normally clear to your phone - no crackles? If it's noisy you need to ask your telco to have a look at it.
Clear sound? Let's see what the modem makes of it.
Open HyperTerminal (probably Start button - Accessories). If you can't find it, use Windows Explorer to search for Hypertrm.exe . If it's not installed it will be on your Win 95 or Win98 CD.
It will ask you to Make New Connection - enter a name, like "YourISP", then enter the number you use to dial in. When you click OK it will dial YourISP and a terminal window will come up. When the Login: prompt appears, enter +++ (don't press return). It should respond with OK.
Type at&v1
Login:+++
OK
at&v1
TERMINATION REASON.......... NONE
LAST TX rate................ 31200 BPS
HIGHEST TX rate............. 31200 BPS
LAST RX rate................ 46000 BPS
HIGHEST RX rate............. 46000 BPS
PROTOCOL.................... LAPM
COMPRESSION................. V42Bis
Line QUALITY................ 023
Rx LEVEL.................... 016
Highest Rx State............ 68
Highest TX State............ 67
EQM Sum..................... 00BC
RBS Pattern................. 00
Rate Drop................... 00
Digital Pad................. None
Local Rtrn Count............ 00
Remote Rtrn Count........... 00
V8bis K56Flex 9481816197
OK
The numbers we are looking at are the Line Quality and the Rx level - these should be as *low* as possible. Also if a digital pad is detected there can be problems.
If you have high figures for line quality, then once again it's a case of calling your telco to try and fix it. Although they make no guarantees, the are usually quite helpful. One thing they can do is to adjust the line gain.
If these figures are as low as or lower than mine, I see only one more thing. Look at the BT wiring coming into your house. Does it go through some sort of box on the wall before it goes in? Does one of the wires go to a neighbour's house? This is more common in built-up areas, but is sometimes used in remote rural areas too. The thing is a line splitter, sometimes called an integrated SLC, and is the kiss of death to k56 connections. Again you have to call your telco and ask them to put you on your very own bit of copper as your modem's not in the mood for sharing!
One other way to test your line suitability is a right pain the ****. Take your entire system to a friend's house, preferably nowhere near your own, and dial from there! Yes I said it was a pain! But it will tell you if it's the computer/modem or the lines. Hopefully you won't have to go to that extreme!!!
If it is your lines and your telco can't help, go to cable if they're around. Because their systems are newer their line quality is, on the whole, significantly better than BT.
Checking the BT site recently I noticed that they will now supply "low loss" lines if you ask them. They'll also charge you nearly 200 uk pounds for the privelege! But then, if you simply must have 56k... it will be cheaper to go to Home HIghway and get ISDN thrown in. Then you're guaranteed 64k every time!
Whew, another marathon! I really hope we sort it somewhere in this lot!