PRW.NET FAQ's :
Dialup and Modems
How can I reduce the connection time on Windows 95/98 ?Why does my 56 K modem connect at less than 56 Kbps ?Why am I getting disconnected after a short period of time ?How can I choose the best modem for my Internet connection ?What are the requirements for a dual analog (112 K) connection ?What are the dialup networking (DUN) error codes ?Why do I get a message that my username or password is invalid (Error 691) ?Why do I get a message about "simultaneous logins" ?Why am I getting a message reporting an "Illegal Operation" or "Page Fault" ?My HSP 56K Micromodem disconnects frequently. How can I improve my connection quality ?How can I increase the connection speed of my Lucent LT Winmodem ?Connections with my Motorola SM56 modem are not reliable. How can I improve this ?
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
How can I reduce the connection time on Windows 95/98 ?
1. Double click on "My Computer" and then "Dialup Networking".
2. Place the mouse pointer (e.g. the arrow) over the icon used for PRW.NET and press the right mouse button. Select "Properties" on the menu.
3. Select "Server Types" and make sure the following checkboxes are not selected:
Advanced
- Log On to Network
Allowed Network Protocols
- NetBEUI
- IPX/SPX Compatible
You should only have the following options enabled:
Advanced
- Enable Software Compression
Allowed Network Protocols
- TCP/IP
If you have the "Log On to Network" option enabled, the system will look for a PC network after establishing the connection. It normally will continue afterwards but this produces an unnecessary delay. The "NetBEUI" and "IPX/SPX" protocols are not used on most Internet applications.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
Why does my 56 K modem connect at less than 56 Kbps ?
All dial-in lines at PRW.NET are capable of V.90 connections and use digital trunks. V.90 is the market standard for 56 K modem connections. If your modem uses an older 56 K protocol (K56Flex or X2) you should consider an update. In most cases, V.90 updates to older 56 K modems are free. If your modem implements the V.90 protocol and still connects at or below 33.6 Kbps, the more common reasons are:
1. The V.90 implementation on your modem needs an update. The V.90 standard de V.90 was released in Feb-98 and we have seen many manufacturers (particularly with generic modems) issue updates to fix problems on their original implementations. You can visit the web site of your modem manufacturer to verify this. www.56k.com and www.windrivers.com list the URLs for most popular modem manufacturers.
Given the evolution of the V.90 standard it is generally advisable to use modems from a major vendor such as 3Com/USRobotics, Zoom, Diamond, etc. that has the resources to follow the changes in this protocol.
2. Your phone line is not capable of 56 K connections. For V.90 connections an important requirement is that in the path from the phone line used by your modem and that of the ISP there should be no more than one analog trunk or switch. 3Com/USRobotics offers a phone line that you can use to test if yioru line is capable of 56 K connections. Instructions can be found at:
| http://www.3com.com/56k/need4_56k/linetest.html |
The V.90 standard was developed to take advantage on phone line conditions that, although common, do not exist on all phone lines.
3. You can also get additional suggestions for improvement indicating your symptoms and modem type at:
| http://modemsite.com/56k/tshoot.htm |
If high performance is very important for you, the best solution is to request an ISDN line. ISDN is a digital line where noise or static are not an issue and connections are consistently 64 or 128 Kbps (one or two channels). You can read more about ISDN here.
If you can only use analog lines, we offer dual analog connections (two modems on two lines) to achieve higher conenction speeds. For more details check our services page at www.prw.net/services.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
Why am I getting disconnected after a short period of time ?
1. Your modem has some incompatibility with the V.90 protocol. This protocol is dynamic so it renegotiates the baud rate periodically according to the level of noise or static in the line. If your modem has an older V.90 implementation it may not respond correctly to the baud rate renegotiation so it will disconnect when it changes. You can check on www.56k.com or www.windrivers.com to see if you are using the latest driver/firmware for your modem manufacturer. If you plan to use the Internet for extended periods of time, we suggest using a high quality modem like the US Robotics V.90 Faxmodem (not the Winmodem). They generally produce the best connect rates and follow the V.90 standard very closely. Many modems bundled with PC configurations (particularly generic PCs) are not really suitable for active Internet users (in some cases the manufacturer doesn't even have a web site for support).
2. Your phone line has a high level of noise. You can report this to PRTC and request that a technician certify the line for high speed data transmission. The equipment used by many phone company technicians is only capable of testing 14.4 or 19.2 Kbps capabilities so you need to insist that the line requirements are those of a 56 kbps connection.
You can also get additional suggestions for improvement indicating your symptoms and modem type at:
| http://modemsite.com/56k/tshoot.htm |
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
How can I choose the best modem for my Internet connection ?
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
What are the requirements for a dual analog (112 K) connection ?
1. With a router like the
This is the preferred alternative for a network because they include an ethernet port in addition to the two (or more) analog ports. A network connection can not be used with a personal WebSurfer account. It requires a WebBusiness account for interactive use or a WebEnterprise account for continuous 7x24 use.
2. With a "dual modem" card such as the Diamond Multimedia SupraSonic II. This is a good solution for an individual PC. Most "dual modem" cards support Windows 95/98 (e.g. not Windows NT).
3. With two modems on the same PC. This requires Dialup Networking (DUN) 1.2 or above. Windows 98 includes DUN 1.3. If you have Windows 95 this can be downloaded from the Microsoft site.
This alternative generally achieves a lower connection speed than a dual modem card since two separate modems usually do not achieve the same integration. We recommend that both modems are from the same manufacturer (and preferrably the same model) to avoid driver conflicts.
All dual analog alternatives require two phone lines. Call waiting is not considered a second phone line.
Typical V.90 rates are between 42 and 53 Kbps so a dual analog connection is expected to achieve 84 to 106 Kbps. Reaching 56 Kbps per channel on a V.90 connection requires minimal noise, which is not common on local analog phone lines.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
What are the dialup networking (DUN) error codes ?
http://www.modemsite.com/56k/dunserror.htm
Source: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q163/1/11.asp
Error Messages
-------------------------------
600 An operation is pending.
601 The port handle is invalid.
602 The port is already open.
603 Caller's buffer is too small.
604 Wrong information specified.
605 Cannot set port information.
606 The port is not connected.
607 The event is invalid.
608 The device does not exist.
609 The device type does not exist.
610 The buffer is invalid.
611 The route is not available.
612 The route is not allocated.
613 Invalid compression specified.
614 Out of buffers.
615 The port was not found.
616 An asynchronous request is pending.
617 The port or device is already disconnecting.
618 The port is not open.
619 The port is disconnected.
620 There are no endpoints.
621 Cannot open the phone book file.
622 Cannot load the phone book file.
623 Cannot find the phone book entry.
624 Cannot write the phone book file.
625 Invalid information found in the phone book.
626 Cannot load a string.
627 Cannot find key.
628 The port was disconnected.
629 The port was disconnected by the remote machine.
630 The port was disconnected due to hardware failure.
631 The port was disconnected by the user.
632 The structure size is incorrect.
633 The port is already in use or is not configured for Remote
Access dialout.
634 Cannot register your computer on the remote network.
635 Unknown error.
636 The wrong device is attached to the port.
637 The string could not be converted.
638 The request has timed out.
639 No asynchronous net available.
640 A NetBIOS error has occurred.
641 The server cannot allocate NetBIOS resources needed to support
the client.
642 One of your NetBIOS names is already registered on the remote
network.
643 A network adapter at the server failed.
644 You will not receive network message popups.
645 Internal authentication error.
646 The account is not permitted to log on at this time of day.
647 The account is disabled.
648 The password has expired.
649 The account does not have Remote Access permission.
650 The Remote Access server is not responding.
651 Your modem (or other connecting device) has reported an error.
652 Unrecognized response from the device.
653 A macro required by the device was not found in the device .INF
file section.
654 A command or response in the device .INF file section refers to
an undefined macro
655 The macro was not found in the device .INF file
section.
656 The macro in the device .INF file section contains
an undefined macro
657 The device .INF file could not be opened.
658 The device name in the device .INF or media .INI file is too
long.
659 The media .INI file refers to an unknown device name.
660 The device .INF file contains no responses for the command.
661 The device .INF file is missing a command.
662 Attempted to set a macro not listed in device .INF file section.
663 The media .INI file refers to an unknown device type.
664 Cannot allocate memory.
665 The port is not configured for Remote Access.
666 Your modem (or other connecting device) is not functioning.
667 Cannot read the media .INI file.
668 The connection dropped.
669 The usage parameter in the media .INI file is invalid.
670 Cannot read the section name from the media .INI file.
671 Cannot read the device type from the media .INI file.
672 Cannot read the device name from the media .INI file.
673 Cannot read the usage from the media .INI file.
674 Cannot read the maximum connection BPS rate from the media .INI
file.
675 Cannot read the maximum carrier BPS rate from the media .INI
file.
676 The line is busy.
677 A person answered instead of a modem.
678 There is no answer.
679 Cannot detect carrier.
680 There is no dial tone.
681 General error reported by device.
682 ERROR WRITING SECTIONNAME
683 ERROR WRITING DEVICETYPE
684 ERROR WRITING DEVICENAME
685 ERROR WRITING MAXCONNECTBPS
686 ERROR WRITING MAXCARRIERBPS
687 ERROR WRITING USAGE
688 ERROR WRITING DEFAULTOFF
689 ERROR READING DEFAULTOFF
690 ERROR EMPTY INI FILE
691 Access denied because username and/or password is invalid on the
domain.
692 Hardware failure in port or attached device.
693 ERROR NOT BINARY MACRO
694 ERROR DCB NOT FOUND
695 ERROR STATE MACHINES NOT STARTED
696 ERROR STATE MACHINES ALREADY STARTED
697 ERROR PARTIAL RESPONSE LOOPING
698 A response keyname in the device .INF file is not in the
expected format.
699 The device response caused buffer overflow.
700 The expanded command in the device .INF file is too long.
701 The device moved to a BPS rate not supported by the COM driver.
702 Device response received when none expected.
703 ERROR INTERACTIVE MODE
704 ERROR BAD CALLBACK NUMBER
705 ERROR INVALID AUTH STATE
706 ERROR WRITING INITBPS
707 X.25 diagnostic indication.
708 The account has expired.
709 Error changing password on domain.
710 Serial overrun errors were detected while communicating with
your modem.
711 RasMan initialization failure. Check the event log.
712 Biplex port is initializing. Wait a few seconds and redial.
713 No active ISDN lines are available.
714 Not enough ISDN channels are available to make the call.
715 Too many errors occurred because of poor phone line quality.
716 The Remote Access IP configuration is unusable.
717 No IP addresses are available in the static pool of Remote
Access IP addresses.
718 PPP timeout.
719 PPP terminated by remote machine.
720 No PPP control protocols configured.
721 Remote PPP peer is not responding.
722 The PPP packet is invalid.
723 The phone number, including prefix and suffix, is too long.
724 The IPX protocol cannot dial-out on the port because the
computer is an IPX router.
725 The IPX protocol cannot dial-in on the port because the IPX
router is not installed..
726 The IPX protocol cannot be used for dial-out on more than one
port at a time.
727 Cannot access TCPCFG.DLL.
728 Cannot find an IP adapter bound to Remote Access.
729 SLIP cannot be used unless the IP protocol is installed.
730 Computer registration is not complete.
731 The protocol is not configured.
732 The PPP negotiation is not converging.
733 The PPP control protocol for this network protocol is not
available on the server.
734 The PPP link control protocol terminated..
735 The requested address was rejected by the server..
736 The remote computer terminated the control protocol.
737 Loopback detected..
738 The server did not assign an address.
739 The remote server cannot use the Windows NT encrypted password.
740 The TAPI devices configured for Remote Access failed to
initialize or were not installed correctly.
741 The local computer does not support encryption.
742 The remote server does not support encryption.
743 The remote server requires encryption.
744 Cannot use the IPX net number assigned by the remote server.
Check the event log.
752 A syntax error was encountered while processing a script.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
Why do I get a message that my username or password is invalid (Error 691) ?
1. You are entering your username or password in UPPER CASE. The username and password must be entered in lower case.
2. There is an active connection with the same username and password. Personal accounts are allowed one connection at a time so if you try to use the same account from more than one location simultaneously, the system will reject the additional connections.
3. Your account is temporarily on hold due to an open account balance.
You can call our technical support department at 787-723-5000 for assistance diagnosing this issue.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
Why do I get a message about "simultaneous logins" ?
1. If your username and password are installed on more than one computer you should consider removing them from the computers you don't frequently use.
2. If you accidentally made your password available to another person please change it visiting www.prw.net and selecting "Change Password".
3. If your computer disconnects frequently and ocassionally your session stays in use for a few minutes after hanging up, consider updating your modem software.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
Why am I getting a message reporting an "Illegal Operation" or "Page Fault" ?
A possible first step in attempting to solve this problem is to update or reinstall Internet Explorer. Since Explorer nowadays makes up a large percentage of the files in Windows, this solves the problem in a large percentage of the cases. You can download the Internet Explorer files from:
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/
If this does not solve the problem we would suggest that you contact your hardware or software vendor for assistance. Knowledge of the Windows operating system is required to fix this symptom and in extreme cases an operating system reinstallation may be required.
Note that nothing in the Internet configuration can cause an "illegal operation" or "page fault" message if your operating system and hardware are working properly. Note also that the "illegal" in the message refers to computer processes (e.g. accessing an invalid memory address) and does not imply that your system is performing any unlawful activities.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
My HSP 56K Micromodem disconnects frequently. How can I improve my connection quality ?
These are some general suggestions to improve the connection quality on HSP 56K Micromodems:
1. Consider updtating the modem driver (software), particularly if you are using a PCTel HSP Micromodem or Audiomodem with drivers version 7.64 or lower or a PCTel AMR modems with version 2.3 or lower. These are some sites that have stable drivers for HSP modems:
| http://www.pctel.com/downloads/drivers_agreement.htm |
| http://www.pcchips.com/ |
| http://www.modem-help.freeserve.co.uk/mfc/compaq.html |
The current (Aug-2001) version for the HSP Micromodem drivers is 8.00 build 0005 . Note that not all HSP modems are the same. Before updating the driver you need to determine the model of your modem using either the FCC ID printed on the card or the results of ATI3 (Control Panel, Modem, Diagnostics, More Info). If ATI3 contains "-PCC-" you probably need AudioModem drivers. Most HSP modems built into a motherboard use the Audiomodem drivers. Using an incorrect driver could make the modem stop working. Consult with your hardware vendor if you have questions about the driver corresponding to the type of modem installed on your system.
2. In some cases you can improve connection reliability on HSP modems by using a custom init string on Control Panel, Modems, Properties, Connection, Advanced, Extra Settings. These are ones that appear to help with many HSP modems:
AT&Fn0s37=14
AT&Fn0s37=14s34=8
There are other init string suggestions in the articles included
above. Some HSP modems also work better when you set the maximum
speed to 38400 bps. Some work better turning off data compression
and turning on hardware flow control. Note that these init string
optimizations or setting changes are not required with modems that
with a robust V.90 implementation. Generally they should not be
required with the 8.00 drivers.3. You can get some suggestions indicating your symptoms and modem type at:
| http://modemsite.com/56k/tshoot.htm |
There are PRW customers using HSP modems succesfully. We find that the ones that achieve the best results are those with updated drivers and optimized init strings.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
How can I increase the connection speed of my Lucent LT Winmodem ?
| http://modemsite.com/56k/ltwin.htm |
One big advantage of the Lucent LT modems is that the driver is compatible with modems using the same chipset irregardless of who manufactured the modem. If you have an old (prior to 5.66 ; 6.00 is the current one as of June-2001) version of the software you should consider upgrading it to improve your connection. Upgrades can be downloaded from:
| http://modemsite.com/56k/ltwin7.htm |
To determine the version of your modem driver check on ControlPanel, Modems, Diagnostics, More Info and look for the ATI3 results. You can also get some suggestions for improvement indicating your symptoms and modem type at:
| http://modemsite.com/56k/tshoot.htm |
There are many PRW customers using Lucent LT modems with great results. We find that they provide the best connection quality among low cost software based modems.
PRW.NET FAQ's : Dialup and Modems :
Connections with my Motorola SM56 modem are not reliable. How can I improve this ?
| http://modemsite.com/56k/sm56.htm |
These drivers are very sensitive to the software version. Some driver versions work well while others are very unstable. The modems are not manufatured by Motorola, only the chipset comes from them. Normally you should go to the web site of the modem manufacturer for upgrades. If the manufacturer is not available you may consider using generic drivers from the Motorola web site:
| http://e-www.motorola.com/products/softmodem/support/software.html |
To determine the version of your modem driver check on ControlPanel, Modems, Diagnostics, More Info and look for the ATI7 results. You can also get some suggestions for improvement indicating your symptoms and modem type at:
| http://modemsite.com/56k/tshoot.htm |
Note that as of June 2001, the SM56 ISA modems are no longer supported under Windows ME. Only the SM56 PCI modems have Windows ME drivers.