Q. I'm fed up with this 56Kbps modem--it will not connect higher than 28.8Kbps (or sometimes 33.6Kbps). Is there anything I can do before I box this thing up and send it back?
A. There may be a fix depending on where the problem is. Your modem may be at fault, but there are many other factors that effect a modem's connection speed.
You should check for the following situations:
The number you are dialing must support the same 56Kbps protocol as your modem. For example, if your Internet service provider (ISP) only supports the X2 protocol, and you're using a K56Flex or V.90 modem, you'll be unable to connect to this ISP at rates greater than 33.6Kbps.
Contact your ISP to determine if it supports the same protocol as your modem. If not, they may have another dial-up number that does correspond to your modem.
Your modem's firmware may be outdated, resulting in bugs or oversights that are preventing optimum modem performance. You should ensure that your modem has the latest firmware available. Check with the modem maker's Web site for any firmware updates that may be available for your modem.
You may be connecting during high traffic or peak usage times. It is important to note that the initial connection rate is just that--initial. After the modem has negotiated a connection (especially a V.34, K56Flex, or V.90 connection), it will occasionally renegotiate the line speed while factoring in the line and traffic conditions. The goal here is to achieve a good balance of connection performance and reliability. Try dialing in at off-peak periods.
The modem may be picking up excessive line noise and interference in the telephone circuit. This will cause the modem to lower the connection rate in order to make a stable and reliable connection. Try redialing the number, since the phone company may route each call differently. If the problem persists, ask your local phone company to check your phone-line integrity.
Certain phone-line equipment will interfere with 56Kbps connections. You may want to check with your local phone company to see if they're using SLIC concentrators or Pair Gain equipment to provide phone lines to your house. Such equipment will introduce extra digital-to-analog conversions, which can prevent K56Flex or V.90 connections. It would also be beneficial to ask them what (if any) modem speeds they can guarantee.
The modem itself may be defective or poorly designed. If you find that other modem models typically provide suitable connection speeds, try another modem (or select a new make and model).
Q. I created an audio CD, but it won't play on my home or auto CD player. What's the problem?
A. In virtually all cases, the CD was not created in the proper format. You should have created the audio CD in a standard CD audio format such as the Red Book standard.
Audio CD players cannot read audio data files (such as .WAV) on a Mac- or ISO 9660-formatted CD. The disc must also be written in a single session (multisession recording won't work) and the disc must be "closed," or finalized. For example, if you're using Adaptec's Easy CD Creator, select Close CD under Advanced Settings if you're recording in Track-at-Once mode (Disc-at-Once mode automatically creates a single-session, closed disc).
Review the instructions or help files that accompanied your CD recording software, and make sure you're following the recommended steps to make a valid Red Book-compliant audio CD. Recording speed may also play a factor, so try recording the disc at 1X or 2X speed rather than the fast 10X or 12X recording speeds supported by modern CD-R and CD-RW drives.
Another problem may be the player itself. Audio CD players must be multiread-compliant. Almost all CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW drives are now multiread-compliant, but many commercial CD players are not; check with the player's manufacturer for details.
If you're not sure whether your CD player is multiread-compliant, it may have problems reading from CD-R media (some brands of CD-R media may work better than others), and will probably not read from CD-RW discs at all. If you believe that you've created an audio CD properly, try playing the CD in a player that you know to be multiread-compliant.
Stephen J. Bigelow is the author of "Troubleshooting, Maintaining, and Repairing Personal Computers (4th edition)." He is also publisher of The PC Toolbox troubleshooting newsletter http://www.dlspubs.com.
