PC Qs and As

By Steve Robinson

For suggestion or comments contact Steve Robinson via E-Mail

Win95 and High Speed Modems

This month U. S. Robotics is coming out with a new modem that will transfer data 57,600 bits per second over a standard phone line. This is twice the speed of their nearest competition and should really make those Webb Sites snap on screen. If you upgrade, you should really notice a satisfying difference. Especially those of you that are still using a 14,400 bps or slower modem.

When you install a new modem there are very few software installations that will alter Win95 system configurations. A standard Win95 install will not normally set parameters for the high speed modem. So, there are a few areas when manually fine tuned will optimize the performance of even the outdated 14,400 bps modems. Here is how, start by opening:

My COMPUTER icon.
Then CONTROL PANEL icon.
Then the SYSTEM icon.
Press the DEVICE MANAGER tab.
Highlight your Modem and tap the PRORERTIES button.
Press the MODEM tab and set maximum speed to 115,200. Now press the CONNECTION tab.
Press PORT SETTINGS button and set buffers to maximum.
Return to DEVICE MANAGER by pressing the OK buttons.

At this point you have configured the modem to maximum speed transfer but, Win95 will also let you configure that serial port. So from DEVICE MANAGER screen:

Highlight PORTS (COM & LPT)
Highlight the communications port your modem occupies and tap the PROPERTIES button.
Now press the PORT SETTINGS tab and set the BITS PER SECOND to the maximum 115,200.
Press OK to return to DEVICE MANAGER.
With the above settings you should see a more rock solid logon with the highest connect speeds obtainable. Also your download transfer rates should reflect these optimum configurations.

Steve is a car inspector at the Crest Yard in Fort Worth

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