Why do I seem to get disconnected so frequently?
If you find your connection being terminated while you are working online, not idle, but actually surfing the Internet or sending mail, you most likely have an unstable connection. This is caused by your modem connecting at a rate that your phone lines cannot handle. While the modem is trying to transfer the data, the phone lines struggle to hold the connection and a lot of times the connection is dropped. This problem is easy to resolve. You simply need an initialization string to help control your modem's speed of connection. This string can usually be found in the Owner's Manual, or you can call the place of purchase or the manufacturer. Once you have established which string will work with your particular modem, place the string in the following location:
a.
Click on the "Start" button.
b.
Go up to "Settings" and select "Control Panel".
c.
In the "Control Panel" you will find an icon called "Modem" that you will double-click on.
d.
Inside of this window you should see your modem displayed. Select the modem and click the "Properties" button.
e.
Once inside the modem properties window, you will find a tab labeled "connection" that you will select.
f.
Now you will find a button that says "Advanced". Click this button.
g.
Finally, in this window you will see a textbox marked "Extra Settings". Put your cursor into this field and enter the string that you have obtained from the manual, computer store, modem manufacturer, or Internet Service Provider. A list of generic init-strings can be found on our init-string page at http://support.pngusa.net/fag/strings/initstrings.html.
The string should ALWAYS be entered in one case. All letters need to be upper or
lower-case, not a mixture of both. This should take care of the problem. Other options when working with modem commands is to use the Internet as a research tool. Choose any search engine that you prefer (for example, www.altavista.com, www.yahoo.com, or www.lycos.com) and do a simple search on the word "modem" and you will find more resources than you have time to read. Your local phone company will check your phone lines for noise, if you feel that bad phone lines may be the problem.
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