brotherdoobie
05-10-2004, 07:45 AM
A few things I have learned over the years to optimize a dial-up connection.
I have had broadband cable for around four years...But I vaguely remember
the pain of dial-up :blink:
1. Upgrade your modem.
If your ISP provider supports V.92 modems get one.
The max upload speed on standard V.90 modems is only 31.2Kbps.
The V.92 spec lets you upload at up to 48Kbps.
2.Two modems are better than one.
It used to be done with two modems...Now it's done with software.
The techniqe is called PPP Multilink...(Windows 98 and later.)
It's automatically enabled in XP.
Go into Network Connections right click on your dial-up connection select Properties/Networking tab and with PPP showing in the type of dial-up server
field,click settings. Check negoitate Multi-link for Single Link Connections
but uncheck enable LCP Extensions.
Windows will automatically only use one modem on as-need basis.
This will only work if your ISP supports the feature.
3. Tweak TCP/IP properties.
GO to Network Connections find your dial-up ISP's icon right click it,and select Properties. Click the Networking tab in XP. You should see a list in this Connection
Uses The Following Items area. The protocol you want to see is Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) If you see NWLink IPX.SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol
highlight it,click Uninstall,then click Yes.
If you highlight Internet Protocol then click Properties, you'll see options to either obtain IP and DNS addresses automatically or fields you can manualy enter addresses.
For both items,you want to obtain these addresses automatically.
If your using and older addition of Windows also go to the WINS Configuration tab
and check Disable WINS Resolution. Under the DNS Configuration tab,you should have Disable DNS selected,and everthing under the Gateway tab should be blank.
4.Watch out for line noise.
Use the shortest phone cords possible...Also try and keep any electromagnetic devices as far away as possible from your modem.(especially speakers)
5.Download drivers.
Download the latest drivers for your modem.
6.Tweak COM port speeds.
Go to your Device Manager (Windows key + Pause key) click the + sign next to
modems. Right click your dial-up modem select properties,then go to the modems tab and note which COM port the modem is using. COM 2 is the most common,followed by COM 3.
Now click back out to the Device Manager,click the plus sign next to Ports,and double click your modems port. Go to the Port Settings tab. The first field,Bits Per Second,should be set to 115200,which is the default for a 56K modem.
If it's already at this setting bump it up a notch to 128000. While your there click the advanced button. Make sure the Use FIFO Buffers option is checked and that the Receive and Transmit Buffer sliders are at their maximum setting.
If your using older hardware,you might find that these fast port speeds are causing disconnects.
Knock the port speed down notch by notch untill it stabilizes.
7.Fix your MTU
The default setting is optimized for LAN traffic but not internet connections.
If you don't want to mess with editing your registry try this prorgam Lame Link (the program is no longer updated...anyone know of any other programs for the
purpose of adjusting MTU...For those who don't want to manually edit their
registry)
This tip can double and even tripple dial-up throughput
depending on the application and data type.
I hope this has been helpful.
Peace brotherdoobie
I have had broadband cable for around four years...But I vaguely remember
the pain of dial-up :blink:
1. Upgrade your modem.
If your ISP provider supports V.92 modems get one.
The max upload speed on standard V.90 modems is only 31.2Kbps.
The V.92 spec lets you upload at up to 48Kbps.
2.Two modems are better than one.
It used to be done with two modems...Now it's done with software.
The techniqe is called PPP Multilink...(Windows 98 and later.)
It's automatically enabled in XP.
Go into Network Connections right click on your dial-up connection select Properties/Networking tab and with PPP showing in the type of dial-up server
field,click settings. Check negoitate Multi-link for Single Link Connections
but uncheck enable LCP Extensions.
Windows will automatically only use one modem on as-need basis.
This will only work if your ISP supports the feature.
3. Tweak TCP/IP properties.
GO to Network Connections find your dial-up ISP's icon right click it,and select Properties. Click the Networking tab in XP. You should see a list in this Connection
Uses The Following Items area. The protocol you want to see is Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) If you see NWLink IPX.SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol
highlight it,click Uninstall,then click Yes.
If you highlight Internet Protocol then click Properties, you'll see options to either obtain IP and DNS addresses automatically or fields you can manualy enter addresses.
For both items,you want to obtain these addresses automatically.
If your using and older addition of Windows also go to the WINS Configuration tab
and check Disable WINS Resolution. Under the DNS Configuration tab,you should have Disable DNS selected,and everthing under the Gateway tab should be blank.
4.Watch out for line noise.
Use the shortest phone cords possible...Also try and keep any electromagnetic devices as far away as possible from your modem.(especially speakers)
5.Download drivers.
Download the latest drivers for your modem.
6.Tweak COM port speeds.
Go to your Device Manager (Windows key + Pause key) click the + sign next to
modems. Right click your dial-up modem select properties,then go to the modems tab and note which COM port the modem is using. COM 2 is the most common,followed by COM 3.
Now click back out to the Device Manager,click the plus sign next to Ports,and double click your modems port. Go to the Port Settings tab. The first field,Bits Per Second,should be set to 115200,which is the default for a 56K modem.
If it's already at this setting bump it up a notch to 128000. While your there click the advanced button. Make sure the Use FIFO Buffers option is checked and that the Receive and Transmit Buffer sliders are at their maximum setting.
If your using older hardware,you might find that these fast port speeds are causing disconnects.
Knock the port speed down notch by notch untill it stabilizes.
7.Fix your MTU
The default setting is optimized for LAN traffic but not internet connections.
If you don't want to mess with editing your registry try this prorgam Lame Link (the program is no longer updated...anyone know of any other programs for the
purpose of adjusting MTU...For those who don't want to manually edit their
registry)
This tip can double and even tripple dial-up throughput
depending on the application and data type.
I hope this has been helpful.
Peace brotherdoobie