Fine Tune Your Dialup Connection SpeedIf you need to speed up internet connection of a slow dialup modem, here are at least six things you can do by yourself that will give amazing results.
Has this ever happened to you? You're tired, but you must check your email before you go to bed. But the modem just keep croaking (the techies call it the handshake). Could it be that your dialup connection speed needs a bit of tweaking? Follow these useful tips and see if you can get connected before you fall asleep next time. Upgrade your modemUpgrade to a V.92 modem that includes the V.44 compression standard. You will get faster connections to your service provider's modem, faster downloads, and be able to send larger files. The V.92 modem will allow you to take calls without breaking your Internet connection by using its modem on hold feature. Super!
Turn off the 'Show Pictures' Setting in Internet ExplorerThis is a very effective way of speeding up your Internet surfing. It doesn't matter whether you have slow dialup connection speed or fast broadband connection. Although it has nothing to do with your modem, per se, you will notice the difference especially with a dialup modem. The text on a page will load much faster than the graphic elements. If you are just surfing for information, you are usually more interested in the text information more than the pictures. Well Internet Explorer gives you a nice way of toggling the Show Pictures option in the Internet Options dialog box. When you do this, your page comes up faster. Any pictures that would be on the page will be represented by a small square. If you want to see that picture, just double-click the square are up pops the picture. So you see... This is a way to select which pictures show up on your screen as well. Your browser will not waste time downloading the picture when this option is turned off. And you can get any picture by double-clicking its position marker. It can be a bit annoying to surf the web this way, but if speed is what is more important to you, then this is a good little trick. To turn off the 'Show Pictures' option in IE, do the following: In Internet Explorer, click Tools -- > Internet Options to bring up the Internet Options dialog box. Click the Advanced tab, and scroll down to the Multimedia section. Uncheck the Show Pictures options. Click here now to see what the settings show look like - a picture will load in a new window. Maximize your port speedSet the modem port speed to the maximum 115,200 baud, unless you have a very old computer, such as a 80386 or 80486. (Don't worry, these are hard to find and not many may be in use today). To do this, click Start--Settings--Control Panel
then double-click the Phone and Modem Options icon. This will bring up the Phone and Modem Options Dialog box. You will find three tabs (for Windows 2000 Professional). If you are using a different version of Windows, expect to see slight variations in user interface throughout. Click on the Modems tab and your modem should be listed there.
Make sure the modem through which you connect to the Internet is selected,
then click the Properties button at the lower section of the
dialog box. Depending on which version of Windows you are using, there will be slight variations in the arrangement of the items in the Modem Properties dialog. Don't be turned off if yours does not look exactly like the examples I am showing here. Just remember that the main elements will be there. You should see a General and a Diagnostics tab in this tabbed dialog box. Select the General tab if it is not already selected, and look for the Maximum Port Speed setting.
Select the 115200 (highest) value for your modem port. Slower and older computers may be better off using the 57600, 38,400 or other values if the highest one doesn't work. Update Your Modem Firmware or DriverIf you have had your modem for some time, you need to check with the manufacturer's website for any updates that may be available. It just take a couple of months before things grow ancient in the technology world, so check often. Download and install any updated driver that may be available. Check the version of the driver installed on your computer against any updates available. You can tell the driver version by going to the Control Panel and double-clicking the System icon. Select the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button. In Device Manager, look for and expand the Modems sub-tree and expand it. Double-click on your modem and click the Driver tab in the resulting dialog box. There you will see the details, including the Driver Version and Date for your modem device driver. If yours is older that the latest version on the manufacturer's website, you need to download and upgrade your modem driver. Check for Noise on Your Phone LineThe third thing you can do to fine tune your dialup connection is to check your phone line for noise. By noise we don't mean the dial tone. Your telephone company needs to have this done for you. Just call them up and ask them to check that there your internet connection is not being hampered by a noisy signal. Noise on your dialup connection line can cause your connection to hang. Use a Software Dialup AcceleratorThere is also a software solution to give dialup modem performance a boost as well. You can use a dialup connection accelerator to tweak or tune-up to some admirable connection speeds! Maybe you cannot justify the need to go DSL (broadband) as yet. Or maybe the more expensive high speed connection is not available in your area. You still don't have to thin out your patience on a dialup connection. If you're not yet ready for broadband Internet connection, try a dialup accelerator. You may be able to surf up to 5 times faster than your regular dialup allows. There is a much-talked-about dialup accelerator that may be the next
best thing to DSL. The Propel accelerator can
increase your dialup connection speed You don't need to get any hardware, and it works anywhere there is dialup service. It is very easy to install and you can download it to your PC. If your dialup is wearing your patience thin, you may want to try out Propel Accelerator.
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