Modem troubleshooting: Windows 95, Windows 98



Document ID: 98081138

 

Posted Date: 2004-07-16

 

Last Updated: 2004-07-16

 

Distribution: View Public Website

 

Applicable Models
Satellite All
Portege All
Tecra All
Satellite Pro All

 

Issue


In case of a problems with dial-up modem connections under Windows 95 or Windows 98, try one or both of these two methods of testing that the modem is recognized by Windows, and is correctly configured.

Resolution


Control Panel diagnostics

Follow these steps to run the modem diagnostics test built into Control Panel. It's not necessary to connect the modem to the phone network.

  1. Open Control Panel.
  2. Double click the Modem icon.
  3. Click the Diagnostics folder.
  4. In the Diagnostics folder, highlight the COM port selected for the modem is configured to, which is typically, but not always, COM2.
  5. Click the More Info button.

RESULT:
 “Communicating with the modem” will be displayed. After several seconds, a listing of AT commands should be displayed. “ATI2 OK” indicates that the modem is responding and configured correctly. (The "2" parameter in the ATI command does not correspond to the COM2 port; it indicates that this command is the 2nd in a series of ATI commands.)

If the modem is not responding and/or is not configured correctly, there may be no response from the diagnostics test, or an error message may be displayed.

HyperTerminal test

  1. Click on Start > Programs > Accessories > Communications. 
  2. Click on HyperTerminal.
  3. Double-click the “HyperTerminal” icon.
  4. The Connection Description window will be displayed. In the Name field, type TEST, then click OK.
  5. The Connect To window will be displayed. Click the Cancel button.
  6. In the blank window, type "AT" and press the Enter key.

RESULT:
HyperTerminal will display either "OK", indicating that the modem is responding and configured correctly, or an error message indicating otherwise.

Other AT commands useful for troubleshooting with HyperTerminal and other "dialer" apps:

ATDT nnn-nnn-nnnn   Causes modem to dial the specified phone number (connection to phone network required)
ATA      Places modem in auto-answer mode. The modem should respond with "OK".
AT&V    Displays a list of AT commands to use
AT&F    resets the modem to the factory configuration
AT&W   saves the settings for the modem (should be used after AT&F).

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