Vista Dial up disconnects

[sundug]

I am having trouble with my Acer Vista Laptop dropping the dial up connection. It has an Agere Systems HDA dial up modem. My old Win 98 desktop does not do this. The laptop worked fine with dial up for over a year, then suddenly won`t stay connected. It dials up, and stays on for a few minutes, then disconnects, redials, disconnects, and so on. I have had the phone lines checked, and am told that they are fine. After searching the net for possible solutions, I am wondering if the software for the internal modem got updated, or needs to be changed somehow. Can anyone help? Thanks, Doug

[NooNoo]

Welcome to Windrivers sundug.

The most frequent disconnects are a result of another call coming in. The next suspect is having the idle timeout too short...look for it in the properties of the dial up connections. After that, driver updates, and then uncheck ipv6 from the connection properties.

When you say win98 didn't do this, is that using the same modem?

[sundug]

I don`t have call waiting, the phone lines have been checked, the desktop and the laptop each have separate internal modems. Is there a way to use the desktop internal modem with the laptop? The laptop was fine on dial up for over a year, then suddenly would not stay online. The desktop stays on for hours, no problem, and connects at a reasonable for the conditions. Someone told me an update may of caused it. I`m told the desktop is a hardware modem, and the Vista laptop is a software modem. It`s not the idle time. I`ve looked all around in modem properties, and connections, but I can`t find ipv6. Thanks, Doug

[NooNoo]

check the 3rd image from the bottom (http://www.it.unr.edu/network/ppp/windowsvista.asp) to find the ipv6.

[slgrieb]

sundug, you could try updating or reinstalling the drivers, but there's a good chance the modem could have a hardware problem. Even with a software modem, you still have some hardware involved. The catch is that even with professional diagnostic software, you can't test a software modem because it lacks a controller. So, it's difficult to say conclusively if the problem is hardware or software related. But, in your case, I'd bet on the modem.

If you don't have access to either a PCMCIA modem or some sort of external modem you can test, it may be hard to resolve this. Assuming you've followed Noo's advice about the timeout settings and that doesn't fix the trouble.

Edit: OMG! Could I have had more typos here?

[sundug]

I tried unchecking the ipv6, no change. How would I go about updating the drivers? Don`t they get updated when Vista does it`s regular MS update? Maybe I`ll go to Best Buy and pay $50 for an external modem, and see if that cures it. It wouldn`t stay in for more than two minutes this morning.

[NooNoo]

You update the drivers from Acer... what model do you have?

[sundug]

I have an Acer Aspire 9410-2597, but I was referring to the Vista MS updates, does that update the modem driver?

[NooNoo]

No, the hardware updates are optional, and sometimes are bad news.

[NooNoo]

Acer Drivers for your notebook here (http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_9400.html)

And the modem driver direct link (http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Agere%20Azalia%20Modem%20Driver%202.1.7.4.zip)

[sundug]

Acer Drivers for your notebook here (http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_9400.html)

And the modem driver direct link (http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/Agere%20Azalia%20Modem%20Driver%202.1.7.4.zip)

Hey, Thanks, I was just about to ask for a recommendation on them. I`ve been searching, and all I`ve learned is that there are many options and pitfalls. One more question- can I download the driver on my old desktop, put it in my flashdrive, and have it work in the laptop, or do I have to take the laptop to a hotspot? Thanks a bunch, Doug

[Ferrit]

Yes you can
Download it save it to the memstick then take it to the laptop

[slgrieb]

Sorry, sundug, for the earlier confusing response. Anyway, I suspect your connection problem is directly related to your modem, and not drivers, etc. When you say you've had the lines tested, you should realize that line quality may be adequate for voice and fax, but not for a decent Internet connection. Not all modems (even Winmodems) are created equal. Some are more tolerant of line noise than others.

[sundug]

Sorry, sundug, for the earlier confusing response. Anyway, I suspect your connection problem is directly related to your modem, and not drivers, etc. When you say you've had the lines tested, you should realize that line quality may be adequate for voice and fax, but not for a decent Internet connection. Not all modems (even Winmodems) are created equal. Some are more tolerant of line noise than others.

As I stated in my first post, My old Win 98 desktop dials up just fine, and stays in all day, while the new Vista laptop won`t stay online for 5 minutes.

[slgrieb]

I understood that. But your two computers don't share the same modem do they? Since I'm still apparently not making myself clear, you are using two different modems, and there is no reason you should expect them to have identical performance characteristics. The hardware and software just isn't the same. Are you up to speed with me now?

If the internal modem in your laptop doesn't perform adequately, you might need to consider an alternative such as a PC-Card modem or an external modem.