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**ardvark71** · Aug 25, 2010, 09:10 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Originally posted by ScottyK

One site said that if it's a winmodem, then no amount of tinkering in Linux will make it work. True? False?

If there are no Linux drivers for this, can anybody recommend a good external 56k modem that works with 10.04?

Hi

Not necessarily. there is a site called linuxant that might be able to help you out. If not, this external modem should work quite nicely.

Regards...

**Ole Juul** · Aug 25, 2010, 09:40 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Winmodems aren't real modems because they emulate some of the hardware in software. That shifts the job over to the CPU where it doesn't belong. Although with today's processor speeds that is less important than it used to be. We used to try to boycott them because it was a way to tie the hardware to Microsoft and produce a cheaper, less functional, product at the same time. IIRC, that's how they got the name.

If ardvark71's suggestions don't work out, just remember that any external modem will work because it is just a serial connection which does not require any driver.

**GreyGeek** · Aug 25, 2010, 10:20 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

ScottyK, I should have an old Zoom 56K V.92 modem laying around somewhere. Want it? Just pay postage.

**ScottyK** · Aug 26, 2010, 08:24 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Grey - Thanks for the offer! If I can't get the modem to work with the website provided by ardvark71, then I'll drop some $$$ in the mail for you.

**ardvark71** · Aug 26, 2010, 11:57 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Originally posted by ScottyK

Grey - Thanks for the offer! If I can't get the modem to work with the website provided by ardvark71, then I'll drop some $$$ in the mail for you.

Hi....

Something just occured to me after I responded to your PM.....in all likelihood you have a (newer) laptop and the type of modem that I and perhaps GreyGeek mentioned/offered to you requires a serial connection that I highly doubt your laptop even has. This type of port has been phased out in the newer systems.

Should the drivers from Linuxant fail to work (or you just decide against that option,) here is a modem that should work with your system. It's USB and U.S. Robotics/TigerDirect states that it should work with Linux.

I apologize for the oversight on my part.

Regards...

**Ole Juul** · Aug 27, 2010, 12:21 AM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Originally posted by ardvark71

Something just occured to me after I responded to your PM.....in all likelihood you have a (newer) laptop and the type of modem that I and perhaps GreyGeek mentioned/offered to you requires a serial connection that I highly doubt your laptop even has. . . .
. . . here is a modem that should work with your system. It's USB and U.S. Robotics/TigerDirect states that it should work with Linux.

Oops, I made the same mistake. I just assumed that anything even remotely related to a computer has a serial port on it (blush) but I'm showing my age there. I guess that era has passed. USB is the new universal port - just like the name says.

I haven't tried this generation of USR but all the old ones were very nice because you can program the S registers and also set up different profiles. Hehe, but maybe that kind of thing is getting old fashioned too.

**ardvark71** · Aug 27, 2010, 12:29 AM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Originally posted by Ole Juul

but I'm showing my age there.

Hi...

Don't feel bad, I'm 38.

Regards...

**ScottyK** · Aug 27, 2010, 06:26 AM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

So last night I went to the website that ardvark71 recommended, and I managed to get the driver to install.

I was pleased to hear the computer dial out, and actually connect!

It logged onto the network, and appeared to be ready to do.

The question now is, how do I tell the system that it's OK to use that connection?

It seems like the internet browser and everything else depending on a connection was "looking" for either the LAN, or the wireless.

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it. If I can get this modem to work it will get me even closer to ditching windows in favor of Kubuntu.

Is it just me, or does anybody else enjoy the sound of modems handshaking. I too must be showing my age (40)!

He who laughs last is at 300 baud.

**Ole Juul** · Aug 27, 2010, 09:00 AM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Originally posted by ScottyK

. . . The question now is, how do I tell the system that it's OK to use that connection?

It seems like the internet browser and everything else depending on a connection was "looking" for either the LAN, or the wireless.

I've never set up a modem manually in Linux, but is it getting an IP address? I guess you might want to look at your /etc/ppp/options. A quick way is to type:

Code:

egrep -v '#|^ *$' /etc/ppp/options

Is it just me, or does anybody else enjoy the sound of modems handshaking. I too must be showing my age (40)!

I'm over 60 so of course I love the sound of modems.

However, now I just run them on vintage kit or my regular DOS machine when the broadband goes down.

**ardvark71** · Aug 27, 2010, 10:03 AM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Originally posted by ScottyK

So last night I went to the website that ardvark71 recommended, and I managed to get the driver to install.

I was pleased to hear the computer dial out, and actually connect!

It logged onto the network, and appeared to be ready to do.

The question now is, how do I tell the system that it's OK to use that connection?

It seems like the internet browser and everything else depending on a connection was "looking" for either the LAN, or the wireless.

Hi....

Along with Ole's advice, are you also able to ping a site? Sometimes modems can connect and "shake hands" with the server but something prevents data transmission. A number of things can cause this...driver or operating system issues or something could be wrong with the modem (but I highly doubt this in your case.)

To see if you are getting out, open a terminal window (click the "K" start button, click on "Applications," then "System," then "Terminal." It should say "Konsole" underneath the word "terminal.") At the prompt, type in "ping google.com" (without the quotations) or a website of your choice. If you are connected properly, you should see a continuous stream of entries that include something like, "64 bytes from..." (it should also include the IP address of the site you are pinging.) More information on pinging can be found here.

Regards...

**GreyGeek** · Aug 27, 2010, 12:21 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Four or five years ago my wife decided that we were spending too much money on our cable internet and TV connection and asked if we could go back to something cheaper -- dialup for $15/mo, compared to the $70/mo for the TimeWarner 20 channels and 7Mb/sec Internet.

"Ok, but you won't like it".

I signed up for a one month trial for $15 for a local dialup connection. Plugged in that Zoom modem and while she stood behind me I made the connection. Two or three minutes later we had the connection. I began downloading our email. 10 minutes later the email was downloaded. We are about 15 minutes into this and she has a frown on her face. She writes a response to one of her emails and two minutes after she clicks send the transmission is complete. "Wow, that's SLOW!", she says. She's normally used to clicking the email icon, getting all her msgs downloaded in a few seconds, responding, and having her response sent back in a few seconds, then shutting down Thunderbird. "I can't wait all day for this thing to connect, download, and send back."

We canceled the dialup and kept our cable connection. I knew that would be the way it would turn out.

**ScottyK** · Aug 27, 2010, 04:30 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

apparently I'm not getting out. Going into terminal I'll try to ping a couple of popular sites, and I'll get an unknown host.

Ardvark - I'm using the free 14.4K driver. If I can connect I'll happily pay for the 56K.

**GreyGeek** · Aug 27, 2010, 05:36 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

What does ifconfig show?

If it shows that you have an IP address assigned then perhaps your /etc/resolv.conf needs some DNS data in it. Mine is:

nameserver 207.69.188.186
nameserver 207.69.188.187
domain earthlink.net
search earthlink.net

But you can put Google's DNS or openDNS in there.
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Configure your network settings to use the IP addresses 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 as your DNS servers:

nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4

https://store.opendns.com/get/basic

**ScottyK** · Aug 28, 2010, 04:01 PM

Re: Installing an internal 56k modem??

Ok, once I plugged in the cable for the modem, I turned off the wireless and connected. Then I typed ifconfig and got this.

Code:

 Link encap:Point-to-Point Protocol 
     inet addr:12.74.168.148 P-t-P:199.69.156.183 Mask:255.255.255.255
     UP POINTOPOINT RUNNING NOARP MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
     RX packets:3 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
     TX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
     collisions:0 txqueuelen:3 
     RX bytes:42 (42.0 B) TX bytes:63 (63.0 B)

Then I took a look at what /etc/resolv.conf said. All it had listed was my dns info for my router at home.

For the Google DNS server lists, do I just copy and paste those two lines of code into the resolv.conf? Do I leave what is currently there?

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