# Modem fails handshake?



## Pack Rat (Nov 9, 2006)

Has anything changed, technology wise, in the past couple weeks that would prevent an old computer that has been previously able to use dialup, from connecting? Nothing new hardware or software wise. I took it to town a couple days ago and using ethernet through a router, it worked just fine (other than the typical "script errors" it regularly throws because my Java is so far out of date). Trying to use dialup, I hear the "beep" and hash through several declining baud rates, as usual, but it eventually it ends at a single continuous tone, and gives the error "the computer you are calling did not answer". A borrowed friend's computer (running XP) connects ok (though slowly (28k at best), as usual). gre:

Here's the specs: 366mhz processor, 1gig mem, WinME, Firefox 2.0.12. No cell, no cable, no dsl available out here, and satellite is far too expensive for my budget.

I know: the probable answer is "get a new computer". Sorry, but why get all that technology based on ready access to a high-speed connection that will only make it and I more miserable throttled by a pinhole of bandwidth, when as long as the old one works for what I need it for (record keeping), I'm keeping it, and if it comes down to a choice, I don't really need the internet as much as I need to "make it do, make it last, use it up, wear it out".

TIA


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Sounds like a bad modem.


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## Pack Rat (Nov 9, 2006)

Nevada, good guess, but I don't believe it's the modem, as the diagnostics return "OK", and it does dial out, and does it's 'hash', but there just seems to be something lacking in the handshake. 

In looking at the borrowed XP, I see it is using "MD5 CHAP" authentication, whereas the old one is using the "PPP, WindowsNT/2k, ME" protocol. I'd have to do some research (over dialup) to see if that has anything to do with it.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Pack Rat said:


> Nevada, good guess, but I don't believe it's the modem, as the diagnostics return "OK", and it does dial out, and does it's 'hash', but there just seems to be something lacking in the handshake.


That's common with bad modems.



Pack Rat said:


> In looking at the borrowed XP, I see it is using "MD5 CHAP" authentication, whereas the old one is using the "PPP, WindowsNT/2k, ME" protocol. I'd have to do some research (over dialup) to see if that has anything to do with it.


Commercial Internet providers use either CHAP or PAP authentication. The only difference is in whether the password is sent encrypted or in plain text. CHAP requires plain text and PAP will accept the password either way, so MD5 CHAP authentication should work with any service.


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## WhyNot (Jun 21, 2011)

Barring any changes at your ISP...

It MAY be the modem it's dialing into, there are configuration settings (initialization strings) you can change for your modem to help with the handshake process, POSSIBLY. I would need to know your ISP and the make/model of your modem to be able to help more. These are settings that are easy enough to be changed and changed back by you.

I had the fun once of troubleshooting a modem several years ago...just to find out that the modem it happened to keep dialing into had a problem...not the one on the computer. When dialup users dial in to a "modem bank"...the ones with "issues" usually are connected to, fail and your end tries the next one in the bank. IF the modem you are dialing into is failing..your modem either is not falling over to a second one...or by chance .. it's the only one left that isn't busy...because all other users' modems have failed over to all the other good ones.

I know this makes it sound like a one in a million chance...but it really isn't...especially now with less upkeep on the dialup side. You may be dialing into a "bank" of 50 modems...but perhaps only 20 of them might actually work. Sounds sort of crazy...but I have seen this in action.


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## Jacktheknife (Feb 5, 2013)

Have you phone line checked, if its not pristine you can have such issues. If I recall, most modems have a setting to default down to 26k and that handshake almost never fails even on a bad line. Also, call the ISP and see if they will give you their list of direct numbers to each modem. I remember. Having such a list. Back in the day and getting a much better connection from one modem specifically.


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## Pack Rat (Nov 9, 2006)

WhyNot and Jack had the answer. :icecream: I suppose Nevada did too, but on the wrong end.

The phone lines out here are not 'pristine', and the PhoneCo is out here several times a year trying to clean up neighbors or my connections, so that was a consideration too, but it just didn't sound as noisy as usual when it fails for that reason.

I got a different access number from the ISP, and problem solved.

Thank you all for the input.


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## Jacktheknife (Feb 5, 2013)

Glad to hear you got it figured out.


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