modem:is it a winmodem?

[mark at buttery.org (Mark Dulcey)]

Massimo Morin wrote:
> 
> Hi,
>     I got a modem very cheap. The box DOES NOT say that it is a winmodem
> or similar.
> How can I know that the box is not lying?
> The label attached sais:
> I56PSP-F2
> It is a pci modem V56...

It probably is a winmodem. Most PCI internal modems are. Most,
but not all, ISA internal modems and external modems are
controller-based. (Yes, companies using Rockwell chips actually
made some external RPI [Rockwell Programming Interface, an early
version of the winmodem theme] a few years ago.)

One simple way to find out, if you have a suitable system
available, is to install it into a recent Microsoft operating
system (Win98 Second Edition or Windows 2000) WITHOUT using the
driver disk supplied with the modem. Cheap generic modems will
typically be identified as "LT WinModem" (for ones using the
Lucent chipset) or something similar, rather than being
identified by brand name.

You can also look on the disk (or more likely CD-ROM these days)
and check the size of the driver files that come with the modem.
If all that is there are small .INF files (which are
human-readable), the modem has a controller. If there is a larger
mysterious binary, it's a winmodem.

Yet another clue, if the modem has anything resembling a useful
manual, is whether there is any mention of using it with
operating systems other than Windows. If there are DOS or Unix
instructions that don't call for installing a driver, the modem
has a controller. If the DOS instructions call for installing a
driver from the disk, it's a winmodem. If DOS or Unix isn't
mentioned at all, it's probably a winmodem.

Finally, for the ambitious, you can look at the modem chip on the
card, and go to the website of the chip manufacturer and try to
identify it. Unfortunately, some modem makers obscure the
original identification o hte chips, making that method
impossible.


-- 
Mark J. Dulcey               mark at buttery.org
Visit my house's home page:  http://www.buttery.org/
Visit my home page:          http://www.buttery.org/markpoly/
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