Subject: Converting a Motorola SM56 v90 modem to a v92 modem ============================================= For over 8 years I have been using a Motorola SM56 56K v.90 PCI dial-up modem (exact model is FB WS-5614PSL) on my Win98SE PC to surf the web. I purchased it back in May 1999 in a retail box which included the Win98 drivers on a CD-ROM. It sure would be great if I could make my current modem v.92 compatible so that I enjoy slighter higher download/upload speeds. Does anyone know if I can definitely improve this modem by way of a specific flash or driver upgrade that would convert my v.90 modem into a v.92 modem? If so, links to webpages containing the particular downloadable v.92 flash or driver upgrade for my exact modem model would be appreciated.

As far as I know, V92 is a hardware specification and there won't be a flash or driver update to bring a v90 up to a v92. All the v92's I've seen have had different chipsets than v90's. The main difference between the two is the (edit) v92's have 'modem on hold' to accomodate call waiting. There is a slight theoretical increase in the upload speed: http://www.modemsite.com/56k/v92.asp but apparently in practice that's not seen. It's been a while since I've gone out and bought a modem but I assume they're still on retail shelves. If not you can find them on ebay. Getting a new modem would probably be the only way to get v92 standards, if you feel it necessary.

Yea, go to a swap meet or computer show. You should be able to find one for no more than $5. Be aware that the phone line is usually the part of the system to hold back the speeds. By design phone lines cap at 53K. I never got more than about 48K back when I ran dialup.

and those apeeds depend on how close you are to the telephone switching station.

And if you're getting anything over 40K connection speed now, it likely wouldn't be worth the $5 for a cheap v.92 card anyway; you're likely limited by the "physical factors" mentioned above (phone lines, distance from exchange, etc.)

But you *may* gain a little performance if you were to switch over to an external hardware modem rather than an internal winmodem. I just had a quick look on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/External-V.90%2...

"But you *may* gain a little performance if you were to switch over to an external hardware modem" Good advice. I use US Robotics modems (cheap at thrift stores, Ebay, etc) and they have always worked well.