Can’t Adjust Modem Volume (Win 98, XP)

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I am having similar problems on two computers.
The more important of the two is a Win 98 computer. My friend wants to be able to turn off the modem volume so she can check email while her baby is napping.
So far we have gone to the control panel>modems>General>Properities and moved the volume slider to “off”. Then we went to the general volume control on the task bar and turned all the volume controls off.
Then we restarted the computer.
The modem still makes noise while dialing and connecting.

I have the opposite problem on my Toshiba Satellite WinXP laptop. I have done everything I can to be able to hear the modem (for troubleshooting purposes when connecting in hotels). Our tech guy at work even looked at it. Have gone to all of the same places described above, but still no modem sound (I had this same problem on my Toshiba Satellite Win 98 six years ago – could it be a Toshiba thing?)

Thanks for any tips – again, more important problem is getting sound OFF on the Win98 desktop computer.
-cynthia

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Cynthia,
You were close when checking the modem properties to silence the dialing sounds but that doesn’t always work for some modems.
Check out this site for more options to add AT commands to the modem properties.

QUIET PLEASE

There may also be a solution to the second problem there too.

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Hmmm. This looks straightforward enough. I will have my friend try it tomorrow. BUT….When I tried to check this out on my Win98 laptop, I do not have an “Advanced” tab! When I go to Start>Settings>Control Panel>Modems I have only a “General” and “Diagnostics” tab. There is an “Advanced” button if on the General tab I go to Properties>Connection – but there doesn’t appear to be anything there that refers to the AT Command (this is my Toshiba laptop – it’s past my friend’s bedtime right now, but I’ll check with her in the morning about whether she has this tab on her computer).

I do have an “Advanced” tab on my two WinXP computers (not having any problem with that one – just exploring) – but there is also no reference to AT Command there – just a blank space for “Extra Settings”. I did have a blank space for “Extra Settings” on the other computer as well. I didn’t dare just type stuff in there, since I had no idea what it was for. Do you think the AT Command should go in there?

-cynthia

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Cynthia,
“Extra Settings” is where you type in the AT commands.

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We’re a little shy here.
On my freind’s computer, the “Extra Settings” Box already contains the following text:
NOS37=12
What does this refer to (if it matters)?
Perhaps more important: Do we just hit return and add the AT Command on the next line? Put a comma between? Delete what’s there? None of my three computers had anything in the “Extra Settings” box, so I didn’t anticipate this.

Thanks for bearing with us. I’m reasonably bold about experimenting with parts of the computer I am somewhat familiar with, but this is totally new territory for me!

-cynthia

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Cynthia,
I don’t know what that command is. However, you can add a second command on that same line, just separated by a space. ( you could try deleting that one, just write it down so you can put it back in if necessary )
I am includung a link to a site that has the speaker volume commands that you can try.

Speaker Control

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Cynthia,
I don’t know what that command is. However, you can add a second command on that same line, just separated by a space. ( you could try deleting that one, just write it down so you can put it back in if necessary )
I am includung a link to a site that has the speaker volume commands that you can try.

Speaker Control

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Cynthia

All the modem commands were originally invented for Hayes modems, and we’re talking many more than 20 years ago. They had an AT prefix and could be combined together, as in ATM1L2 (see the previous reference for meaning).

I don’t know what NO is (more likely it is N0?) but ATS37=12 is part of an extension of the original standard specific to a particular modem manufacturer, or even a particular model, where there are a number of switch bytes for holding settings. Here the one referred to is, surprise, surprise, byte 37, which is set to a value (presumably binary, as in 0b00001100 = decimal 12). You would have to get the modem handbook to tell you what this meant, and, yes, it is very probably irrelevant.

What is happening, I think, is that all the ATxxxxxxx stuff has been set up internally, and the Extra Settings are adding the N0S37=12 (if that’s what it is) on your friend’s computer.

All you need to do is to put M1L2 (or whatever you choose) in your own Extra Settings, and avoid putting any blanks before, within, or after the string.

John

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Thanks. That helps me understand at least somewhat. We’ll hold our breath and experiment.
I’ll post here the results (might be a few days – she might want to wait until I’m physically there to do it myself)
I’m not sure what you mean by “your own extra settings” but I’ll take a guess and go from there.

Thanks again.
-cynthia

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Cynthia

Just as a guide, these commands will control the speaker on most modems. Note that “0” is a zero, not a capital “o”. The Windows 95 Modems control panel and the Macintosh Modem control panel (in OS 7.6 and higher) have volume controls, so using an init string is usually not necessary if you have the correct driver or settings files installed.

M0 Speaker always off
M1 Speaker on during connection
M2 Speaker always on (very noisy)
L0 Lowest volume
L1 Lowest volume (redundant)
L2 Medium volume
L3 Maximum volume

Alan

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Cynthia

Just as a guide, these commands will control the speaker on most modems. Note that “0” is a zero, not a capital “o”. The Windows 95 Modems control panel and the Macintosh Modem control panel (in OS 7.6 and higher) have volume controls, so using an init string is usually not necessary if you have the correct driver or settings files installed.

M0 Speaker always off
M1 Speaker on during connection
M2 Speaker always on (very noisy)
L0 Lowest volume
L1 Lowest volume (redundant)
L2 Medium volume
L3 Maximum volume

Alan

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Thanks. That helps me understand at least somewhat. We’ll hold our breath and experiment.
I’ll post here the results (might be a few days – she might want to wait until I’m physically there to do it myself)
I’m not sure what you mean by “your own extra settings” but I’ll take a guess and go from there.

Thanks again.
-cynthia

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A quick browse on Google shows ATN0 as “ATN0 Forces modem to communicate to modem at the baud rate set by s37”, so I guess that someone has hard coded the modem speed, rather than allow it to auto-negotiate – you may even get a speed increase if you remove that string!

StuartR

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A quick browse on Google shows ATN0 as “ATN0 Forces modem to communicate to modem at the baud rate set by s37”, so I guess that someone has hard coded the modem speed, rather than allow it to auto-negotiate – you may even get a speed increase if you remove that string!

StuartR

Reply | Quote

Cynthia

All the modem commands were originally invented for Hayes modems, and we’re talking many more than 20 years ago. They had an AT prefix and could be combined together, as in ATM1L2 (see the previous reference for meaning).

I don’t know what NO is (more likely it is N0?) but ATS37=12 is part of an extension of the original standard specific to a particular modem manufacturer, or even a particular model, where there are a number of switch bytes for holding settings. Here the one referred to is, surprise, surprise, byte 37, which is set to a value (presumably binary, as in 0b00001100 = decimal 12). You would have to get the modem handbook to tell you what this meant, and, yes, it is very probably irrelevant.

What is happening, I think, is that all the ATxxxxxxx stuff has been set up internally, and the Extra Settings are adding the N0S37=12 (if that’s what it is) on your friend’s computer.

All you need to do is to put M1L2 (or whatever you choose) in your own Extra Settings, and avoid putting any blanks before, within, or after the string.

John

Reply | Quote

We’re a little shy here.
On my freind’s computer, the “Extra Settings” Box already contains the following text:
NOS37=12
What does this refer to (if it matters)?
Perhaps more important: Do we just hit return and add the AT Command on the next line? Put a comma between? Delete what’s there? None of my three computers had anything in the “Extra Settings” box, so I didn’t anticipate this.

Thanks for bearing with us. I’m reasonably bold about experimenting with parts of the computer I am somewhat familiar with, but this is totally new territory for me!

-cynthia

Reply | Quote

Cynthia,
“Extra Settings” is where you type in the AT commands.

Reply | Quote

Hmmm. This looks straightforward enough. I will have my friend try it tomorrow. BUT….When I tried to check this out on my Win98 laptop, I do not have an “Advanced” tab! When I go to Start>Settings>Control Panel>Modems I have only a “General” and “Diagnostics” tab. There is an “Advanced” button if on the General tab I go to Properties>Connection – but there doesn’t appear to be anything there that refers to the AT Command (this is my Toshiba laptop – it’s past my friend’s bedtime right now, but I’ll check with her in the morning about whether she has this tab on her computer).

I do have an “Advanced” tab on my two WinXP computers (not having any problem with that one – just exploring) – but there is also no reference to AT Command there – just a blank space for “Extra Settings”. I did have a blank space for “Extra Settings” on the other computer as well. I didn’t dare just type stuff in there, since I had no idea what it was for. Do you think the AT Command should go in there?

-cynthia

Reply | Quote

Cynthia,
You were close when checking the modem properties to silence the dialing sounds but that doesn’t always work for some modems.
Check out this site for more options to add AT commands to the modem properties.

QUIET PLEASE

There may also be a solution to the second problem there too.

Reply | Quote

Check the properties of the each “Connection” shown in the Modems area of the control panel. If I remember right EACH will have their OWN volume setting.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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I checked it out Dave, and you are right (at least on the Win 98 computer – I couldn’t find that on my XP Computers)! But on my win 98 laptop those settings are all turned on and still there is no sound. I will check with my friend tomorrow and see how those settings are on her computer.

-cynthia

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Available options under “Modem Properties” are defined by the modem driver, in other words, they are different for different modems and different operating systems.

If you have no sounds from your modem, make sure that modem speaker volume is not turn to minimum (for external modems) or, for internal modems, speaker is present (usually it is tiny black cylinder – cheaper models sometimes have no speaker at all). If modem has no speaker or you use a modem embedded to your laptop, some drivers allow the system speaker works as modem speaker. Check your laptop speakers – isn’t speakers volume set too low (usually it is combination of keyboard keys)?

Reply | Quote

Available options under “Modem Properties” are defined by the modem driver, in other words, they are different for different modems and different operating systems.

If you have no sounds from your modem, make sure that modem speaker volume is not turn to minimum (for external modems) or, for internal modems, speaker is present (usually it is tiny black cylinder – cheaper models sometimes have no speaker at all). If modem has no speaker or you use a modem embedded to your laptop, some drivers allow the system speaker works as modem speaker. Check your laptop speakers – isn’t speakers volume set too low (usually it is combination of keyboard keys)?

Reply | Quote

I checked it out Dave, and you are right (at least on the Win 98 computer – I couldn’t find that on my XP Computers)! But on my win 98 laptop those settings are all turned on and still there is no sound. I will check with my friend tomorrow and see how those settings are on her computer.

-cynthia

Reply | Quote

Check the properties of the each “Connection” shown in the Modems area of the control panel. If I remember right EACH will have their OWN volume setting.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

Reply | Quote