Albie's HOWTO Page
(Tips and Tricks for Setting up and Using Windows)

INDEX to HOWTOs

1. Introduction
2. How to use these HOWTOs
3. Searching for a Topic
4. Setting up Windows 95(b) From Scratch
5. Creating a W'98 Startup Disk With CD Support
6. Formatting a Hard Drive with your W'98 Startup Disk
7. Installing W'95 onto a Blank Hard Drive
8. Write Protecting a Floppy Disk
9. De-Rating a Modem from V.90 to V.34 (Slow it Down)
10. Backing up and Restoring Outlook Express e-Mail
11. Altering the boot sequence of your computer
12. Virus HOAXES - how to know the real from the false
13. Checking the REAL speed of your modem

Introduction

Now that I've retired from working with computers, I'd like to leave some of the knowlege that I've gathered for you to use, if you like...

Most of my Windows experience has been with W3.11, W95(a and b), and W98(SE). I've found Windows a very frustrating operating system to use, because of its complexity and instability, and because of lack of documentation (the HELP files are generally useless).

When Windows stops working properly, my usual approach has been to salvage whatever data is recoverable, then to erase and re-install windows from scratch. This is a "Sledge-hammer" method, I know, but it usually gets things going again rather well. The speed increase is usually amazing!

In the sections which follow, it's assumed that the computer you're playing with has NO DATA of any importance on the hard drive!!!

How to use the HOWTO sections below:

Each HOWTO section has a heading, which tells you what it's for, and the HOWTO's are often in a sequence, which may need to be followed to complete a task. For example, the first series of HOWTO's explain how to install Windows 95 on a computer - but they consist of a number of HOWTO sections in sequence. Just follow them in the order that you find them...

If you want to SEARCH for a specific topic in these HOWTO's, you can use your browser's "FIND (on this page)" function. See the HOWTO below: "How To Find a Topic in these HOWTO's"

How to Find a Topic in these HOWTO's

1. - Move to the very top of the page using the PageUp or UpArrow key (it's best to start your search from there)
2. - CLICK with your mouse on some text near the top of the page (this selects the start position for the search)
3. - Click on: [EDIT] - [FIND (On this page..)]
4. - Type a word or phrase EXACTLY in the form you want the computer to search for, and click [OK]
5. - The computer will move to the first occurrence of the phrase you typed, and by pressing [ENTER], you can go to the next occurrence, and so on....
6. - Hopefully you will eventually find the helpful hint you are looking for....

How To Set up Windows 95(b) from Scratch

Minimum Prerequisites:

486 processor (at least 100MHz) or Pentium
16MB RAM
500MB Hard Disk Drive
CD-ROM Drive
Video card (VGA or SVGA) and colour Monitor
The usual 3.5" floppy drive, keyboard, mouse
Windows 98 Startup Disk with CD-ROM support (YES, W98, not 95)
Windows 95 CD-ROM

Why do I need a W'98 Startup disk when I'm installing W'95?

It has to do with your CD-ROM drive. Most W'95 Startup disks do not have support for CD-ROM drives, and it's MUCH easier to use a startup disk which has the ability to recognise your CD-ROM drive automatically. And although you're starting the computer with W'98, you should nevertheless be able to install W'95 from the W'95 CD-ROM with no conflicts.

Now you can follow the next few HOWTO's in sequence, and if you're lucky, and if your computer decides to co-operate, you'll have a freshly installed Windows 95 system in an hour or so....

How to create a W'98 Startup Disk with CD-ROM support

1. - Find a friend with a computer which has W'98 running on it
2. - Get a blank, 3.5" floppy disk (1.44MB capacity)
3. - On the W'98 computer, go to: [START] - [CONTROL PANEL] - [ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS] - [STARTUP DISK] - [CREATE DISK]
4. - Insert the blank floppy disk when prompted, and watch the little light doing its thing....
5. - When it's finished, WRITE PROTECT the disk, and label it "Windows 98 Startup Disk (with CD-ROM support)"
(You may wish to see the section: How to Write Protect a Floppy Disk)
6. - Now you have a disk you can use to start up your computer, which will attempt to automatically detect and allocate a drive letter for your CD-ROM drive as it starts up.
NOTE: I'm not sure about the legality of this process - Microsoft MAY have something to say about it, but I'm sure that if you're just experimenting at home, no harm can be done, and Microsoft shouldn't get too upset!

How to use a W'98 Startup Disk to FORMAT a hard drive

WARNING! This will PERMANENTLY ERASE everything on the hard drive!
1. - Insert the W'98 Startup Disk in the drive
2. - Turn the computer ON
3. - The computer should start up using the Floppy Drive as the "BOOT" device, and you should end up with an option which suggests: "Start the computer WITH CD-ROM support"
4. - If the computer doesn't start with the floppy disk as the boot device, you need to alter the "BOOT SEQUENCE" in the computer's CMOS SETTINGS. (To do this, see the HOWTO below: "How to alter the Boot Sequence of the computer")
5. - Select the CD-ROM support option (even though we don't need it now) so that we can see if your CD-ROM can be detected by the W'98 disk.
6. - If your CD-ROM is detected, it will tell you at the end which disk drive letter has been allocated to the CD. Do NOT continue and format your hard drive if your CD-ROM is not detected! (This is because, with no CD-ROM, you won't be able to install W'95... Catch-22!)
7. - At the end of all this, you will get an A:\ prompt on the screen
8. - Type: FORMAT C: and press [ENTER]
9. - You'll get a warning, telling you that you're about to erase everything! - Go ahead and FORMAT!
10. - Wait for the format to complete - the progress is displayed as a percentage.
11. - It should go smoothly and steadily. If it doesn't, then your hard drive is damaged, and can probably not be used.
12. - At the end, it asks for a VOLUME LABEL - I usually give it the name SYSTEM, but it's up to you...
13. - You're DONE - now the hard disk is formatted, blank, and totally useless...

How to Install W'95 onto a blank, formatted hard drive

I always COPY the Windows 95 setup files from the CD-ROM onto the Hard Drive first, before running the SETUP program. In fact, I don't run SETUP from the CD-ROM at all, but rather from the copied set of files on the Hard Drive. This is because if the CD-ROM gets damaged or lost later, I can still re-install or alter the installation of Windows.

1. - Start up your computer with the W'98 startup disk in the drive.
2. - Tell it to start "With CD-ROM Support when it asks.
3. - When it has started, look and see which drive letter has been allocated to the CD-ROM drive. (Probably D: or E:)
4. - Type: E: and press [ENTER] (use the drive letter of your CD)
5. - Type: CD WIN95 [ENTER] (you should now be inside the WIN95 directory on your CD drive...)
6. - Type: C: and press [ENTER]
7. - Type: MD WIN95 [ENTER] (This creates a WIN95 directory inside your C: drive)
8. - Type: CD WIN95 [ENTER] (Now you are inside the WIN95 directory)
9. - Type: COPY E:*.* [ENTER] (This will copy all the files from the CD's WIN95 directory into your C: drive WIN95 directory) (Note that E: represents the drive letter for your CD!!)
10. - Wait for the files to be copied, then remove your Windows 95 CD
11. - Type: SETUP [ENTER]
12. - Now follow all the prompts and accept all the default settings
13. - When it asks for a CD KEY, enter the 20-digit key from your Windows 95 "Certificate of Authenticity" (Usually pasted on the front of your Windows 95 Booklet. You have still got it, haven't you?)
14. - The SETUP program will ask you to restart your computer a couple of times (it will try to do it automatically for you), and it will try to detect all the hardware inside your computer. (Video Card, Modem, Sound Card, etc.)

At the end of all this, you should have a working Windows 95 system, but in my experience, there will probably be some problem with a hardware device not recognised properly. This will require some trouble-shooting, and almost certainly some extra software (driver program for your modem, for example), which you should have on disk somewhere.

The trouble is, there is no standard way of installing driver software for all devices (or even for the same type of device!), so you'll need to try one of the methods discussed in the section below: "How to Install Drivers for Hardware Devices"

If all went well, and all your hardware has been successfully detected, you can now install your favourite Wordprocessing software, and your favourite Internet Browser software and E-Mail software.
(You may wish to see: "How to Read wordprocessor files without a wordprocessor" and "How to install Internet Explorer 5.5" and "How to install Eudora E-mail software")

One of the FIRST things to do after this, is to install a good ANTIVIRUS program - I use EZ-Trust, (Which costs), but there is a good free one called AVG Antivirus.
(You may wish to see: "How to Install EZ-Trust Antivirus" and "How to Install AVG Antivirus")

How to Write Protect a Floppy Disk

What is the purpose of Write Protecting a floppy disk?

Well, if we create a Windows Startup disk, for example, we don't want to allow the contents of the disk to change once we've created it! (Infection by a virus is an example of a "Change"!!!)

Have a careful look at a floppy disk - Turn it over, so that you can see the circular bright steel cap in the centre (about the size of a 20c piece)

Now look at the BOTTOM edge of the disk - it should have two small square holes through it, one of which is covered up with a moveable black slider.

Note: Some disks - the 720K variety - only have ONE small square hole, with the moveable black slider over it. But I don't use these disks because they are only half the capacity of the 1.44MB variety (the ones with the two holes)

Ok, now that you've located the little black slider:
If you CLOSE the hole, the disk IS NOT write protected.
If you OPEN the hole, the disk IS write protected.

You will note that this is the same as the write protect system used in cassette tapes and Video tapes - if you OPEN the hole (by breaking off the little plastic tab), the tape IS write protected - you cannot write on the tape or erase it.

The problem with write protecting a disk is that you forget that you've done it, and the next time you wish to WRITE on the disk or FORMAT it, you get a message telling you that you're an idiot! (But that's Windows for you...)

How to De-Rate a Modem from V.90 to V.34

Background:
In Rural areas, where telephone lines are noisier than in cities, V90 modems (56K speed) don't work very well. The main problem is that they don't negotiate an appropriate speed properly with the ISP's modem. They usually try to go too fast for the noise level on the line, and you get garbled packets which have to be re-sent over and over. The modem detects this, then tries to renegotiate, (which takes about 10 seconds), and once again gets it wrong, and the process is repeated. This results in a VERY slow connection, and sometimes the connection is dropped by the ISP.

The Solution:
Most V90 modems can be instructed to "derate" themselves to act as though they are in fact a V34 modem. V34 modems are slower than V90 modems under ideal line conditions, (33.6K maximum speed), but they do negotiate a more appropriate line speed and handle noisy lines better than V90 modems. This means that while the maximum speed is lower, the actual throughput is higher because of fewer garbled packets.

How to Derate your modem:
The problem is that there are three or four different "languages" which different modems understand. So there is no single command which will work in all cases. What we do is to try each of the commands in turn until we find one which the modem understands. The commands have to be inserted in the "Extra Settings" field in the Modem's "Advanced Modem Settings" dialog box. [Start] - [Settings] - [Control Panel] - [Modems] - (Select your Modem) - [Properties] - [Connection] - [Advanced] - (Extra Settings Field) PHEW!
(Note that it is not sufficient to merely select a slower speed in the [Modems] - [Properties] - [General] Dialog box. This does NOT derate the modem to a V34, it merely limits the speed at which your computer talks to the modem, and not the speed at which the two modems talk to each other on the phone line - the "line speed".)

The commands:
Here are the commands to try in the Extra Settings Field: (Try them one at a time, in this order) Note that ALL UPPERCASE letters are used.

+MS=V34,1,1200,33600
+MS=11,1,1200,33600
-V90=0
S32=98

The Procedure: (and how to know that it has worked!)
- Insert the command to test in the Extra Settings field for the modem
- Close all the dialog boxes (Click "ok" rather than "cancel" in each case where appropriate)
- Go to [My Computer] - [Dialup Networking] - (Select your connection) - and try to make a connection
- If it starts to dial correctly, you've done it - Go no further.
- If you get a message saying that the Modem is not responding, do the following:
- Cancel the connection
- Remove the command from the Extra settings field for the modem
- SHUT DOWN AND RESTART the computer ( this is needed to reset some modems which hang if you give them a command they don't understand)
- When the computer has restarted, insert the next command in the Extra Settings field
- Try to connect once more.
- Repeat this until you find one of the commands which works.

Listening to your modem: It sometimes helps to be able to listen to the modem while it is communicating with the remote computer. Usually, the modem is set to turn its internal speaker on until the remote modem has negotiated an initial speed, then it turns off, and you can't hear anything further. The sounds from your modem can be useful in diagnosing modem problems, so it can be instructed to turn on the speaker and KEEP IT ON all the time while you are connected.

The command to do this is: M2L1

This command is placed in the Extra Settings field, just in front of the command to turn off V90 protocol. For example, if you used the command
"-V90=0" , you would type in the following command in the field:
M2L1-V90=0
(Note that there are no spaces between the two commands.)
A "normal" connection starts with the sound of the computer dialing, then a "peeeeeeeeeep" sound, then a sort of "De-Ding - De-Ding" sound, then a continuous "Pssshshshshshshshshshshsh" sound for the rest of the connection time. If problems occur during the connection, the "De-Ding - De-Ding" sound happens every now and then during the connection, and data traffic stops for about 10 seconds. This means that you've still got a problem, and you haven't de-rated your modem properly.

Good Luck!

How To Back up and Restore Outlook Express Messages and Addresses

Why do want to do this anyway?
We all know how important it is to back up our documents and working folders - If Windows crashes and we need to do a complete re-install, we should be able to re-instate all our documents and other data.

If we've stored all the stuff we want to back up in the "My Documents" folder, then all we need to do is back up the "My Documents" folder, and we've got the lot. Unfortunately, Outlook Express does NOT store e-mail in this folder. It finds a rather obscure place inside the Windows folder instead.

So what we need to do is make a COPY of your Outlook Express data and store this copy in a folder in your My Documents folder. Then every time you back up your My Documents folder, you'll be backing up your e-mail as well.

SUMMARY OF STEPS:
To backup Outlook Express data:
� Copy mail files to a backup folder
� Export the Address Book to a file
� Export the mail account to a file
� Export the news account to a file
To restore or import Outlook Express data:
� Import messages from the backup folder
� Import the Address Book file
� Import the mail account file
� Import the news account file

BACKING UP OUTLOOK EXPRESS DATA

Copy Mail Files to a Backup Folder
To make a backup copy of your Outlook Express e-mail message files:
- On the Tools menu, click [Options].
- On the Maintenance tab, click [Store Folder].
- Select the folder location, and then press CTRL+C to copy the location.
- Click [Cancel], and then click [Cancel] again to close the dialog box.
- Click [Start], and then click [Run].
- In the Open box, press CTRL+V, and then click [OK].
- On the Edit menu, click [Select All].
- On the Edit menu, click [Copy], and then close the window.
- Open your "My Documents" folder and make a new folder there called "EMAILS".
- (Next time you come in here, you won't have to make a new folder...)
- Double-click the EMAILS folder to open it.
- On the Edit menu, click [Paste].
- Close the EMAILS window.

Export your Address Book to a File
To export your Outlook Express address book to a file:
- On the File menu, click [Export], and then click [Address Book].
- Click [Text File] (Comma Separated Values), and then click [Export].
- Click [Browse].
- Locate the EMAILS folder that you created inside "My Documents".
- In the File Name box, type ADDRESSES, and then click [Save].
- Click [Next].
- Check that the correct check boxes are ticked, and then click [Finish].
- Click [OK] and then click [Close].

Export your Mail Accounts to a File
To Export the Mail Account to a File:
- On the Tools menu, click [Accounts].
- On the Mail tab, click the mail account you want to export, then click [Export].
- In the Save In box, locate and open the EMAILS folder in My Documents, then click [Save].
- Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to export.
- Click [Close].

Export your Newsgroup Accounts to a File
To Export the Newsgroup Account to a File: (If you need to do this!)
- On the Tools menu, click [Accounts].
- On the News tab, click the news account you want to export, then click [Export].
- In the Save In box, locate and open the EMAILS folder in My Documents, then click [Save].
- Repeat these steps for each news account that you want to export.
- Click [Close].

RESTORING OUTLOOK EXPRESS DATA

Import E-Mail Messages from the Backup Folder
To Import Messages from the Backup Folder:
- On the File menu, point to [Import], and then click [Messages].
- In the Select an e-mail program.. box, click [Microsoft Outlook Express 5], and then click [Next].
- Click [Import mail from an OE5 store directory], and then click [OK].
- Click [Browse], then click on the EMAILS folder in your My Documents folder
- Click [OK], and then click [Next].
- Click [All folders], click [Next], and then click [Finish].

Import your Address Book from a File
To import your address book file:
- On the File menu, click [Import], and then click [Other Address Book].
- Click [Text File] (Comma Separated Values), and then click [Import].
- Click [Browse].
- Locate the EMAILS folder as before, click the [ADDRESSES.CSV] file, then click [Open].
- Click [Next], and then click [Finish].
- Click [OK], and then click [Close].

Import your Mail Accounts from a file
To import your mail account file:
- On the Tools menu, click [Accounts].
- On the Mail tab, click [Import].
- In the Look In box, locate the EMAILS folder inside your My Documents folder
- Click the mail account that you want to import, and then click [Open].
- Repeat these steps for each mail account that you want to import.
- Click [Close].

Import your Newsgroup Accounts from a File
To Import the Newsgroup Account File (If you've saved one...)
- On the Tools menu, click [Accounts].
- On the News tab, click [Import].
- In the Look In box, locate the EMAILS folder as before.
- Click the news account that you want to import, and then click [Open].
- Repeat these steps for each news account that you want to import.
- Click [Close].

(or, you could just install a decent e-mail program like Eudora, which allows you to place your email and address book folder anywhere you like.)

Altering the BOOT SEQUENCE of your computer

What is a "Boot Sequence"?

Well, a little background first...

When your computer starts up, it could start up from any one of a number of different "Boot Devices". (A Boot Device is usually a disk or disk drive of some type, e.g. hard disk, floppy disk, CD-Rom disk, etc.)

Your computer has at least two of these Boot Devices (Hard Disk and Floppy Disk - Probably a CD-Rom disk as well), and so when it starts up, it needs to know which one to try FIRST for its startup instructions....

There is a chip in your computer which can be re-programmed by you, which contains certain start-up information, (as well as the Date and Time). This chip is called the CMOS (or BIOS) chip. It's sometimes referred to as the CMOS CLOCK, because it contains the system's time-keeping mechanism.

Now we're getting to it: This chip also contains the BOOT SEQUENCE, which lists the ORDER in which the computer should try the various BOOT DEVICES, to see if it can find an operating system to run.

So, if your BOOT SEQUENCE is: [FLOPPY DISK] - [HARD DISK] - [CD-ROM], then the computer will look FIRST in the floppy drive for a bootable startup disk, and if if finds one, it will boot from that device and run the operating system from that disk. If however it finds no disk in the drive, it will then try the next device (the Hard Disk) for an operating system, and so on...

This means that if you wish to start up your computer from a floppy disk, you MUST have [FLOPPY DISK] before [HARD DISK] in your Boot Sequence, otherwise it will always boot from the Hard Disk and ignore the floppy.

Altering the BOOT SEQUENCE
1. Shut your computer down (if it's running)
2. Start your computer, and watch the screen for the words: "Press 'DEL' for Setup..." - and when you see them, quickly press the "Delete" key.
3. The computer will go into a special CMOS SETUP menu screen, (which will be slightly different depending on which type of computer you have, so the following instructions are suitably vague...)
4. Now you need to go through the various screens until you find the BOOT SEQUENCE settings. (Use your imagination and your detective skills!)
5. When you find them, you can use the 'PgUp and PgDown' keys (usually) to alter the sequence to the sequence you desire.
6. Now exit from the screen you're in (Usually with the ESC key) then find the option which allows you to SAVE your changes and EXIT.

That's it - easy wasn't it?

Virus HOAXES - how to know...

Ok, so a friend sends me a message about this "Really Dangerous" virus which is destroying computers all over the world, and is immune to all the known anti-virus systems. The message tells me to "Send a copy of this warning to everyone in your address book..."

Sound familiar? I'm sure all of us have received messages like this from time to time from trusted friends and collegues. So how do we know if the message is REAL, or just another hoax? If the message is real, then it would be irresponsible NOT to send it on to all your friends, but if it's a hoax, then you really don't want to perpetuate it.

That would be like "Crying Wolf" - and then one day, when a GENUINE warning comes along, we ignore it.... and we're sorry later....

The interesting thing about these hoaxes, is that they act in some ways like the viruses that they pretend to warn you about! You see, they:
- Arrive in an e-mail and "Infect" your mind
- Get you to send a copy of itself to everyone in your address book
- Flood the international e-mail network with unnecessary traffic
- Avoid detection by anti-virus systems for as long as possible
But unlike "real" viruses, they don't actually do any damage, (except waste your time) and they get YOU to send them on manually, instead of programming your e-mail system directly to do the job.

Actually, some of them can damage your system. There's one called the "Teddy Bear" hoax (or JDBGMGR.EXE hoax) which tells you to delete a file from your Windows System (and explains in detail how to do it) before asking you to send it on to all your address book contacts. Gullible people naturally follow the instructions, and end up with a (slightly) damaged Windows System.

There's also the famous "Australian Virus" which asks you to:
1. "Send a copy of this e-mail to everyone in your address book"
2. "Then DELETE all the files on your entire hard drive, please"
3. "Tanks very much..."
(This virus is rampant and has caused extensive damage in some states in Australia, but it hasn't reached New Zealand yet - although there are some reports of its presence in areas of NZ where ex-patriot Ozzies live)

Let's get serious: How do we KNOW if a message is a Hoax?

There are often clues in the message itself. Words or phrases like:
"It will destroy your computer.."
"There is no known antivirus protection.."
"IBM (or AOL, or Microsoft, etc) have sent this warning..."
"Send this to EVERYONE in your address book.."
If you see these phrases (or similar ones), you should be suspicious, because they make extravagant and frankly scare-mongering claims.

BUT, how can I be ABSOLUTELY sure it's a hoax?

Fortunately, all the main antivirus companies receive hoaxes like these too, and they have the resources to investigate each one thoroughly.
Most of these companies maintain a detailed list of all the known hoaxes, and they usually have a "search" function where you can enter a couple of keywords and search their database for hoaxes which refer to those keywords.

For example, say I received an e-mail which refers to the "teddy bear" virus, (it also refers to the "virus" by name, i.e. "jdbgmgr.exe").
I would log on to this website: http://www3.ca.com/virusinfo/Search.aspx
Then I'd fill in the keywords "teddy bear" or "jdbgmgr.exe" (without the quotes) in the space provided, and click on the "Submit Search" button at the bottom of the screen.

The search engine will go away, and come back with a detailed description of the hoax. So I'll know it's a hoax, and just delete the message without sending it on.

I would also send a message to the person who sent it on to me, telling her that she's a dozy dodo for being so naive and gullible.... ;-)

If you prefer, you could try any one of a number of different antivirus websites (McAfee.com, Symantec.com, etc...) and look for their "Hoax" listings. Try and find a "Search" function.

Happy Hoax-Hunting!

Checking the REAL speed of your Modem

The thing is, when your computer reports the speed of your modem, it often reports the COMPUTER-TO-MODEM speed, not the LINE speed. (The LINE speed is the speed with which your modem talks to the remote computer's modem, and it's THIS speed which is important.... Obviously.)

When our computer connects, it says things like: "Connected at 115kB", or something equally crazy, when we KNOW it's not going anything like that speed!

So, we need a way to measure the speed with which it actually sends and receives data - and the best way to do this is to get it to fetch a file of a known size from some internet location, time how long it takes, and then work out the REAL speed.

If you live in New Zealand, there's a test site on the internet, which has been set up by Telecom, and which does exactly this. You can choose a 50k or a 500k file to download, and the website calculates the average speed of the download for you.

Here's how to do it:

First you must create a "New Connection" to connect to the Telecom Test site:
1. Click: [My Computer]-[Dialup Networking]
2. Double-Click [Make New Connection] and call it "TestModem"
3. Click [Next]
4. For the Phone No type 087308000 (and leave the Area Code BLANK)
5. When it says that it's created the new connection, Click [Ok]
6. RIGHT-Click the connection called "TestModem", and click [Properties]
7. Under the [General] tab, REMOVE the tick from the box [Use Area Code...]
8. Under the [Server Types] tab, TICK "Allowed Protocol" [TCP/IP] and REMOVE all the other ticks on the page.
9. Click [Ok] to return to the page which has the "TestModem" icon on it
10. Double-Click the "TestModem" icon to start a connection.
11. Enter the Username: test1 and Password: test1 (That's the number *one*, not the letter *el*)
12. Click [Connect] and wait for it to make a connection.
13. Now open your browser (Probably Internet Explorer?) and ignore the error message...
14. In the "Address" field, (where you normally type the www. address), type 192.168.100.100 (those are dots between the numbers) and press [Enter]
15. The Telecom test home page loads. Choose the "Simplified" part of the site
16. Click on the "50k" test, and wait for the result.
17. Bingo! Now you know your TRUE modem speed.

NOTE: If you need to repeat the test, the bar-graph thingy will go "OFF SCALE", because your browser has cached the test file. To make it reload it properly, press [CTRL] and at the same time, click [REFRESH] at the top of the browser window.

If you have a V90 56k modem, you'll probably get speeds of around 40k on a reasonably good line, and around 10k on a rural line with electric fence noise. (If it even connects at all!)
But if you've de-rated your modem to V34 (see article 9 above), you'll only get 33.6k on a good line, but you'll get at least 20-30k on one with electric fence noise. (Article 9 explains why.)

More "HowTo's" will follow here soon!...

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