external modems

If you have a hyper-threaded processor in your computer, be wary of this modem. The software that shipped with the modem was so totally flawed that my computer locked up every time I tried to dial my ISP. Creative Labs has an updated driver on their website that was supposed to fix the hyper-threading problem. However, I had to manually uninstall the old driver by wiping out a bunch of registry values (very dangerous) because the uninstaller didn't remove the bad version of the driver properly. When the new driver was finally installed, most functions worked OK but my computer still hangs up whenever the Modem-on-Hold feature is actived. So I had to disable call-waiting in the dial string to avoid inbound calls altogether while online. This modem may be inexpensive but it does not perform exactly as promised. The software and the overall design leaves something to be desired.

This is a great little USB modem but there are some do's and dont's with the install!! Better make sure your USB port on your PC is at least version 1.1 (as my second computer was only USB 1.0) and couldn't get this modem to work properly on that PC. Plus if you connect to a USB powered hub as I did, you might also have slow performance problems.. Once I connected straight to the back of the PC the internet connection started to fly.. am Im very pleased with this modem "on my newer pc"

The auto-start feature for the CD-ROM did not work. Once you get past that and to the appropriate start files the modem installs easily. Good dial-up connection speeds.