On  1 Jun 98 at 21:33, Ron Sisk wrote:

>   My computer is a Packard Bell 486DX running Windows 3.1.1 with a
> 9600bps internal Modem. As you can see I'm not on the cutting edge,
> but I will be taking a course that requires Internet access and
> will need to upgrade to a faster modem, not purchased yet. Before
> starting I would like suggestions and information on what to do and
> not do to help me through this first time experienc. I have been
> told that the modem may be integrated into the motherboard which
> will make things more interesting.

  In theory, there's not much more to the hardware side than
exchanging your existing modem for a faster one.  I've had very good
experience with a 33.6 Kbps modem from "Best Data" that often retails
for about $30.
  You'll need an ISP, and some PPP software; for Win 3.11, you
probably want "Trumpet Winsock", but the folks over on VPLANETS can
probably best help you with that.

  The one area where you might need a caveat or two is that as you
increase the modem speed under Windows, it becomes more critical to
use the FIFO features of the 16550 UART, and these aren't supported
by the default COMM.DRV under Win 3.11.  With a 9600bps modem, you
might or might not have already replaced the default driver; to use
14.4K or higher, you must.
  At one time, there were several commercial replacement drivers
available.  There's probably at least one shareware driver still
around.

David G