US Robotics Modem

US Robotics is one of the biggest analog modem makers

My Kingdom for a V.90 Driver

January 30, 2001: I own an external US Robotics 56K Sportster modem that needs to be upgraded from X2 to V.90. It connects to my ISP at over 50,000bps but too often stops transmitting data for no obvious reason. The modem product code is 00178600 and the model is 0459. It is connected to a computer running Windows NT4 workstation.

I started out at www.usrobotics.com and went to the support section. Despite Sportster modems being extremely popular there was no category on the main support page for Sportster modems. The product code for my modem was not listed as being in any of the available categories. I took a guess and went to the section for "All Other" modems.

On this page there are a number of links that look like they might have a v.90 driver. I tried OEM drivers. No good. I tried Drivers & INFs.

What's an INF? There is no explanation offered. I must be the only modem user in the world, not sure what an INF is. Do I need a new driver and INF? New INF only? New driver only?

My product code is not listed on the Drivers and INFs page. To chose among some of the possible drivers you need to know when you bought your modem. As if it never could sit on the shelf. I bought mine in the summer of 1997, I think. I'm not sure. To chose other potential drivers you need to know if you have a controller based modem. Beats me. Another driver was described in detail but didn't mention if it was v.90 or not.

I tried the search function. There were no results found both when I entered my product code and when I entered my model number.

Why can't I just enter my modem product code and get the latest driver for it? Is this too much to ask?

I tried the download library. Nothing there says it is for my modem.

The web site experience? Strike 1.

On to the Modem upgrade wizard. This is a program you download to your computer where it detects your US Robotics modem, tells you about it and automatically locates the latest driver. Or so they claim. I ran version 2.04.

It found my modem with no problem and reported that it is a US Robotics Sportster X2 56K external modem. This I knew. It also reported that my eprom was from 2/20/97 and was version 4.0.1. What's an eprom? In addition it reported that my dsp was from 2/20/97 and it was version 10.2.1. What's a dsp? The program does not however report on the model number, the product id or the serial number despite the fact that the web site documentation said it would.

After reporting to you what it found, the program dials the modem, logs on to the Internet and goes to a US Robotics web site. It runs an ASP script that is supposed to give you customize upgrade information for your particular modem. In my case, it reported that there are no upgrades to my modem. This can not be true.

I took a look at the parameters provided to the ASP script by the Modem upgrade wizard. The model number is the product code. The model number on my modem is not a parameter to the script. There is a serial number parameter, but the value is not the serial number on my modem.

The help for the Modem upgrade wizard, provides a URL for you to go to if you are unsure about anything. The URL is not valid. Strike 2.

Since US Robotics was recently spun off from 3COM, I tried looking for drivers at the 3COM web site. The software downloads section just directs you back to the US Robotics web site. Strike 3.

Then I checked the Contact Us section of the US Robotics web site. They don't have an email address, except for the webmaster. They do have a toll free number (877) 710-0884, but it's a general contact number. There is also a number for tech support on out-of-warranty modems. Is mine out-of-warranty? Beats me. The number is (900) 555-8771 but it costs $2.50 a minute. Strike 4.

I gave up. Long live X2 (I hope).

January 31, 2001: Back for another round.

CNet has a web site www.download.com with oodles of software including drivers. It was not hard to locate a driver but the title of the page says U.S. Robotics Data/Fax 33.6/56k Modem Driver and the description from 1998 says it is the latest Windows 95/98/NT4 driver for US Robotics Voice 33.6k and 56k modems. Is it for voice modems or fax modems? I don't feel like guessing. Also the install instructions would only work with Windows 95/98, not with NT4, which does not inspire confidence. Finally, at the end of the install instructions it says: "You will need to download the 3COMWAVE.INF to complete the modem's installation." This link points to a file that does not exist. Strike 5

There is a web site devoted to v90 modems called v90.com. However, it seems to be dead. For one thing, it talks about news articles from 1997 as if they were news. It has a link to the 3Com web site about upgrading modems to v90, but the page it points to is not found. Strike 6.

February 2, 2001

ZDNet has an updates facility. I used the search function to look for anything and everything from US Robotics (Manufacturer). Nothing. Then I searched for 3Com but there were no modem related results. Then I did a full text search looking for "Sportster". Nothing. A software title search looking for "Sportster". Nothing. A full text search for "v90". Nothing.

I went to windrivers looking for a v90 update to my modem. There is a link on their main page called modem help center. Clicking on it resulted in

CGI Error
The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers.
The headers it did return are:
Bareword found where operator expected at c:\windrivers\identity\modem\index.htm line 5, near ""keywords" CONTENT" (Missing operator before CONTENT?)
syntax error at c:\windrivers\identity\modem\index.htm line 3, near "head>"
Unterminated <> operator at c:\windrivers\identity\modem\index.htm line 6.

The page for US Robotics lists the home page as being 3Com, which is no longer true. Their list of 3Com/US Robotics modem drivers does not have a category for Sportster data/fax modems.

At this point I gave up. If my life depended on it, I would continue on with the links below:

Driver Guide
This link looks promising ...
as does this page on the 3com site where you can put in the product code and get information about it. Below is that information for my modem. There is no link however to the v90 code upgrade.
Sportster 56K/V34/V42b Fax
Form: EXT Dips: DIPS Code Via: MUW PnP: PnP
Code Info                Code Date Part Number
latest x2 code date       7/8/97      ** (MUW)
latest V.90 code date 5/26/98     ** (MUW)
Original Manual Part Number 1.024.1063-00
From http://consumer.3com.com/modem/inf/index.html
Self extracting file of the current Win 95/98/NT INF files for all modem products excluding the WinModems. Double click the file in explorer and the file will self extract to a 1.44 floppy. mdm3com.exe file size: 91851 bytes file data: 02-26-99
Windows 95/98/NT 4.0 driver for USRobotics Data/Fax 33.6k and 56k modems bought between January 1996 to present. Copy this file onto a blank floppy disk. Remove all USRobotics modems in Control Panel/Modems. Shutdown and restart your computer. When prompted select "Change" or "Have Disk" and point it to the floppy drive. Select the appropriate model and then follow the prompts to finish modem installation.
mdm3com.inf file size: 49419 bytes file data: 05-29-98
The Modem Drivers page at modemsite.com

Reader's Kick In

This gripe page has generated more useful help from readers than any other. I have not verified the below, since I gave up on the problem.

A reader of this page was nice enough to pass along this link at freeserve for Sportster modem upgrades. November 27, 2001
The same person also passed along this link to a Sportster modem flasher at flasher.webzone.ru/smf.html which I also have not tried. Its a free program that you download and run on your computer and it updates the software in US Robotics modems. The program is not from US Robotics. (November 27, 2001).
Update: Another reader also mentioned this program, saying that it lets you get online at 56K and includes an undo function in case something goes wrong during the re-programming. This reader said that I don't need drivers at all. May 29, 2003
Update: Another reader suggested flasher.webzone.ru/sff/ov3ext_d.zip as being the v90 firmware for my modem and confirmed that the smf.html page linked to above was very helpful. January 17, 2005.
Another reader suggested downloading the modem driver from ftp://ftp.usr.com/updates/archive. First get the model number from the modem using the ATI7 modem command (3rd character is uppercase letter I, not the number one) which can be entered from Hyperterminal. In the ATI7 output, the model number is the Product ID. If, for example, the product id was 00568603, then download and run ftp://ftp.usr.com/updates/archive/00568603ud.exe March 2, 2002
A reader tells me that you can open the modem to see the proper model number. There should be a sticker stuck to the serial port connection on the inside of the modem, with the serial number and model number. February 6, 2003.
Still another reader suggested www.modem-drivers.com/companies/1104.htm with hundreds of US Robotics drivers. All the drivers on this page are free, but you do need to log in. They give everyone the same log in name ("driver") and password ("all"). This reader also found that there are web sites in England and Europe still listing US Robotics drivers and Eprom burners to upgrade. (April 2003)
Another person said the model number is 1786 and the driver is at ftp://ftp.usr.com/usr/dl07/mdm3com.inf December 2003
An anonymous reader offered the longest advice: January 5, 2004.

The model number is 1786 or 001786xx. It's a 56K modem that shipped with X2 and not v.90. If the modem is still within warranty then US Robotics will replace it with a modem that is v.90 compatible. All you have to do is send it in. The number for technical and customer support is 801 401 1141. When prompted for a 4 digit product number enter 1786. Choose the Customer Service option. The warranty for this modem should be 5 years. If you don't know when it was purchased then they will estimate it by decoding the serial number - which you have to provide anyway.

The right driver is mdm3com.inf and can be found at www.usr.com/support/drivers-template.asp?prod=s-modem. If you can't find it search for the following:
U.S. Robotics Data/Fax 33.6k and 56k modems bought between January 1996 to present including models: 00568700, 00568702, 00568703, 00568600, 00178600, 00178602, 00178700, 00178701, 00178702, 00084001, 00084002, 00084003, 00084004, 00084005, 00083901, 00083902, 00083903, 00083905, 00083907

An inf file is an INstallation File. When installing the modem it will ask for drivers - point it to this file. An inf file is another term for driver file.

The final update (firmware code) for this modem can be found at ftp://ftp.usr.com/updates/archive. Your file is probably something like 00178600ud.exe. You need to determine if it's the 1786-00 1786-01 or 1786-02 etc.

Page last updated: January 17, 2005