Add-on Hardware (Peripheral) Tips

ModemTimeouts   USB Connections   Getting a CDRW to work  

Modem Timeouts
Changing the time your modem stays idle whilst connected to the Internet before it disconnects.
  1. Start-Settings-Control Panel-Modems
  2. Select a modem (if more than one)
  3. Click Properties
  4. Choose Connection Tab
  5. Tick and adjust X for "Disconnect if Idle for more than X minutes".
USB Connections
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is designed to allow peripherals to be plugged in and out of computers without turning tem off, as is the case with serial and parallel linked devices. It also allows up to 64 extra devies to be plugged in and used.

Here are some caveats to remember:

  • Only Windows 98/2000 offers proper USB support
  • Windows 95 OSR2 claims to but is useless
  • Windows NT isn't USB capable
  • USB devices need a USB port to be available
  • Extra USB hubs can be attached to accomodate more devices
  • AUSB ZIP drive can be transferred form PC to PC
  • USB modems only work with Windows98+
  • USB drivers are different from normal drivers
USB isn't infallible and always read instructions before attaching a new device - it may need specific software support loaded beforehand. Card readers for Smart and CF media can be awkward. Generally though, because no traditional system resources are used, USB means no restarting when you do plug out and in.

Setting up a CDRW
It is possible that, even after following instructions to the letter, that a new CDRW will just not allow itself to be formatted ready for use.
Things to check:
  • Has hardware been detected (see if there is an extra drive in My Computer
  • Does device need to be on an IDE cable as Master, rather than as Slave?
  • Can it read a normal CDROM?
  • Is software configured to look for the correct device?
Things to try:
  • Remove device from System Properties (Right Click My Computer) and restart computer for it to detect it again - it should be Plug & Play
  • Check connections
  • Try installing in another computer to see if it works
Read help or ReadMe files for any clues. Normally a CDR/W device should be modern enough to Plug and Play (aka Plug and Pray) but may not work on a particular system. It's also worth checking system resources for conflicting IRQs.

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