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MultiModemBA User Guide
The Modem Dials But Cannot Make a Connection
There can be several reasons the modem fails to make a connection. Possibilities include
• lack of a physical connection to the telephone line.
• a wrong dial tone.
• a busy signal.
• a wrong number.
• no modem at the other end.
• a faulty modem, computer, or software at the other end.
• incompatibility between modems.
You can narrow the list of possibilities by using extended result codes. To enable them, enter
ATV1X4 and press ENTER while in terminal mode, or include V1X4 in the modem’s initialization
string. When you dial again, the modem will report the call’s progress.
• If the modem reports NO DIALTONE, check that the modem’s telephone line cable is connected
to both the modem’s LINE jack (not the PHONE jack) and the telephone wall jack. If the cable
looks secure, try replacing it. If that doesn’t work, the problem may be in your building’s
telephone installation. To test the building installation, plug a telephone into your modem’s
telephone wall jack and listen for a dial tone. If you hear a dial tone, your modem may be
installed behind a company phone system (PBX) with an internal dial tone that sounds different
from the normal dial tone. In that case, the modem may not recognize the dial tone and may treat
it as an error. Check your PBX manual to see if you can change the internal dial tone; if you
can’t, change your modem’s initialization string to replace X4 with X3, which will cause the
modem to ignore dial tones.
• If the modem reports BUSY, the other number may be busy, in which case you should try again
later, or it may indicate that you have failed to add a 9, prefix to the phone number if you must
dial 9 for an outside line.
If you must dial 9 to get an outside line, the easiest way to dial it automatically is to include it in
the modem’s dial prefix, e.g., ATDT9,. Note the comma, which inserts a pause before the
number is dialed. By inserting 9, into the dial prefix, you do not have to include it in each directory
entry in the terminal.
To change the dial prefix in Windows Terminal, select Settings, Modem Commands. To change it
in Windows 95 HyperTerminal, select Call, Connect from the menu bar, click Dialing Properties,
and type 9 in the local and long distance boxes in How I Dial from This Location.
• If the modem reports NO ANSWER, the other system has failed to go off-hook, or you might
have dialed a wrong number. Check the number.
• If the modem reports NO CARRIER, the phone was answered at the other end, but no
connection was made. You might have dialed a wrong number, and a person answered instead
of a computer, or you might have dialed the correct number but the other computer or software
was turned off or faulty. Check the number and try again, or try calling another system to make
sure your modem is working. Also, try calling the number on your telephone. If you hear harsh
sounds, then another modem is answering the call, and the modems may be having problems
negotiating because of modem incompatibilities or line noise. Try connecting at a lower speed.