Using the Apple USB Modem

On 25/01/2007, at 10:10 AM, alsulliv wrote:

> My G4 mini's Apple USB Modem hangs up if I mount or access a flash
> drive or an SD card via an IOGear, ac powered, combo USB port
> expander and memory card reader. I have the latest system updates.
> The modem is hooked up directly to one of mini's own USB ports, the
> IOGear to the other.

        Have you tried different flash drives? I had one plugged into my G4
mini the other day and it pulled the whole USB bus down, the mouse
that was plugged into the other USB port stopped responding. As soon
as I pulled the mouse out and started using my Bluetooth Cellphone
(via Salling Clicker) I was able to access the flash drive. I have
used many other flash drives and have not struck this problem so I
thought it must've been something to do with that particular drive.
The power requirements of flash drives vary, we have some at work
that if you plug into the keyboard complain about not getting enough
power and you have to plug them directly into the Mac.

Jason

Thanks for your reply. I do have more than one kind of flash drive, although I suspect they are generally similar to one another. The USB modem hangs up if I use either a flash drive or an SD card while online.

My USB devices work fine - except for the Apple USB modem hang ups as described.

On 29/01/2007, at 5:40 PM, alsulliv wrote:
> The USB modem hangs up if I use either a flash drive or an SD card
> while online.

        That's interesting, and somewhat annoying at the same time. Have
you tried the modem plugged into the hub and the flash drive plugged
in directly? I don't suppose you can borrow another modem off
someone to experiment and see if it is in fact a fault with the
modem? Or could you maybe try another hub? I have a hub here which
works fine on my Xbox or my PC but my Mini Mac doesn't like it even
slightly, it is however a non-powered hub. Is the USB hub a USB 2
device?

Jason

I tried putting the Apple USB modem into the IOGear but couldn't connect at all that way - possibly due to an ISP issue. Will try later, and possibly to find another hub for a test. I'm stuck with this modem, so I won't try that diagnosis.

Some people at my user group said the hangups might be unavoidable, because the insertion of these other devices requires them to address USB drivers in some way. Nevertheless, they suggested looking for new Apple USB modem drivers. Then someone suggested DSL or cable....

This is not an isolated problem. If you search apple dot com's discussion forums for "Apple USB modem" and HP or Hewlett Packard printer and "hang up" you should find a query from someone having the problem, but while printing to his USB printer.

I'm betting it's a design flaw or limitation.

alsulliv said:

>This is not an isolated problem. If you search apple dot com's discussion
>forums for "Apple USB modem" and HP or Hewlett Packard printer and "hang
>up" you should find a query from someone having the problem, but while
>printing to his USB printer.

In general, just about every modem that has been offered by Apple has
been a piece of garbage. For a very long discussion about this, see:
http://www.macintouch.com/modemproblems.html

(Some folks have really clear phone lines and they aren't very discerning
about their connection speeds, so they are happy with the latest Apple
modem.) The current Apple USB modem only works under OS X 10.4 and
above, because it is a soft-modem. That means that the modem uses your
Mac for some of its processing, which cuts into performance. This
probably also accounts for your hangup problem when using other USB
devices. The problem would probably be resolved by using a good modem
that isn't a soft-modem. A good modem should connect routinely at ~40K
or more. It is very rare for the new Apple USB modem to achieve this
sort of performance.

I don't know the technical reasons, but apparently you can't purchase a
V.92 USB modem meant for a Windows computer, tweak the initialization
string, and have it work with your Macintosh, like you could with earlier
modems. So for now the only other choice for a Macintosh-compatible
external USB V.92 modem is the Best Data V.92 USB external fax modem for
Macintosh.

Best Data V.92 USB external fax modem for Macintosh
http://www.bestdata.com/index.php?file=c-allproddesc&iProductId=16161

$38 from here:
<http://www.provantage.com/data-56usbpmac~7BESD02V.htm>



Randy B. Singer

Co-Author of:
The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)

OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html

On 1-Feb-2007, at 16:02, Randy B. Singer wrote:
> I don't know the technical reasons, but apparently you can't
> purchase a
> V.92 USB modem meant for a Windows computer, tweak the initialization
> string, and have it work with your Macintosh, like you could with
> earlier
> modems.

I beleive the reason is the same, the USB Windows modems are
"winmodems"; that is to say, they are soft modems which rely on
Windows and their drivers to do the majority of their work.

--
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed."

On Feb 1, 2007, at 3:02 PM, Randy B. Singer wrote:

> A good modem should connect routinely at ~40K
> or more. It is very rare for the new Apple USB modem to achieve this
> sort of performance.

Well, I just got the Apple USB modem out of the drawer, and used it
to make a connection from my (original) MacBook.

Claimed speed (large grain of salt, although this isn't USR, so not a
whole salt shaker) 45kbps. Speakeasy speed test (NOT optimized for
dialup speeds, of course, claims 40kbps down. But then, it also
claims 79kbps up, which is obvious nonsense, since the protocol won't
*quite* do that.

The connection "feels like" about 40.

This on a clean line about 1.3 miles from a central office running an
overloaded DMS-10, fiber-connected to the real world--more precisely
to the CO where the call goes.

Sorry, I can't try plugging my flash drive in during the connection,
as there isn't enough spacing between the USB connectors and I can't
find the little adaptor I bought to work around that.

And now back to connecting via 512k cable over wireless and 1.5m DSL
over Ethernet.

   --John

Google Kreme said:

>On 1-Feb-2007, at 16:02, Randy B. Singer wrote:
>> I don't know the technical reasons, but apparently you can't
>> purchase a
>> V.92 USB modem meant for a Windows computer, tweak the initialization
>> string, and have it work with your Macintosh, like you could with
>> earlier
>> modems.
>
>I beleive the reason is the same, the USB Windows modems are
>"winmodems"; that is to say, they are soft modems which rely on
>Windows and their drivers to do the majority of their work.


But there should at least be a few modems on the market of superior
quality that aren't soft modems. To date I haven't heard of anyone
having any success getting a V.92 modem for Windows working with a
Macintosh.

I spoke with a programmer for Supra/Diamond, who actually told me what
the problem is, and she told me that she had already written a Mac driver
that would work, but the latter was never made available to the public,
and I don't remember the explanation.



Randy B. Singer

Co-Author of:
The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th and 6th editions)

OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html