Surfing in Style SONICBlue USB V.92 Modem

When my high-speed internet connection crapped out on me, I decided to dig in for the long haul and buy a cheap modem. I also wanted a temporary solution that wouldn't take up another PCI slot in my computer so I opted for USB. I found the SonicBlue Modem for a very reasonable price so I went ahead and bought it online, and a few days later the UPS man arrived with it at my door.

At the time I was running Windows ME. I plugged in the modem, and when it prompted me for the drivers I went ahead and put them in. I configured dialup networking and I was set to go! Dialed in and was up and surfing the net in style.

So the modem had served its purpose well. It connects fast and has no interrupts, it is very stable.

A few months later, and I find myself in a similar situation, with the internet being out and me wanting to dialin again. This time around, I was using Windows 2k. Well I went to install the modem but I ran into a few kinks. I downloaded the latest (beta) driver from diamondmm.com and I just couldn't seem to get it to work right. After a few hours of troubleshooting, I found out that if I turn on the computer, the modem fails to 'start' itself. However, a simple unplugging and plugging back in makes Windows 2k detect it right away. Restarting the computer does not make it 'not' detect it anymore so I only have to worry about it when doing a cold-boot.

A few months pass. This time around, I'm running Windows XP and also Redhat Linux 7.2. To make a long story short, both XP and Linux are NO-GOs with this modem. This is current as of 11/10/2001 and maybe in the future they will correct the problem and release some problems, but as of now they just don't work in either of the two.

So to sum it up, if it works for you, if you have Windows 98 or ME, this modem will do great for you. However, if you plan on upgrading soon, buyer beware! You may find yourself buying another modem which is compatible with your OS.