File 2K4280FU.EXE is a FIRMWARE UPDATE for the IBM International 56K Modem with GSM option P/N: 02K4280. File description: Firmware version 8.29. This firmware is only recommended for those customers having problems with the modem timing out when attempting to connect at high speed. Detailed description: This firmware is specifically for customers that are using phone systems such as 'BT - homehighway' which are some how limiting bandwidth and thus preventing modems from reaching 'high' modem speeds. The modem tries too many times to bid for a higher speed, eventually timing out. 8.29 code achieves a connection on these 'limited bandwidth' systems by changing the modems negotiation, instead of quantity it seeks quality (instead of speed it seeks less errors per transmission). The result is that the modem connects at and reports a slightly slower speed of connection but it doesn't waste time (or bandwidth) recovering from errors it would have to correct if trying to maintain a higher connection. Other modems may connect at higher speeds over the same phone system but may have to RETRANSMITT data they have already sent because the data has been corrupted on transmission due to the speed reaching the maximum boundaries the phone lines will permit. The overall throughput (Quantity x Quality) is usually the same, hence the amount of data you can send or receive in an hour will be the same. Draft text file: PC Card upgrade information. This upgrade utility contains files to upgrade firmware on IBM International PC Card Modem w/ GSM Capability. Please read the relevant section of this document before proceeding. Document contents: 1. 56K PC Cards - Firmware upgrade information: 1.1. V.90 Questions & Answers 1.2. V.90 Upgrade Instructions 1.3. V.90 Upgrade Troubleshooting 1. 56K PC Cards - Firmware upgrade information: 1.1. V.90 Questions & Answers How does the upgrade affect my Windows 95 / 98 / NT4 modem set-up? After a V.90 upgrade, your modem will be re-born as a V.90 56K PC Card modem. It will be necessary to shutdown and restart the computer following the upgrade. This means your communications software will need resetting to use the new modem. If you do not do this your software will respond with error messages, such as, dialup networking cannot find the specified modem or no communication with modem How does the upgrade affect my GSM upgrade? GSM code is now integrated into V.90 firmware. This means that there are many different flavors of V.90 code, one for each GSM handset. Provided you reprogram your 56K PC Card modem with the correct V.90 firmware and follow the instructions concerning re-configuring your comms software, GSM communications will work as before. How does V.90 affect my ISDN upgrade? ISDN code is incorporated into V.90 code so provided you follow the instructions concerning re-configuring your comms software, ISDN communications using the PC Card ISDN adapter will work as before. 1.2 56K PC Cards - Firmware Upgrade instructions The PC Card modem must be installed correctly on your PC before the upgrade can take place. Part I: Prepare for Upgrade 1. Make sure your PC has a mains power supply connected. 2. Download the new firmware from the web page you got this text file from. 3. Close other programs, particularly fax or other communications software. 4. Remove any cables from your PC Card modem 5. NT4 Users - Logon to NT with Administrator privileges. 6. Unzip the file you downloaded to a temporary directory. Part II: Reprogram the modem with new Firmware 1. Run setup.exe from your temporary directory to start the upgrade program, called EasyUpgrade 2. In EasyUpgrade choose the appropriate firmware code and click the Upgrade button to start the upgrade. Notice too there is a K56Flex option should you decide to go back to this standard. 3. After the upgrade your 56K PC Card modem will be completely reprogrammed. Windows will therefore need resetting to use the new modem 4. Shutdown and restart the computer. On restart, Windows will detect the new modem and automatically install new drivers. 1.3 Firmware Upgrade Troubleshooting Help! - The Firmware Upgrade didn't Work The V.90 upgrade program has been extensively tested across a whole range of laptops and configurations. The main reasons for failures are: ö The 56K PC Card modem wasn't installed correctly to start with ö There was a power failure during upgrade (see below) ö The card was removed during upgrade (see below) Help! - My 56K PC Card modem is no longer recognized by my computer ö Have you followed all the Firmware Upgrade Instructions ö Did the upgrade program fully complete? Try restarting the computer and running the upgrade again. ö Have you tried restarting your PC? Help! - I had a power failure during the firmware upgrade The upgrade utility has been designed to provide a recovery method for most cases of failure. In this event restart the computer and if prompted re-install the modem using a standard modem driver and re-run the upgrade utility. If this still fails, unfortunately the 56K PC Card modem is probably unusable now and will need reprogramming at our factory. You should return your card immediately to us for reprogramming. Help! - I accidentally removed the card during the firmware upgrade The upgrade utility has been designed to provide a recovery method for most cases of failure. In this event restart the computer and if prompted re-install the modem using a standard modem driver and re-run the upgrade utility. If this still fails, unfortunately the 56K PC Card modem is probably unusable now and will need reprogramming at our factory. You should return your card immediately to us for reprogramming. Help! - I reprogrammed with the wrong firmware. Can I do the upgrade again? You can reprogram the 56K PC Card modem with the correct firmware at any time but you must use the new firmware files from the web pages. Older upgrade utilities will no longer work on the new V.90 Card since the new V.90 and 56Kflex code changes the memory mapping of the EPROM. The upgrade utility is designed to only use compatible firmware so the card should not be damaged. Help! - Since the V.90 upgrade my GSM phone doesn't work the 56K PC Card modem GSM code is now integrated into V.90 firmware. This means that there are now many different flavors of V.90 code. One for each GSM handset. You must upgrade with V.90 code including your GSM handset. Check out the web site www.psiondacom.com/cqi-bin/v90.cqi to make sure you have reprogrammed your 56K PC Card modem with the correct V.90 upgrade. Detailed description: This firmware is specifically for customers that are using phone systems such as 'BT - homehighway' which are some how limiting bandwidth and thus preventing modems from reaching 'high' modem speeds. The modem tries too many times to bid for a higher speed, eventually timing out. 8.29 code achieves a connection on these 'limited bandwidth' systems by changing the modems negotiation, instead of quantity it seeks quality (instead of speed it seeks less errors per transmission). The result is that the modem connects at and reports a slightly slower speed of connection but it doesn't waste time (or bandwidth) recovering from errors it would have to correct if trying to maintain a higher connection. Other modems may connect at higher speeds over the same phone system but may have to RETRANSMITT data they have already sent because the data has been corrupted on transmission due to the speed reaching the maximum boundaries the phone lines will permit. The overall throughput (Quantity x Quality) is usually the same, hence the amount of data you can send or receive in an hour will be the same. Draft text file: PC Card upgrade information. This upgrade utility contains files to upgrade firmware on IBM International PC Card Modem w/ GSM Capability. Please read the relevant section of this document before proceeding. Document contents: 1. 56K PC Cards - Firmware upgrade information: 1.1. V.90 Questions & Answers 1.2. V.90 Upgrade Instructions 1.3. V.90 Upgrade Troubleshooting 1. 56K PC Cards - Firmware upgrade information: 1.1. V.90 Questions & Answers How does the upgrade affect my Windows 95 / 98 / NT4 modem set-up? After a V.90 upgrade, your modem will be re-born as a V.90 56K PC Card modem. It will be necessary to shutdown and restart the computer following the upgrade. This means your communications software will need resetting to use the new modem. If you do not do this your software will respond with error messages, such as, dialup networking cannot find the specified modem or no communication with modem How does the upgrade affect my GSM upgrade? GSM code is now integrated into V.90 firmware. This means that there are many different flavors of V.90 code, one for each GSM handset. Provided you reprogram your 56K PC Card modem with the correct V.90 firmware and follow the instructions concerning re-configuring your comms software, GSM communications will work as before. How does V.90 affect my ISDN upgrade? ISDN code is incorporated into V.90 code so provided you follow the instructions concerning re-configuring your comms software, ISDN communications using the PC Card ISDN adapter will work as before. 1.2 56K PC Cards - Firmware Upgrade instructions The PC Card modem must be installed correctly on your PC before the upgrade can take place. Part I: Prepare for Upgrade 1. Make sure your PC has a mains power supply connected. 2. Download the new firmware from the web page you got this text file from. 3. Close other programs, particularly fax or other communications software. 4. Remove any cables from your PC Card modem 5. NT4 Users - Logon to NT with Administrator privileges. 6. Unzip the file you downloaded to a temporary directory. Part II: Reprogram the modem with new Firmware 1. Run setup.exe from your temporary directory to start the upgrade program, called EasyUpgrade 2. In EasyUpgrade choose the appropriate firmware code and click the Upgrade button to start the upgrade. Notice too there is a K56Flex option should you decide to go back to this standard. 3. After the upgrade your 56K PC Card modem will be completely reprogrammed. Windows will therefore need resetting to use the new modem 4. Shutdown and restart the computer. On restart, Windows will detect the new modem and automatically install new drivers. 1.3 Firmware Upgrade Troubleshooting Help! - The Firmware Upgrade didn't Work The V.90 upgrade program has been extensively tested across a whole range of laptops and configurations. The main reasons for failures are: ö The 56K PC Card modem wasn't installed correctly to start with ö There was a power failure during upgrade (see below) ö The card was removed during upgrade (see below) Help! - My 56K PC Card modem is no longer recognized by my computer ö Have you followed all the Firmware Upgrade Instructions ö Did the upgrade program fully complete? Try restarting the computer and running the upgrade again. ö Have you tried restarting your PC? Help! - I had a power failure during the firmware upgrade The upgrade utility has been designed to provide a recovery method for most cases of failure. In this event restart the computer and if prompted re-install the modem using a standard modem driver and re-run the upgrade utility. If this still fails, unfortunately the 56K PC Card modem is probably unusable now and will need reprogramming at our factory. You should return your card immediately to us for reprogramming. Help! - I accidentally removed the card during the firmware upgrade The upgrade utility has been designed to provide a recovery method for most cases of failure. In this event restart the computer and if prompted re-install the modem using a standard modem driver and re-run the upgrade utility. If this still fails, unfortunately the 56K PC Card modem is probably unusable now and will need reprogramming at our factory. You should return your card immediately to us for reprogramming. Help! - I reprogrammed with the wrong firmware. Can I do the upgrade again? You can reprogram the 56K PC Card modem with the correct firmware at any time but you must use the new firmware files from the web pages. Older upgrade utilities will no longer work on the new V.90 Card since the new V.90 and 56Kflex code changes the memory mapping of the EPROM. The upgrade utility is designed to only use compatible firmware so the card should not be damaged. Help! - Since the V.90 upgrade my GSM phone doesn't work the 56K PC Card modem GSM code is now integrated into V.90 firmware. This means that there are now many different flavors of V.90 code. One for each GSM handset. You must upgrade with V.90 code including your GSM handset. Check out the web site www.psiondacom.com/cqi-bin/v90.cqi to make sure you have reprogrammed your 56K PC Card modem with the correct V.90 upgrade.