frod

What the hell is this scheit ... GAWD!! I build a fax
server for my company running Windows 2000 Server,
research the correct modem to buy with Distinctive Ring,
set up the faxing software only to discover that all
Microsoft product besides the old ones like 95,98,ME don't
support Distinctive Ring .... PAH Microsoft !!!

Any work arounds or solutions? Before I scrap MS for Linux?

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 272943
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-
us;272943

augustus

You can get a telephone switch from Radio Shack (anywhere from $25 to a few
hundred)... pretty much phone line goes in, phone lines go out (one to modem
and one to phone), on distinctive ring the switch directs the call to either
the modem or the phone line

The more expensive units usually accomodate more phone lines in, more phone
lines out and multiple ring types

jeff

don't

Linux?


re modems which will instruct you . This is what I found:

Here's how I got around it for my "U.S. Robotics 56K Fax
Win Int" (part number 3CP5699A, also known as a WinModem),
on Windows 2000:


(1) Turn on distinctive ring recognition in the modem:


Under Control Panel / Phone and Modem Options / Modems /
Properties / Advanced, set "Extra initialization commands"
to "S41=1" (without the quotes, and you don't need
the "AT" prefix).


This command varies from modem to modem; to find the right
one for you, check your registry (which is populated from
your modem's .inf file when it's installed) or your
modem's technical do***entation. Mine was in the registry
under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{
<long-guid>}\0000\EnableDistinctiveRing


Instead of responding with "RING" any time the phone
rings, this change makes my modem respond with "RING A"
for my first phone number and "RING B" for my second
number (and presumably C and D for third and fourth
numbers).


(2) Tell the Unimodem driver to answer on "RING B":


There is a "Responses" key in the registry that tells the
Unimodem driver how to interpret responses from the modem.
Mine was at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersio
n\Unimodem\DeviceSpecific\U.S. Robotics 56K Fax Win
Int::U.S. Robotics Corporation::U.S. Robotics
Corporation\Responses


(For information about the meaning of the binary data for
each Responses entry, see the following URL
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-
us/modem/hh/modem/modemref1_90vm.asp?frame=true


Mine already had entries for "RING A<cr><lf>" and B and C,
but all three had a response state (the first byte in the
binary data) that means a distinctive ring is coming in,
and the Unimodem driver for Windows 2000 doesn't
understand that. To keep them from matching, delete or
rename these entries. I renamed mine and just prepended
an "x" so they wouldn't match.


Mine also had an entry for "<cr><lf>RING<cr><lf>", and it
had a response state (08) that tells the Unimodem driver
the phone is ringing. I simply renamed this entry
to "<cr><lf>RING B<cr><lf>".


After rebooting so the changes could take effect, my
computer now ignores calls on the first number and
correctly answers calls on the second number. This works
because the Unimodem has no responses that match "RING A"
and has one response for "RING B" whose response state
tells Unimodem a call is coming in.


This works for me. Your mileage may vary.

P.S. If you have the same modem model, you can find a
mostly-complete AT command reference in
\winnt\help\gvadwmdm.hlp, and the .inf file is in
\winnt\inf\mdm3cpci.inf. Something really cool about this
modem (and probably other WinModems, SoftModems, etc.):
when you give the modem the AT$ command to get help,
instead of giving brief text-only help, it pops up the
Windows help file!