USB Modem Drivers

USB Modem Drivers are the actual software routines that help a USB Modem communicate with your computer. These are tiny little programs that typically come with the USB Modem you purchased and seamlessly install with the portable modem hardware. Let’s break it down. You have the USB Modem which is a portable modem. It is tiny – about the size of a credit card – it slips via a USB port into your laptop or desktop. It replaces the modem that the phone or cable company provides you. The service provided will not be as fast as cable broadband but can be faster than your DSL service. The driver that comes with it is just a tiny part of the package.

Common problems with a USB Modem Driver fall into a simple category of age discrepancy. So let’s say your older laptop has the LINUX operating system installed instead of Windows. Most USB Modems are winmodems and will be compatible with any computer operating system newer than WIN 98SE. LINUX is not a Windows based operating system and a unique USB Modem Driver will be required for your new USB Modem to work with that LINUX run laptop. Maybe you found a working 10 year old desktop in storage and want to set it up, this again could be a situation where it does not have a modem. So you invest in a USB Modem for pennies and it does not work with the WIN ME operating system on that desktop. A quick online search will find you the right USB Modem Driver or a ‘patch’ that will make it work. If you cannot find a signed driver from the manufacturer to download, try an unsigned one.

Troubleshooting USB Modem Drivers will be specific to your error message. Search online using the error message you received; you will see USB Modem Driver not installed, unsigned or corrupted. This means you do not have the right one for your operating system – Linux for example. A discrepancy between your new USB Modem and the operating system requires a new device driver signed or unsigned by the manufacturer. An older computer may have a low speed USB connection which will cause signal interference; re-outfit your old computer or only use newer ones to solve that problem. Lastly, take a look in your Device Manager and see if you have any yellow exclamation points indicating a conflict. Repeatedly, installing equipment can create duplicate devices. Update those flagged devices with a new driver or remove all instances and reinstall. If the Device Manager shows the yellow exclamation again, update that driver and the conflict should be solved. If all else fails, an online search will give you a list of message boards from many other computer users in the same predicament. Find the message board with the most relevant questions and follow the thread. The last answer will lead you to the correct path to troubleshoot that error.