Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Modem - Not So The Software
Review: Got the modem in 2 days from Amazon although they promised 3-7 business days - WAY TO GO AMAZON!!! You Rock!I got the retail box to replace my US Robotics PCI 56K Voice OEM modem because it turned out that I could not get drivers for Windows XP and the XP recognized it as regular Fax/Data modem (i,e - no voice functionality). Installation was pretty easy although I spent a few hours on it and a few phone calls to tech support who were very attentive and helpfull.
The problem I experienced is because Windows XP automatically assign the modem with IRQ. In most cases windows will share the same IRQ between different items. This approach usually works however sometimes it creates conflicts although windows shows none. So the only thing you can do, is start moving the card from one slot to the other and rebooting, until windows will assign the right combination of IRQ. Given that you need to uninstall and reinstall the drivers for each slot, this can take some time. However it is only fair to say THIS ISN't CREATIVE's fault. it can happen with any card. As for the modem itself, I got it so I can use its speakerphone functionality to participate in conference calls. Unfortunately the software that comes with this modem doesn't even worth the CD it is printed on. Although the internet is full of free utilities I would love to see this product shipped with a couple more decent try-and-buy products (...) That's why I gave it only 4 stars. Other than that I did not test the modem with internet connection. The fax and voice works just fine. This modem worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Does what it's supposed to, but didn't improve my connection
Review: I bought this modem to replace my old v90 modem. This modem works fine, but it didn't improve my connection. I still connect at the same 40-43kb/s. I even tried it with two different ISPs, same effect. I even changed the phone line going into the modem and no change. Oh well, it was worth a try anyway, but I didn't expect any miracles.
The installation was easy. Especially since I took another reviewer's advice and downloaded the XP driver from the Creative website before removing my old modem.
Overall, it does what it's suposed to do, but I wouldn't recomend getting it if you want higher connection speed, unless your ISP supports v.92 or you have a modem less than 56k.
Rating: 
Summary: What about the support
Review: I find it hard to believe that the drivers for XP could take this long. I have to purchase a modem from a company that feels it's necessary to actually support new OS's. It wouldn't be a problem if the drivers didn't blue screen the system. By the way, if you ever get a blue screen in XP don't do a hard shut down or it will wipe your hard drive.
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as I expected
Review: I hadn't read the other reviews here before ordering two of these modems. When they arrived, I installed them anyway just to see for myself how bad they really are. But both work as advertised. One is on an XP controlled machine, the other on an older ME machine. XP recognized the modem and installed it. The ME machine required using the Creative Labs CD. No installation problems. Both are much quicker than the v90 U.S. robotics.
Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as I expected
Review: I hadn't read the other reviews here before ordering two of these modems. When they arrived, I installed them anyway just to see for myself how bad they really are. But both work as advertised. One is on an XP controlled machine, the other on an older ME machine. XP recognized the modem and installed it. The ME machine required using the Creative Labs CD. No installation problems. Both are much quicker than the v90 U.S. robotics.
Rating:
Summary: Compatibility problems
Review: I just upgraded from an Intel P3 motherboard/chip to an Intel P4 motherboard/chip and my problems have gone from bad to worse. Before the Modem Blaster required 3-4 tries before connecting now it locks up constantly requiring 10-15 tries. Creative Labs is only offering update drivers for XP... anything else and you're out of luck. I reinstalled an old US Robotics V.90 modem and it works just fine (unfortunately my ISP is V.92 and causes the V.90 to hang-up during heavy downloads). I'm throwing this in the trash and buying a US Robotics V.92. Be warned... the Modem Blaster is low priced for a reason.
Rating:
Summary: Compatibility problems
Review: I just upgraded from an Intel P3 motherboard/chip to an Intel P4 motherboard/chip and my problems have gone from bad to worse. Before the Modem Blaster required 3-4 tries before connecting now it locks up constantly requiring 10-15 tries. Creative Labs is only offering update drivers for XP... anything else and you're out of luck. I reinstalled an old US Robotics V.90 modem and it works just fine (unfortunately my ISP is V.92 and causes the V.90 to hang-up during heavy downloads). I'm throwing this in the trash and buying a US Robotics V.92. Be warned... the Modem Blaster is low priced for a reason.
Rating:
Summary: The speakerphone software was a frustration to me
Review: I purchased this modem for the speakerphone feature, but, despite dozens of hours trying to make it work, I have yet to be successful with the speakerphone. I found the software to be incompatible with MS Outlook--and even caused serious corruptions in my XP system.
Rating:
Summary: WinXP? Don't buy it!!
Review: I should have listened to reviews on this page. If you like frustration, this is the modem for you if your running XP. After days of struggling and downloading drivers from Creative's website (this website is a disaster in itself) I now connect about 1 out of 4 tries, I connect at 24KBS, my download speed is a wopping 2.5 kbs, Modem on Hold doesn't work, and neither does the voice function. All of this is relatively fun when compared to trying to get technical support from Creative. You will either need to take a day off of work (live person support is only working hours M-F) or put your old modem back in so that you can experience the real pain of dealing with them online. After writing the most detailed description I could of the steps I had taken, the web pages I visited, the drivers I donwloaded, the broken links I found on their web pages, the references to items that are not found anywher else on their website and the remaining current problems..... I finally heard back from them saying "Check for IRQ conflicts". DON"T BUY IT, I WISH I HADN'T
Rating:
Summary: A darn good modem after the initial hassle
Review: I'll say it upfront. I had an Actiontec modem. I replaced it with the Modem Blaster V.92 PCI. Immediately, my connection speed increased more than 200%, and my download speed by 300%! The biggest problem is installation. This surprised me coming from a Creative Labs product. I was used to easy installation. I am running Win XP. Apparently, when this modem was issued, Win XP was just being introduced. The included installation disc was useless. So, my computer wouldn't recognize it as a Modem Blaster V.92, just as a generic 56K modem, using the enclosed installation disc. I made the mistake of taking out my previous modem before I installed this one. Take my advice. Leave your old modem in, go to Creative's web site, and download the latest driver for Win XP. I didn't do this, and had to install this modem as a generic 56K, then download the updated driver. However, after I downloaded the updated driver, I uninstalled the Modem Blaster (listed as a generic 56K modem), and reinstalled it with the new driver. Wow! It is so much better than what I had. Even installed as a generic modem it was sooo much better. It's important to install it as a Modem Blaster V.92 modem because you get the "call waiting" feature, which is huge to me, although you need to download the XP update for this feature also. It's not hard to navigate the Creative web site. Just make sure the model number of your modem matches that of the downloads. Overall, I am very happy, after getting over my frustration with the initial install. Take my advice, and you can shortcut the frustration I felt and have a flawless install, and you will be happy with the performance. That's the bottom line: performance, and this modem has delivered for me. By the way, I live out in the boondocks, where connection speed is hard to come by. This modem has boosted my speed almost to the level of my mom's DSL speed at her office ( the difference is very, very small, except for downloads)! Scott
| 
