SOLVED: ntl 250 info, (and others) modem usb drivers, includingwindows 98 drivers.

I think a few NTL modems, not just the 250 use the same USB modem
drivers. So this may be relevant not just for the NTL 250.

Calling NTL (in the uk anyway) they said they were not trained in
windows 98. All I wanted to know was where on their website the
drivers were. They could not answer [1]

To cut a long story short, it is available here
http://216.219.140.181/broadband/downloads.php

Now for the long story..

I eventually managed to find on the website they would be, but they
were not there.
googled virginmedia help
(ntl is now called virginmedia.. at least that`s the website anyway.
was ntlworld)
http://www.virginmedia.com/help/index_internet_service.php
click Broadband connection settings; Changing your speed.
choose OS, e.g. click Windows 98
click broadband device and information
click ntl 250
click "You can download the USB drivers for your Broadband modem from
here."
and you can download a Zip file, but I vaguely recall it was only for
WinNT(like 2k and xp) !


Somehow I found the NTL modem was made by a company called Ambit
Broadband.
I could not find drivers on their site. But they had a data sheet for
the NTL 250 modem, and it said that the NTL 250 modem was just a
branding on their modem,the U10C018
I googled that - U10C018 drivers, and got the site

http://216.219.140.181/broadband/downloads.php
Notice that all their modems (currently) use the same USB driver (same
file)
So that`s quite a useful file!

That driver worked..
This would apply to installing any USB driver
Note, since it was a USB device, I could just plug it in and the box
comes up asking you about installing the driver.
For something like an ethernet interface on the motherboard, I found
one has to go to ctrl panel, device manager, and go to the device with
the exclamation mark, and properties, and click "reinstall driver" and
then the box comes up..
I then directed it to the location..
If you want windows to look for it, you can uncheck all the boxes and
click next. I think that lets windows look for it in standard windows
directories. Though in this case, it is not there (hence you
downloaded the drivers).So You just point it to the location.

Now..
Some specifics about the NTL 250 modem..
That website also had a user guide, which was a bit interesting.

c:\>ipconfig

the IP was a public IP like 82.a.b.45, the gateway was a public one
(IP ending in .1 as is convention for routers/gateways 82.a.b.1)

In these situations, there is no NAT.. But also,
that public IP of the gateway. Is not the NTL (cable) modem. It is
the ISP`s Router. (I am fairly sure)
<crap>
One reason I say that because I think in the case of NAT Routers ,
they have a public ip, I know you only see their local one.. I think
with the public one, you can ping but cannot eg HTTP it..
</crap>

It turns out that the Cable Modem was running an HTTP server.
According to the user guide. On a local address of course
192.168.100.1

That is not the IP of the gateway.

ipconfig does not show that IP. I reckon had I done arp -a, I would
have seen it.

arp -a would show - poentially other things , but will show(if things
are working), the ip of the default gateway, which in the case of NAT
Routers, is the local IP of the NAT Router. The same one shown by
ipconfig for default gateway.
But for the NTL Cable modem, there is no NAT, the cable modem is "just
a modem". Not acting as a default gateway. So when you do arp -a, you
get a different IP or different IPs, to anything listed in ipconfig.
So it is worth doing arp -a, not just doing ipconfig.
That would probably show 192.168.100.1
Which in, I could have probably HTTPed to.

The NTL 250 has an ethernet connector and a USB connector.
It can only take 1 computer. So you plug one computer into USB or
Ethernet.

I read that early NTL modems had modes, ethernet mode and USB mode
and you choose which in the web interface.

The NTL 250 and prob any newer ones, must check automatically.. But
need to be restarted. They have a label on them about turning both
off, then turning cable modem on waiting 30 seconds then turning
computer on.. Sometimes just turning the cable modem off and on
(unplugging and plugging) works "power cycling"!

You can plug one computer into both ports. But I think then only the
one it has decided to use will work. The other is redundant.

That ambit broadband uk site mentioned a uk broadband forum that might
be of use
http://www.chetnet.co.uk/portal/
It may be worth looking into a firewall for these things , Win XP has
one but Win98 does not.
And Win2k may have one or two apparently, but apparentely it is not
stateful, not SPI . It is "stateless" .
I had read on the net that stateful checks layer 3 and 4. But
stateless just layer 3 .
But I have since heard somebody define the win2k firewall "ipsec?" as
stateless. It did check IP(layer 3) and TCP port(layer 4). It cannot
tell packets coming in or out, whether they are from an incoming
connectino or an outgoing connection.
i.e. it did not check the TCP states, the handshake. Apparently it is
fine if ports are statically chosen on both sides. but a web browser
is too much for it (since for that, an outgoing connection is
initiated, and locally ports are randomly chosen)


I will post a link that may be more reliable for USB drivers. But that
ambit broadband link isn`t going anywhere yet!