How to configure a modem in MS-DOS

Updated: 01/24/2018 by Computer Hope
configure modem

With older computers and programs that the modem may need to be configured manually. The below chart lists all the settings that the DB9 serial port.

Serial parameters Choices Serial parameters Choices
Baud Rate 300
600
1200
2400
4800
9600
19.2K
38.4K
Parity Even
Odd
Mark
Space
None
Data Bits 7
8
Flow Control XON/XOFF
DTR/DSR
Stop Bits 1
2
   

By default, your computer would use:

Baud Rate: 9600, Data Bits: 8, Stop Bits: 1, Parity: None, Flow Control: XON/XOFF.

To set values from an MS-DOS prompt, use the mode command. We listed a few examples to give you a general idea how to use this command.

MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P - This command would set Communications port COM1 to 9600 Baud, with no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and with XON/XOFF (these are the default settings).

Note

If you are using Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or a newer version of Windows, do not configure your COM port manually. Instead, configure it using the Windows Device Manager.