Fax Modems Are Fun

So I'm setting up my Toshiba Satellite MX-S329 laptop with fax software, which suddenly tells me it's not too sure my built-in modem supports Distinctive Rings. DR are the odd ring-tones you can get on a house line for a 2nd 'virtual' number, like a fax number in my case. It rings two short rings, pause, then again. Fax machines or software can detect this and other odd types, then choose to answer.

So after battling in my mind about which PC to do this 'function' on, I decided on the laptop, since it does the home automation tasks now (<20% resource usage avg) and not much else. Plugged line in, loaded fax receiving program which I painstakingly decided on after much research..... and it says "Your modem MIGHT have Distinctive Ring detection...."

Turns out all it needed was a cute little init string : AT+VDR=1,0

Thanks to http://www.modemsite.com/56K/dring.asp for saving an extra hour or ten from my life.