I have Windows ME, and I recently bought and installed a 3COM USR 56K Internal modem
(model # 3cp5699a).

The problem is that every time I connect with the modem (to the net, etc...), after some considerable time (like 20 or 30 minutes or more, this varies) windows slows down to almost a halt and response time to mouse and keyboard becomes very low. Then a minute or two after this, the system simply freezes completely and doesn't respond at all. The only way out is to ctrl-alt-del reboot it.

During the slow-down I can see that the 'double-computer' icon in the taskbar which usually shows modem activity, is lit continuously and stays lit (and does not flash as it should).

Also, during the slow down I was able to see which threads were running in the system (using a tool called spyxx). It showed that there were 6 or more "3cmlinkw.exe" threads, and many of them had priority levels of 25 or so (that's way above normal level 8 priority that other threads in the system have).

One time, during the slow down, the system prompted me to close 3cmlnkw.exe as it was not responding. I did, and the computer speed went back to normal. (However, I had to load 3cmlnkw.exe manually in order to use the modem again).

This leads me to suspect 3cmlnkw.exe as the cause of this... But I'm not sure how to fix it... Did anyone else had or heard of a similar problem? Anyone know how to fix it?