Modem Question

[tombance]

Im sorry to anyone who gets pissed of by double posters, I know ive posted this in the 'other forum', but I got no response. So here is my question:

I dont know what it is with me and modems. I can NEVER get them to run. This is the second modem ive tried on the same mobo, and it wont work.
Well, the modem installs correctly, all the correct software and drivers, the only problem is that when I actually try to dial up I get an error message saying:
'Your modem is not responding, check to see that it is switched on and plugged into the hone line,. Well this is an internal modem so it is switched on and it is plugged in. Ive tried changing a few things to do with irq in bios, but i dont really have a clue about wot im doing. Should PnP OS be on?
If it is the mobo, im using an FIC VB-601 with a celeron 400 and win98se, im just about to try updating the bios (my first ever bios update, ahhh) but im pretty sure it cant be this. Any Ideas? immediate obvious solutions would be nice

THANKYOU FOR ANYONE WHO HELPS ME!!!


My sig's faster than yours, and it overclocks better too....

 

[slvr_phoenix]

It sounds stupid, but are you sure that you have the phone line plugged into the right port? There are two back there and most modems don't label them very clearly.

Also, are you sure that your phone cable is good? I had a problem like that once, only to find that my cable had accidentally been sliced. Oops. A quick splice later and all was good again, but it was very frustrating until I actually checked the cable itself.

And most importantly of all if it <i>is</i> a card setup problem: Is it an ISA card or a PCI card?

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[tombance]

Ok, My modem only has one port on the back, so Im sure it is the right one. However im not so sure on the cable. Luckily this is a Diamond 33.6k modem, im currently using a diamond 56k external so im pretty sure the cable is the same (it looks exactly the same) and so ill try it later. This is an ISA modem, its a
Diamond SupraExpress 336i V+ Intl

Hope this helps

My sig's faster than yours, and it overclocks better too....

 

[slvr_phoenix]

Okay. I just like getting the obvious and simple out of the first.

So, it's an ISA card. No wonder you're having such difficulty getting it working. Seriously though, they do often take a lot more effort.

First, make sure that you know exactly what COM port you want to use and that it is free.

Second, find out what IRQ it is set to use. (Chances are, if it is ISA, it has a jumper for several.) If I remember correctly, often the IRQ setting varried according to what COM port you were trying to run the modem under. Make sure that this IRQ isn't used by another device. This information should come with the modem's instruction manual if it isn't directly on the modem itself.

Third, if your BIOS has the option, set it to reserve that IRQ specifically for ISA. (Because a lot of times PCI devices just don't care as much about specific IRQs, so PCI by default doesn't usually reserve them.) If you have a special plug-and-play interface (I used to have one seperate from Winblows on my Pentium 133) make sure that it is set up properly to reserve that IRQ for your ISA card.

Fourth, make absolutlely sure that there are no device conflicts with other hardware. (Such conflicts could be other hardware using the same IRQ, the same COM port, the same IO channel, etc., etc.) The Windows Device Manager makes this pretty easy to figure out. (Microsoft actually did something well? No way! Heh heh.)

Fifth, install any additional software for the modem and/or reconfigure any already installed software to use the right modem on the right COM port. (Such as deleting your old dial-up profile for Internet Explorer and creating a new one using the new modem and then setting it to use that profile by default.) You'd be surprised how many people forget to do this and thus their software tries to use the old modem.

Sixth, plug the modem cable in if it isn't already plugged in, both at the wall and the modem. (I know it sounds stupid, but I've helped plenty of friends in person who forgot to plug it in at the wall socket because they saw the old cable plugged in there and assumed all was good.)

This <i>should</i> be all that you need to do to get the modem working. Good luck.

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[tombance]

Wow, a lot of information

Ive just printed this out and i will try it soon.

Thx a lot pheonix

My sig's faster than yours, and it overclocks better too....

 

[slvr_phoenix]

No problem. I just hope that it helps. It's been a while since I've actually replaced a modem, especially an ISA modem. So I'm just recalling stuff from memory. I think I've about covered it all though.

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