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modem conundrum

A

azkiwi

Senior member
Just getting everything back together after a fairly major crash. Ended up reinstallng W98SE but now my modem (3Com 56K int PnP) won't reinstall..grrrr:disgust:

I've tried taking everything out but the video, jumpering for a specific port, installing from scratch etc etc. Either get a "can't open port" error, "port already open" error, or "check modem is turned on" error.

When opening in Safe Mode I note 2 COM1 ports keep appearing, even after deleting one on previous boot, and ECP port shows, although not in Normal mode.

Any ideas? Its a new Abit KA-7 board running an Athlon 800.
 
did u disable the onboard serial ports in the bios setup? is the parallel port set to ecp in the bios setup?

then try jumpering the modem for a specific port and irq (make sure the port and irq combinations are valid and that the irq isn't shared with anything else)...i hate it when windows decides to switch the ports on me whenever it felt like it...i had some older games that only had modem multiplayer, so that was a problem for me...
 
did that but lost my NIC. COM3 is the only port now reported in DM....but modem functioning on COM2 - wow how is that possible?

do I now re-enable the onboard serial ports? How else do I recover the other ports?
 
Internal modems use their own "built-in" com ports...a common source of confusion. In other words, if it's a modem with jumpers, if it's set to a particular port it will report to Windows that it is actually that com port vs. the pc's built-in com ports. The same is true for a pci modem (adjustable IRQ/com port)...

So, if you have your pc's built-in com ports enabled in your bios, your modem will not be able to use those ports (internal modem, that is)... Your modem generally needs a port that's not enabled in the bios. Otherwise, Windows will assign that IRQ to the physical com port and not your modem, which also needs an IRQ. Note: you only have to disable the one com port that your modem is set to use, or that you would like to free up as far as available irq's go. Some modems are more flexible in the possible IRQ options they can use. But if they are hard-jumpered to a specific IRQ/Com Port, then if it's already allocated in the bios to your pc's com port(s), your modem won't work.

What does your Nic say in Device Manager? Are you saying it doesn't even show up? Is it an old ISA Nic that has physical jumpers on it?

By the way, deleting a com port from within Windows will not do anything for you as the bios and plug and play will redetect it at next boot up. You must deal with it in the bios.
 
>What does your Nic say in Device Manager? Are you saying it doesn't even show >up? Is it an old ISA Nic that has physical jumpers on it?

With the NIC installed (Netgear PCI PnP) the modem (3Com 56K Int ISA PnP) is disabled - I presume because it can't seem to find a compatible port. The modem can be jumpered to a specific port but is not currently. Device manager reports COM3 and ECP as the only ports installed.

Previously I have had good luck with deleting ports in the windows environment precisely because, as you say, they are re-detected at boot up - but often this causes re-assignment and a better 'fit'.
 
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