Can't locate Ports (COM & LPT) in Device Manager

[thomas]

This is no dial tone when attempting to go online. Error. 633. The modem is
OK and is assigned to port COM3. The next step in the trouble shooter is to
check "Ports (COM & LPT)" in Device Manager. There is no such line in my
computer's Device Manager.

I have Windows XP SP2.

Thanks for any assistance

 

[Elmo]

There is no dial tone when attempting to go online. Error. 633. The modem is
OK and is assigned to port COM3. The next step in the trouble shooter is to
check "Ports (COM & LPT)" in Device Manager. There is no such line in my
computer's Device Manager.

I have Windows XP SP2.

Thanks for any assistance

Why is the modem OK? Has there been any lightning recently in the area?
Has this setup ever worked, or is some item, like the modem, new?

Restart and enter the BIOS. Disable the Com Ports. Then the modem
_might_ move to COM 1 and be seen by the Device Manager, Windows, etc.

You might also try a hardware group where they actually know what
they're talking about. ;o)

 

[Newbie Coder]

Thomas,

Are you on a dialup modem?

When you go into Control Panel | Modems is it listed?

Maybe your modem is USB

The COM ports in the device manager maybe missing if you 1) have removed the
drivers for your motherboard, but 2) you have disabled them in the BIOS.

Report back with more info please

 

[Patrick Keenan]

This is no dial tone when attempting to go online. Error. 633. The modem
is
OK and is assigned to port COM3. The next step in the trouble shooter is
to
check "Ports (COM & LPT)" in Device Manager. There is no such line in my
computer's Device Manager.

I have Windows XP SP2.

Thanks for any assistance

No dial tone often means that you're plugged into the wrong place or that
there is in fact no dial tone on a given cable or wall jack. Verify with a
telephone that the cable you're plugging into the modem and the wall
actually *does* have a dial tone. This is always the place to start.

Also, many modems have two jacks, and they aren't always the same.

Why do you say that the modem is OK?

HTH
-pk

 

[thomas]

Thanks for the reply. The modem will dial and send faxes. (I tested this
again right before posting.) Doesn't that mean that the modem works? It just
doesn't get a dial tone when I attempt to go online with a Network (Dial-Up)
Connection (to my ISP).. That's when the 633 error appears.

Is a port (such as COM3) hardware? (I didn't realize that.) What hardware
group do you recommend?

Thanks,

thomas

 

[thomas]

Yes, I'm on a dialup modem. (It will send a fax just fine.)

Yes, the modem is listed in the Control Panel. And it is enabled.

I haven't done anything in the way of adding new hardware. The only things I
did right before getting the 633 error were:

1) Use and configure the Fax Console for the first time. (I have since
disabled both the Send and Receive fax functions, in case the Fax Console
might be interfering with dialing up to go online.)

2) Scanned with Spybot (for the first time) which found and fixed some
spyware issues (Since I didn't have a printer hooked up to this Dell
Inspiron notebook computer, I utilized the Fax Console, in order to fax
myself a list of what Spybot had found.)

3) Scanned with AVG Anti-Rootkit Free (which found no installed rootkits).

Note: I had had a virus (Trojan horse Gerneric4.TB) that AVG would identify
and send to the Vault, but the virus file would be recreated each time I
went online. The AVG forum recommended downloading and running both Spybot
and the Anti-Root Kit. Afterward doing so, the Trojan did not return. But
since then, I was never again able to go online with a dial-up connection.
(Fortunately, I have an old Win98se machine to talk to you guys with

Thanks.

thomas

 

[R. McCarty]

Most modems have an internal Serial or COM port. Usually, it
takes a non-primary assignment such as COM3 or COM4 to
avoid multiplexing issues with the on-board Serial port(s). Most
recent Dell PCs have only a single on-board (Motherboard based)
COM port. You would have to enter the Dell's BIOS setup to
view if the on-board Serial port is enabled. Usually, the on-board
COM port is configured to be COM-1 with an IRQ assignment
of line #4.

If you click the Modem in Device Manager, the details box
should show which # COM port it is using.

 

[thomas]

Thanks for your reply. The internal modem (that came with the Dell Inspiron
computer over a year ago) will dial to send a fax. But I hear no dial tone
or dialing (with the speaker on) when I am attempting to go online (to my
ISP) with a Network (Dial-up) Connection. The modem appears in Device
manager, and I made sure that it is enabled).

The next step in the Trouble shooter is to check "Ports (COM & LPT)" in the
Device Manager. Ports (COM & LPT) does not appear as such in the Device
Manager.

Thanks.

thomas

 

[R. McCarty]

The lack of an entry in the Ports category is normal behavior. The
modem has it's own dedicated ( on the PCI card itself ) serial port.
It ( COM3 ) is controlled by the modem and not a configurable
device to Windows

My Vaio notebook has a built-in modem that uses COM port 3.
However in the Device Manager listing there is no entry for Ports.

 

[thomas]

The Device Manager says that the modem is using Port: COM3.

But, "Ports (COM & LPT)" is not listed in the Device Manager (where the
Troubleshooter says it is supposed to be found).

Thanks.

 

[thomas]

OK, I bypassed looking for and checking "Ports (COM & LPT)" and under Modem
Properties, it says, "This devise is working properly."

I now have been through every step in the Modem Troubleshooter.

Should I start a new thread, or do you have any ideas as to why the modem
isn't dialing to go online using a Network (Dial-up) Connection? (As I said,
the modem dials just fine to send a fax with the Fax Console.)

Thanks. If I don't hear anymore here, I'll start a new thread.

thomas

 

[Bob I]

Perhaps set it to not wait for a dialtone?

OK, I bypassed looking for and checking "Ports (COM & LPT)" and under Modem
Properties, it says, "This devise is working properly."

I now have been through every step in the Modem Troubleshooter.

Should I start a new thread, or do you have any ideas as to why the modem
isn't dialing to go online using a Network (Dial-up) Connection? (As I said,
the modem dials just fine to send a fax with the Fax Console.)

Thanks. If I don't hear anymore here, I'll start a new thread.

thomas

 

[Elmo]

Thanks for the reply. The modem will dial and send faxes. (I tested this
again right before posting.) Doesn't that mean that the modem works? It just
doesn't get a dial tone when I attempt to go online with a Network (Dial-Up)
Connection (to my ISP).. That's when the 633 error appears.

Is a port (such as COM3) hardware? (I didn't realize that.) What hardware
group do you recommend?

Thanks,

thomas

What happened that the modem stopped finding a dial tone? I was
thinking of a hardware group for your modem, though I didn't know what
type it was at the time.

Here are some links to helpful sites for 56K modems:

http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&q=modem+xp

http://www.56k.com/ Look at the Troubleshooting Guide under "For 56K
Owners" on the left.

 

[Plato]

This is no dial tone when attempting to go online. Error. 633. The modem is
OK and is assigned to port COM3. The next step in the trouble shooter is to
check "Ports (COM & LPT)" in Device Manager. There is no such line in my
computer's Device Manager.

First step is to connect a regular phone to the line and see if you get
a dialtone. Also, most surges come in via the phone line so perhaps your
modem is fried, yes, windows will still say its OK. Was the phone line
going to your modem connected to a surge protector with a modom circuit?

 

[Nightowl]

Should I start a new thread, or do you have any ideas as to why the modem
isn't dialing to go online using a Network (Dial-up) Connection? (As I said,
the modem dials just fine to send a fax with the Fax Console.)

Hi Thomas

Since your modem can dial and send faxes okay, I'd think it unlikely
that there's anything wrong with your line or your ports. Try creating a
new connection in Network Properties, or if it was created by software
supplied by your ISP, reinstall that.

 

[thomas]

Thanks. I did that and I did something else in the same time period -
attempted to restore an infected ndis.sys from the Virus Vault back to the
drivers folder. (But an uninfected file with the same name was already
there, so the infected file remained in the Vault,) I was then able to go
online!

Shortly thereafter, I attempted a Restart (reboot). A blue screen (not a
window) filled the display, reporting that "Windows had recovered from a
grievous error..." The computer was frozen and I had to do a hard reboot.
When the computer started again, EVERYTHING was OK. No dial-up problems. No
viruses.

Thanks for all the suggestions, everybody.

thomas