Modem trouble after XP install

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Guest

hello everyone,

I hope I'm posting in the right section here because I've got myself into a
mess ... and it's not even my pc I've messed up ...
The hardware is a Intel Pentium 111 processor with a Desktop Board. I can
supply more details if needed.

Basically my dad was recently given it and it appeared to have XP
Professional on it although in need of updating/updating. I took my dad's pc
to my flat to upgrade it over my broadband connection and somehow
found/decided I needed to reinstall Windows XP Home from scratch using my
original XP Home CD. I can't really justify why I decided to lose the
existing OS and do the install, to be honest.

Anyhow, I then proceeded to follow Windows Update and go through a lengthy
series of upgrades/fixes including Service Pack 2. Finally finished, I then
tried to set up a dialup internet connection to restore what my dad
previously had, and this is where my trouble now is ....

I seem to be incapable of getting any on-board modem to function or be
'detected', even though I have tried in vain to set one up under Device
Manager. It's as though there are no longer any modems in the computer,
although my understanding of what a modem _really_ is may be very basic.
However, I am writing this on the pc using my ADSL broadband connection and
external modem I installed, so my issue seems just to be that the onboard
modem functionality has vanished.

If you think you can help me get this fixed, I can investigate more deeply
and look for more details and/or error messages, but I can say now that error
692 seems to appear when I try to set up a modem and attempt to connect.

The url below is a screengrab of what is shown when I go into 'phone and
modem options' in Control Panel, then select 'modems' and 'add' manually.
The left panel shows the modem I have tried to associate with both COM
ports, having previously tried either port individually. I found that modem
at the bottom of the scrollable options under 'manufacturer' shown on the
right panel.

Many thanks
Lee
England

http://www.incelsite.com/screengrab.gif
 
lee said:
hello everyone,

I hope I'm posting in the right section here because I've got myself
into a mess ... and it's not even my pc I've messed up ...
The hardware is a Intel Pentium 111 processor with a Desktop Board. I
can supply more details if needed.

Basically my dad was recently given it and it appeared to have XP
Professional on it although in need of updating/updating. I took my
dad's pc to my flat to upgrade it over my broadband connection and
somehow found/decided I needed to reinstall Windows XP Home from
scratch using my original XP Home CD. I can't really justify why I
decided to lose the existing OS and do the install, to be honest.

Anyhow, I then proceeded to follow Windows Update and go through a
lengthy series of upgrades/fixes including Service Pack 2. Finally
finished, I then tried to set up a dialup internet connection to
restore what my dad previously had, and this is where my trouble now
is ....

I seem to be incapable of getting any on-board modem to function or be
'detected', even though I have tried in vain to set one up under
Device Manager. It's as though there are no longer any modems in the
computer, although my understanding of what a modem _really_ is may be
very basic. However, I am writing this on the pc using my ADSL
broadband connection and external modem I installed, so my issue seems
just to be that the onboard modem functionality has vanished.

If you think you can help me get this fixed, I can investigate more
deeply and look for more details and/or error messages, but I can say
now that error 692 seems to appear when I try to set up a modem and
attempt to connect.

The url below is a screengrab of what is shown when I go into 'phone
and modem options' in Control Panel, then select 'modems' and 'add'
manually. The left panel shows the modem I have tried to associate
with both COM ports, having previously tried either port individually.
I found that modem at the bottom of the scrollable options under
'manufacturer' shown on the right panel.

Many thanks
Lee
England

http://www.incelsite.com/screengrab.gif
Click to expand...

Go into Device Manager and Show Hidden Devices. Remove/uninstall every
modem you see. Shut down the machine (not restart). Open the case and
take out the modem and put it in a different pci slot. Make sure the
inside of the case is clean and dust-free. Now restart the machine. If
you got lucky, XP will recognize the modem and have drivers for it. If
XP doesn't recognize the brand of the modem and have built-in drivers
for it (my guess is it doesn't), then you will need to install the
drivers. If you don't have the drivers (should have come on a cd with
the computer), then you need to find out the make/model of the modem
and find drivers. You can determine the hardware in the computer easily
by using a free program like Everest Home Edition. Get it here:

http://www.lavalys.com/index.php?page=product&view=1

Once you've identified the modem, get the drivers from the modem mftr.'s
website and install them.

If all that is too much trouble, go round to the store and buy your dad
a new modem. A decent modem costs around $25 USD (don't know prices
where you are) and will come with drivers. Be sure to remove/uninstall
the old modem.

Good luck,

Malke
 
thanks Malke,

before you replied, I had read around and it appears my problem is a known
'issue' which your advice may well have solved.
Luckily, the orignal owner of the pc told me that he had the same trouble
and told me to find and install a Creative Blaster modem driver which has
indeed worked.

I have to say though that I don't understand the actual firmware behind this;
Am I right in thinking that the modems I showed on my screengrab do actually
exist in my pc hardware, but I was just caught in a trap where I was unable
to upgrade/detect the drivers?

If so, is the Blaster software a special driver which has been programmed
especially to over-ride the XP trap?

Thanks a lot,
Lee
 
lee said:
thanks Malke,

before you replied, I had read around and it appears my problem is a
known 'issue' which your advice may well have solved.
Luckily, the orignal owner of the pc told me that he had the same
trouble and told me to find and install a Creative Blaster modem
driver which has indeed worked.

I have to say though that I don't understand the actual firmware
behind this; Am I right in thinking that the modems I showed on my
screengrab do actually exist in my pc hardware, but I was just caught
in a trap where I was unable to upgrade/detect the drivers?

If so, is the Blaster software a special driver which has been
programmed especially to over-ride the XP trap?

Thanks a lot,
Lee
Click to expand...

I have no idea since I can't see your machine. It sounds like there were
many unsuccessful attempts to install the modem, leaving "ghost modems"
behind. You only have one hardware modem in your computer. Removing the
"ghost modems" and installing the correct drivers fixed the problem.
There's nothing special about the Blaster software except that it
apparently is the correct driver for the device.

Malke
 
ok, I think I understand now.
Presumably the original modem driver as installed long ago by the
manufacturer is just not one supported / known by XP? ie my reinstall of the
OS had of course wiped out the orignal driver.

I didn't expect any of this, because my PC, which is a different brand and
model to the one I had trouble with, doesn't need anything other than the XP
drivers to make the internal modem work.

lee
 
lee said:
ok, I think I understand now.
Presumably the original modem driver as installed long ago by the
manufacturer is just not one supported / known by XP? ie my reinstall
of the OS had of course wiped out the orignal driver.

I didn't expect any of this, because my PC, which is a different brand
and model to the one I had trouble with, doesn't need anything other
than the XP drivers to make the internal modem work.

lee
Click to expand...

It's a hardware issue. XP has a nice feature of having lots of hardware
drivers included, but it can't of course know about every modem made.
The odd ones, old ones, etc. need to have drivers installed. That's why
you didn't have any problem with your own computer. If your Dad's PC
works now, leave it alone and don't mess around with it any more.

Malke
 
Yes, the pc is back with my dad as from yesterday.
The Blaster driver and associated modem setup seemed to use COM3 as the
port, rather than COM1 or COM2 which I seemed to find awkward to change.
Anyhow, testing worked with one of the 2 available phone-line input sockets,
so I just cut my losses and left it alone then.
 
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