P4P800S, three little problems

[Jonathan Sachs]

I have just finished building a new system with a P4P800S board. Most things
are working well, but I have a problem and a couple of questions.

1. When I try to put the system on standby, I get the error message, "The
device driver for the 'Communications Port (COM1)' device is preventing the
machine from entering standby. Please close all applications and try again.
If the problem persists, you may need to update this driver."

I am not using the COM1 port when this happens -- so far, I have never used
it. I have not intentionally installed a special driver for it, and I can't
think of a reason why any software I have installed might have done so.
Closing all applications does not help. Why is this happening, and how can I
make it stop?

2. Eventually (after I get COM1 working, at least), I am going to need a
second COM port. There's a header for it on the board, but no connector.
Does Asus sell this as an accessory? I've looked at the web site, but I
can't find it.

3. I want to get a modem as backup for times when my broadband connection
goes down. There's a "modem" header on the board; I assume that it's
intended to let the sound chip be used as an on-board modem, which is
perfectly adequate for my needs. No connector for it came with the board,
though. Another accessory? Again, I searched the web site but found nothing,
and found nothing in the manual either.

 

[Paul]

I have just finished building a new system with a P4P800S board. Most things
are working well, but I have a problem and a couple of questions.

1. When I try to put the system on standby, I get the error message, "The
device driver for the 'Communications Port (COM1)' device is preventing the
machine from entering standby. Please close all applications and try again.
If the problem persists, you may need to update this driver."

I am not using the COM1 port when this happens -- so far, I have never used
it. I have not intentionally installed a special driver for it, and I can't
think of a reason why any software I have installed might have done so.
Closing all applications does not help. Why is this happening, and how can I
make it stop?

2. Eventually (after I get COM1 working, at least), I am going to need a
second COM port. There's a header for it on the board, but no connector.
Does Asus sell this as an accessory? I've looked at the web site, but I
can't find it.

3. I want to get a modem as backup for times when my broadband connection
goes down. There's a "modem" header on the board; I assume that it's
intended to let the sound chip be used as an on-board modem, which is
perfectly adequate for my needs. No connector for it came with the board,
though. Another accessory? Again, I searched the web site but found nothing,
and found nothing in the manual either.

I like the path of least resistance. You can get PCI cards with 2
serial ports on them. And probably for a lot less money than
the cadillac version here:

http://startech.com/ststore/itemdetail.cfm?ProductID=PCI2S550&topbar=topbario.htm

Or, you could spend time looking for an "Intel" style RS232 connector
and ribbon cable. There are apparently two styles for that kind of
accessory, and they can be purchased for about $3 at some online
retailers. It doesn't have to be Asus branded to work. Check Google
for some recent postings to this group, with sources for the connector
plus cable. (The riskiest part here, is the lack of documentation for
the header, as with that info, we could guarantee you that it would
work. AFAIK, the Intel style is the one to get. I have not personally
verified that info.)

I'm not sure the modem header is worth the trouble. If you check
a site like Newegg, PCI modems are pretty cheap, and trying to find
just a DAA to plug into the modem header isn't going to be
much cheaper. You'll likely pay more in shipping and handling,
than for the product. A cheap PCI modem is typically a "Winmodem",
and the PCI card contains a DAA to isolate the phone line from
the computer, plus an ADC to make the voltages available for
digital signal processing. A Winmodem wastes processor cycles
doing that DSP, but one I tested a few months back worked just
fine with a P4 2.6C. That wasn't always the case, as incompatible
drivers were the bane of such products.

You can also buy a USR External modem, and it can plug into one
of your serial ports. There is next to no processing overhead
with one of those, and you don't have to fiddle with PCTel
type drivers to get it to work.

Just a few ideas,
Paul

 

[FredP]

Jonathan ... are you using Quicken? The error message you're seeing
seems to be a common problem with that program.

If so, to resolve it, disable the Quicken Background Download Manager
driver. Try Edit -> Options -> Internet Options. Select Shift-4 ->
Answer 'Yes'.

 

[Jonathan Sachs]

Jonathan ... are you using Quicken? The error message you're seeing
seems to be a common problem with that program.

If so, to resolve it, disable the Quicken Background Download Manager
driver. Try Edit -> Options -> Internet Options. Select Shift-4 ->
Answer 'Yes'.

Yes, that did it. The options were not exactly as you described (I have an
older copy of Quicken), but they were easy to find.

Actually, I encountered the same problem the last time I built a system, and
kept notes on how to fix it, but I didn't think of them until you explained
what was wrong. The problem is darned hard to diagnose, because the
background application runs all the time without even announcing its
presence. Thus there is no observable connection between cause and effect.

 

[Paul]

Yes, that did it. The options were not exactly as you described (I have an
older copy of Quicken), but they were easy to find.

Actually, I encountered the same problem the last time I built a system, and
kept notes on how to fix it, but I didn't think of them until you explained
what was wrong. The problem is darned hard to diagnose, because the
background application runs all the time without even announcing its
presence. Thus there is no observable connection between cause and effect.

Here is some background info on a COM2 interface:
http://home.att.net/~Tom.Horsley/p4c800e.html

HTH,
Paul

 

[FredP]

Glad you were able to solve the COM port problem ...

As for a modem, Paul has good advice (as he always does) in that the
path of least resistence is usually the best. Pick up a cheap PCI modem
at newegg.com (I personally wouldn't go for a winmodem, but ...) and
move on.