Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Windows 2000 PCI modem issue

my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

»	Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE » Community » Film-Yak » Windows 2000 PCI modem issue

Author

Topic: Windows 2000 PCI modem issue

Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 11-12-2002 02:38 AM

A strange one this, which I am convinced is an operating system issue because it's happened twice on two separate machines with different motherboards.

What happens is as follows: the connection drops during an online session for some unknown reason. When I attempt to redial, it says no dial tone. The device manager indicates that the modem is not functioning properly. I restart Windows; same thing.

The first time it happened I thought I had a failed modem, so I moved it into another computer where it installed and functioned as normal. So I moved it back into the original machine, in the same PCI slot it came from. No joy. I then wondered if the PCI slot was faulty, and tried it in another one. Again, nothing. I then put a different card in the PCI slot that originally had the modem (to establish for sure whether that slot was kosher or not), and both cards worked fine. No plug-and-play detect and install process, everything worked as if it had been there all along.

When it happened again last night, I simply swapped the modem and IEEE1394 cards between slots: problem sorted. As I said, this can't be a hardware fault because exactly the same problem has happened twice on two entirely different machines with completely separate components. Is there some registry section that defines which hardware devices are plugged into what PCI slots on the motherboard that got corrupted somehow, a BIOS setting that Windows could be conflicting with or an IRQ problem (there shouldn't be an IRQ problem with W2K on an ACPI motherboard, though)?

For the record, this machine has W2K service pack 3. The machine that had this problem previously was on SP1.

Answers on a postcard please...

| IP: Logged

Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-12-2002 05:44 AM

Is this a "Winmodem" (as opposed to a "real" modem)? If so, try reinstalling the driver for it.

Also, beware of installing service pack 3, as it changes the EULA (end user license agreement) to allow MS to do various questionable things to your machine without needing further permission from the user.

| IP: Logged

Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 11-12-2002 06:22 AM

Point taken about SP3, but I've got Zone Alarm Pro stopping anything from accessing the Internet except Mailwasher, Eudora, Netscape and Norton Liveupdate. Not, actually, that it's been blocking programs any more frequently or in a different pattern than it did under SP2.

The modem is simply the cheapest one that ebyuer.com had, and it lists on the device manager as 'Zoom 56K PCI Faxmodem'. If this happens again I'll try the driver first.

| IP: Logged

Paul G. Thompson
The Weenie Man

Posts: 4718
From: Mount Vernon WA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 11-13-2002 10:24 PM

Remove all your modem drivers. Shut the machine down and yank the modem. Re-light and install the drivers. Shut down, and install the Zoom modem. Re-light, and the operating system will find and install the modem.

Be sure your drivers are compatible with W2K. Older ones are not.

Word of caution: Be sure to physically remove the power cord from the power supply before you yank and/or install the modem. There is power applied to the MB even if the power switch is turned off. If you fail to physically disconnect the power cord, you could blow the brains out of the mother board, modem, and possibly other hardware.

There could be a distinct possibility that might have already happened to you.

| IP: Logged

Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 11-14-2002 05:07 AM

Many thanks for this. I am careful about pulling all power before working inside a PC case, for precisely that reason. I also wear an earth strap bracelet connected to a radiator.

My gut feeling is that this is a weird W2K glitch. I don't think it's a driver issue because that modem has worked happily under W2K for six months before the problem happened. If it happens again, I'll try the driver route first.

| IP: Logged

Frank Angel
Film God

Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 11-16-2002 08:37 PM

Now you know why they call it WindBlows and why Bill Gates should wake up every night with crumbs in his bed.

| IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

Printer-friendly view of this topic

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.