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Chienoir
Tl Posts:
3

USA
Posted - 2/4/2006 12:19:18 PM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message
I need help with a computer that I picked up as a discard. It’s a Gateway Essential 500c which had no drives or modem in it when I found it. I had an old Dell that had died, so I transplanted the hard drive from it which was functional with Win98 second edition as an OS; plus a floppy drive, a CD-rom drive and 256MB of memory. Everything seems to work, except that I have not been able to get any modem to work in this computer. I have tried several used modems that I installed using downloaded drivers. My latest attempt is with a Diamond SupraMax 56I Voice PCI (v.90, 56k) for which I have the original manufacturer’s drivers on their CD. Win 98 will not recognize or automatically install the modem using the wizard. The modem will install by selecting it from a list using port Com 1, using the factory CD drivers; but once installed, it won’t function.

I am on a dial-up line using NetZero as a web server. Their wizard reports "error 630: Port disconnect due to hardware failure".

If I query the modem using: properties/diagnostics/more info, it reports "modem failed to respond...verify that the interrupt for the port is properly set." If I try a test using hyperterminal, any characters that I type in the test window do not appear at all - even with the echo feature on.

I think there is a problem with the registry settings. If I check the modem by going to: control panel/system/device manager/modem/properties it brings up “Error: Cannot read port name from registry.”

I have read and attempted every fix that Microsoft suggests in its knowledge base and spent many days applying them - nothing will rectify it. Any ideas?

v.Richard
Tl Posts:
6222

USA
Posted - 2/5/2006 11:39:38 PM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message  v.Richards Homepage
You cannot install most softmodems using the Add New Hardware Wizard - you have to run the setup program that comes with the driver as the modem creates its own virtual COM port - it can't use a 'real' COM port that is part of the computer.

If you put a hard drive from another machine in the system without formatting/re-installing Windows, you could also have problems with the Windows installation in that it was done on other hardware. Best to re-install Windows from scratch (re-format/replace the install) if this is the case.

Aloha! Richard.

Chienoir
Tl Posts:
3

USA
Posted - 2/6/2006 10:12:41 AM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message
Richard wrote:
"You cannot install most softmodems using the Add New Hardware Wizard - you have to run the setup program that comes with the driver as the modem creates its own virtual COM port - it can't use a 'real' COM port that is part of the computer."

I did run the driver setup. How might I know which "virtual port" it was assigned to? The only real port available for use (according to the system list) is com 1.

"If you put a hard drive from another machine in the system without formatting/re-installing Windows, you could also have problems with the Windows installation in that it was done on other hardware. Best to re-install Windows from scratch (re-format/replace the install) if this is the case."

Granted, but I doubt that that's causing the problem, and I'd like to try all other possible remedies before having to go that route.

Chienoir
Tl Posts:
3

USA
Posted - 2/7/2006 1:00:38 PM  Show Profile  Email Poster  Edit Message
Update: I got another used hard disk, reformatted it, did a freash install of Win98 and it still does the same thing. Obviously, doing that didn't solve it. What do I do now?

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