Hi! I recently installed a US Robotics Network card on a dual-boot system (XP Pro, W98SE). Under XP, the card installed without a hitch - no hardware conflicts whatsoever. Under W98SE, I could not boot anymore. After disabling the network card in Safe Mode, my sound card was suddenly no longer operational - no free IRQ available! After inspection of the IRQ settings under both OS'es, I noticed one difference: LPT1 takes up IRQ5 under W98SE, and no IRQ under XP Pro... Removing the network card (physically!) returns my W98 to its previous operational condition. I have three questions: 1. How is it possible that a deactiviated device still modifies IRQ assignments? 2. Why does LPT1 require an IQ under W98SE, and not under XP Pro? 3. How can I fix my W98 setup? :-) All ideas and suggestions are deeply appreciated! Regards, Johan

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Johan: a search turned up the following:

Yayger says:

"Remove the card.
Boot the machine.
Place Card back in.
Boot Machine.

I use this process when my video card and network card decide to share an IRQ after 
an install. This changes the IRQ and everything works beautifully."

Blue 87FIS says:
"shared IRQ's don't cause problems in Win2k or WinXP.

I've had all my PCI cards and my AGP card on IRQ 11 for a couple months and haven't 
seen a single problem, even though my hardware says specifically not to allow that!" 

See the link below (after your text) about IRQ sharing...





On Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at 12:50 am, Johan B wrote:
>Hi! I recently installed a US Robotics Network card on a dual-boot system (XP Pro, 
>W98SE). Under XP, the card installed without a hitch - no hardware conflicts whatsoever. 
>Under W98SE, I could not boot anymore. After disabling the network card in Safe 
Mode, 
>my sound card was suddenly no longer operational - no free IRQ available! After 
inspection 
>of the IRQ settings under both OS'es, I noticed one difference: LPT1 takes up IRQ5 
>under W98SE, and no IRQ under XP Pro... Removing the network card (physically!) 
returns 
>my W98 to its previous operational condition. I have three questions: 1. How is 
it 
>possible that a deactiviated device still modifies IRQ assignments? 2. Why does 
LPT1 
>require an IQ under W98SE, and not under XP Pro? 3. How can I fix my W98 setup? 
:-) 
>All ideas and suggestions are deeply appreciated! 
>Regards, Johan 

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q314068

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hello Everett, thanks for the tip! You were absolutely right: I manually assigned my ISA Soundblaster AWE 32 to IRQ 5, the same one W98 assigned to LPT1, and the system seems to work fine! One question though: how come LPT1 requires an IRQ in W98 and not in XP? Is the latter more clever in handling resources? Thanks again, Johan

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Johan:  Glad to help out.  WinXP handles IRQs differently, as you found out:

It is normal behavior for PCI devices to have IRQs shared among them, especially 
on Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) computers that have Windows 
ACPI support enabled. 

In Windows XP, Device Manager may list some or all of the devices on your ACPI motherboard 
as using the same IRQ (IRQ 9). (To view the list of resources, click either Resources 
by type or Resources by connection on the View menu). No option is available to change 
the IRQ setting.
 
Windows takes advantage of the ACPI features of the motherboard, including advanced 
PCI sharing. The PCI bus uses IRQ 9 for IRQ steering. This feature lets you add more 
devices without generating IRQ conflicts. 

Note that Windows XP cannot rebalance resources in the same way that Microsoft Windows 
98 does. After PCI resources are set, they generally cannot be changed. 

If you change to an invalid IRQ setting or I/O range for the bus that a device is 
on, Windows XP cannot compensate by rebalancing the resource that was assigned to 
that bus. 

Windows XP does not have this ability because of the more complex hardware schemas 
that Windows XP is designed to support.

Windows 98 does not have to support IOAPICs, multiple root PCI buses, multiple-processor 
systems, and so on. When you are dealing with these hardware schemas, rebalancing 
becomes risky and therefore is not implemented in Windows XP except for very specific 
scenarios. 

PCI devices are required to be able to share IRQs. In general, the ability to share 
IRQs does not prevent any hardware from working. 

The above is courtesy of article Q314068





On Thursday, July 11, 2002 at 12:11 am, Johan B wrote:
>Hello Everett,
>
>thanks for the tip! You were absolutely right: I manually assigned my ISA Soundblaster 
>AWE 32 to IRQ 5, the same one W98 assigned to LPT1, and the system seems to work 
>fine!
>
>One question though: how come LPT1 requires an IRQ in W98 and not in XP? Is the 
latter 
>more clever in handling resources?
>
>Thanks again, Johan

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

hi there, may be some one here can help me. I'm trying to use a pcmica fax modem, and a 10/100 Ethernet card, with win98, and I keep running into this IRQ issue. I'm some what of a novice, but it seem like I know(or have learned) more about this than all the computer people I know. It's an IBM ThinkPad. can any one tell me how to do this??? Any help would be greatly appreciated


On Tuesday, July 9, 2002 at 12:50 am, Johan B wrote:
>Hi! I recently installed a US Robotics Network card on a dual-boot system (XP Pro,
>W98SE). Under XP, the card installed without a hitch - no hardware conflicts whatsoever.
>Under W98SE, I could not boot anymore. After disabling the network card in Safe Mode,
>my sound card was suddenly no longer operational - no free IRQ available! After inspection
>of the IRQ settings under both OS'es, I noticed one difference: LPT1 takes up IRQ5
>under W98SE, and no IRQ under XP Pro... Removing the network card (physically!) returns
>my W98 to its previous operational condition. I have three questions: 1. How is it
>possible that a deactiviated device still modifies IRQ assignments? 2. Why does LPT1
>require an IQ under W98SE, and not under XP Pro? 3. How can I fix my W98 setup? :-)
>All ideas and suggestions are deeply appreciated!
>Regards, Johan

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

you mite want to watch how u say IRQ 9, there is no IRQ 9 its IRQ 2/9


On Thursday, July 11, 2002 at 7:51 pm, Everett wrote:

>Johan:  Glad to help out.  WinXP handles IRQs differently, as you found out:
>
>It is normal behavior for PCI devices to have IRQs shared among them, especially 
>on Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) computers that have Windows 
>ACPI support enabled. 
>
>In Windows XP, Device Manager may list some or all of the devices on your ACPI motherboard 
>as using the same IRQ (IRQ 9). (To view the list of resources, click either Resources 
>by type or Resources by connection on the View menu). No option is available to 
change 
>the IRQ setting.
> 
>Windows takes advantage of the ACPI features of the motherboard, including advanced 
>PCI sharing. The PCI bus uses IRQ 9 for IRQ steering. This feature lets you add 
more 
>devices without generating IRQ conflicts. 
>
>Note that Windows XP cannot rebalance resources in the same way that Microsoft Windows 
>98 does. After PCI resources are set, they generally cannot be changed. 
>
>If you change to an invalid IRQ setting or I/O range for the bus that a device is 
>on, Windows XP cannot compensate by rebalancing the resource that was assigned to 
>that bus. 
>
>Windows XP does not have this ability because of the more complex hardware schemas 
>that Windows XP is designed to support.
>
>Windows 98 does not have to support IOAPICs, multiple root PCI buses, multiple-processor 
>systems, and so on. When you are dealing with these hardware schemas, rebalancing 
>becomes risky and therefore is not implemented in Windows XP except for very specific 
>scenarios. 
>
>PCI devices are required to be able to share IRQs. In general, the ability to share 
>IRQs does not prevent any hardware from working. 
>
>The above is courtesy of article Q314068
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Dave:  if your PC cards are not detected or don't work correctly with the Windows 
98 PCMCIA drivers, you can work around the problem by reserving IRQ 10 and the memory 
range C000-CBFF. 
to do so, follow these steps: 

click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click System. 
click Device Manager, Computer, Properties. 
click Reserve Resources, Interrupt Request (IRQ), then Add. 
type 10 and click OK. 
click Memory, then Add. 
reserve the memory range C000-CBFF and click OK. click OK again and restart your 
computer





On Sunday, December 15, 2002 at 8:27 pm, dave stierle wrote:
>hi there, may be some one here can help me. I'm trying to use a pcmica fax modem, 
>and a 10/100 Ethernet card, with win98, and I keep running into this IRQ issue. 
I'm 
>some what of a novice, but it seem like I know(or have learned) more about this 
than 
>all the computer people I know. It's an IBM ThinkPad. can any one tell me how to 
>do this??? Any help would be greatly appreciated
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

what do you do when the acpi irq steering is in conflict and there is no indecation of this happenig i am running a shuttel space walker ak31 and this is on going i have even updated the bios but this not only affects the internal usb port but the parall port as well i kow this only when i can print out then i run nuts and bolts i breifly read some about this is in the bios set up


On Tuesday, January 21, 2003 at 12:44 pm, Everett wrote:

>Dave:  if your PC cards are not detected or don't work correctly with the Windows 
>98 PCMCIA drivers, you can work around the problem by reserving IRQ 10 and the memory 
>range C000-CBFF. 
>to do so, follow these steps: 
>
>click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click System. 
>click Device Manager, Computer, Properties. 
>click Reserve Resources, Interrupt Request (IRQ), then Add. 
>type 10 and click OK. 
>click Memory, then Add. 
>reserve the memory range C000-CBFF and click OK. click OK again and restart your 
>computer
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Lynn:  you can attempt to correct resource conflicts yourself.
 
in Device Manager, double-click the conflicting device and click the Resources tab.
 
click the various resource types and look in the Conflicting Device List pane to 
determine the conflict.
 
in the easiest cases (not yours), you'll be told that the device conflicts with the 
IRQ assignment of another specifically named device.
 
you can change the IRQ setting of one of the devices by clicking the device, removing 
the check from the Use Automatic Settings checkbox, and assigning a new IRQ.
 
as you do so, you should be told if the chosen IRQ will cause another conflict.
 
when you find one that Device Manager deems acceptable, click OK and let Windows 
restart your computer. 

the link below after your text has a wealth of information about IRQs and ports.

let us know what worked for you...





On Sunday, January 26, 2003 at 4:14 am, lynn wrote:
>what do you do when the acpi irq steering is in conflict and there is no indecation 
>of this happenig i am running a shuttel space walker ak31 and this is on going i 
>have even updated the bios but this not only affects the internal usb port but the 
>parall port as well i kow this only when i can print out then i run nuts and bolts 
>i breifly read some about this is in the bios set up
>
>

http://www.beyondlogic.org/interrupts/interupt.htm

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

i have tried to reasign manually the irq evenin bios even tried to turn of acpi it is not so much a conflict as it is being turned off and even after running nuts n bolt which is the only utility to find it drwatson is usless aside from system lock ups i am unable to printi have updated everything i can

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Lynn:  you have entered a part of device management which is intersting...

to assist you, find below after your text, some links which explain IRQ steering 
extensively.





On Tuesday, January 28, 2003 at 2:01 pm, lynn wrote:
>i have tried to reasign manually the irq evenin bios even tried to turn of acpi 
it 
>is not so much a conflict as it is being turned off and even after running nuts 
n 
>bolt which is the only utility to find it drwatson is usless aside from system lock 
>ups i am unable to printi have updated everything i can 
>

http://www.computeruser.com/articles/2007,5,21,1,0701,01.html
http://www.pcaudiolabs.com/setup_tips/
http://cwdixon.com/support/win98_support/irq_steering.htm
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~mrscary/devenum.htm
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/pci_bus_irq-steering.html
http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/intshare.htm

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Everett, Maybe you can help me? I'm going crazy with a sound card problem. It's an onboard and the IRQ is 11, shared with 4 other devices (but not the ethernet card). No matter what I do, the system says no sound card. I've tried everything,even bringing it to the techs at work and nothing. I'm using Windows 98SE. Any advice? I did the BIOS thing/tried the reserve thing/removed the driver and let it reinstall the hardware & still nothing - no sound card detected. Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Ep


On Tuesday, January 21, 2003 at 12:44 pm, Everett wrote:

>Dave:  if your PC cards are not detected or don't work correctly with the Windows 
>98 PCMCIA drivers, you can work around the problem by reserving IRQ 10 and the memory 
>range C000-CBFF. 
>to do so, follow these steps: 
>
>click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click System. 
>click Device Manager, Computer, Properties. 
>click Reserve Resources, Interrupt Request (IRQ), then Add. 
>type 10 and click OK. 
>click Memory, then Add. 
>reserve the memory range C000-CBFF and click OK. click OK again and restart your 
>computer
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Ep:  sharing with four other devices seems excessive, likely causing conflict and 
resulting in your problem.
a re-allocation of resources is worth a try.

double-click the conflicting device in Device Manager and select the Resources tab. 
click Use Automatic Settings to disable it. 
next, double-click Interrupt Request. 
in the Edit Interrupt Request window scroll the Value listings of IRQ numbers until 
you find the one you want. 
the Conflict Information area will tell you if there are any conflicts for that setting.

try to assign the following configuration to your sound card:
             DMA    Channel 1 or Channel 5
             IRQ    5 or 9 or 10
             I/O    278h or 378h or 3BCh

try different combinations that do not produce conflict notations in the device's 
Resources tab.
restart after each change and check the Resources tab again.  

missing, damaged or incorrect drivers can also cause your problem.
download the latest driver for your sound card from the maker's web site, or if not 
found use the link below after your text.

try the Help troubleshooter;
click Start, Help, Index tab, type: sound troubleshooter, and press the Enter key.

let us know how you fixed the problem...





On Friday, January 31, 2003 at 10:49 pm, Ep wrote:
>Everett, Maybe you can help me?  I'm going crazy with a sound card problem.  It's 
>an onboard and the IRQ is 11, shared with 4 other devices (but not the ethernet 
card). 
> No matter what I do, the system says no sound card.  I've tried everything,even 
>bringing it to the techs at work and nothing.  I'm using Windows 98SE.  Any advice? 
> I did the BIOS thing/tried the reserve thing/removed the driver and let it reinstall 
>the hardware & still nothing - no sound card detected.  Any advice you can offer 
>would be appreciated.
>
>Ep
>
>

http://www.soundcard-drivers.com/

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

please Help!!, i have read through the threads, and my problem is with a pci soundcard, Im using XP and its installed acpi, So i cant change the irq port . Windows have assigned the card to irq 17, which is virtual, Windows reports that there are no errors with the drivers(which are up to date) All i have done is install a new MObo. The card worked fine on the old board(2 years old) incidently using irq 10/11 cant remember. The cars is 3 years old so might be 16 bit pci, not 32 . which is the standard now. When windows detects the new hardware it puts the unknown device onto irq 10, Which would be exellent if it would stay there, but once the drivers are installed it moves it to the virtual IRQ 17. Where-upon the device fails to play audio. I have tried everything to getwindows to keep the device on 10. What can i do? Why did they do this ?,
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

STU: we have slipped into XP, but perhaps no one will notice...here are some ideas 
that might help;

1. check your sound card compatibility with XP at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/default.aspx?subid=22&xslt=categoryl3&pgn=8093f361-12ce-40ee-af08-9f199024d7ca

2. check your sound settings;
on the volume tab in the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box, make sure 
the Device Volume slider is mid-range.

in the Speaker Settings area of the Volume tab, click Speaker Volume, make sure the 
left and Right sliders are mid-range.

in the Speaker Settings area of the Volume tab, click Advanced,
on the Sp[eakers tab, click the Speaker Setup down arrow, select your speaker setup.

on the Audio tab of the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box, click the 
Default device down arrow and make sure your audio device is selected.

on the Hardware tab, click the Troubleshooter button.

3. ensure that Windows Audio service is set on Automatic and started;
click Start, Run, type: services.msc

4. run the DirectX diagnostic;
click Start, Run, type: dxdiag
and run the sound tests.

5. try moving the PCI card to another slot.

6. you have installed a new mobo, so all the sound you need may be built in to the 
mobo, making a separate sound card unecessary.
try pulling the sound card and check your settings in the BIOS to make sure that 
the mobo sound is not disabled.

7. to avoid the IRQ issue, replace your sound card with an external sound card such 
as the Creative Labs' Sound Blaster Extigy and just plug it into a USB port.

let us know what worked for you...





On Monday, February 2, 2004 at 6:54 am, STU wrote:
>
>please Help!!, i have read through the threads, and my problem is with a pci soundcard, 
>Im using XP and its installed acpi, So i cant change the irq port . Windows have 
>assigned the card to irq 17, which is virtual, Windows reports that there are no 
>errors with the drivers(which are up to date) All i have done is install a new MObo. 
>The card worked fine on the old board(2 years old) incidently using irq 10/11 cant 
>remember. The cars is 3 years old so might be 16 bit pci, not 32 . which is the 
standard 
>now. When windows detects the new hardware it puts the unknown device onto irq 10, 
>Which would be exellent if it would stay there, but once the drivers are installed 
>it moves it to the virtual IRQ 17. Where-upon the device fails to play audio. I 
have 
>tried everything to getwindows to keep the device on 10. What can i do? Why did 
they 
>do this ?, 

>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Hi Everett and Friends,
Well, my …. IRQ SHARING related real bummer issue is that I have been tryyyyyying 
to replace a dead 3COM 56k PCI controller based modem with the exact same model but 
there are no IRQs available anymore even though I have not added anything new and 
don’t have much hardware on it anyway. I have a 5838 Presario. The installer software 
says “no IRQs available” right away whether I have the new modem in the computer 
or not during the install sequence.

COM2 is “missing” in the Device Manager under the “PORTS {COM & LPT}.
When I fake it… and “install a modem” using the modem install dialog box in the control 
panel … just to see what happens… it installs it on COM1. COM2 and COM3 are not listed 
when I check the DIAGNOSTICS tab… is that relevant? 

However, the COMs listed in my HKEY are COM1, COM2 and COM5. Also, when I put the 
modem it is recognized as new hardware but it thinks it is a “serial port device”, 
not a modem. 

To “check” the new modem out I have tried putting another modem in, and in different 
PCI slots… wheww… but the responses have been the same. Flashed BIOS. Reinstalled 
WIN98. Yeh sure.

When the non-functioning modem first died, I used the diagnostic program on the 3COM 
 CD to look at it. It saw it and said it was AT”ing”and looping OK but it was unable 
to detect dial tones. After I messed around with un-install and whatever else I did??? 
To prepare for the new modem, the 3COM’s diagnostic soft could not see the modem 
at all. The same diagnostic program can’t see the new modem either…  DANG me darn 
it.

ANY clues for me, Stele E  /Boulder, CO

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

STELE: 
 http://www.computeruser.com/articles/2007,5,21,1,0701,01.html

says: "PCI bus IRQ steering gives Windows 98/SE/Me the flexibility to reprogram PCI 
interrupts when reconfiguring Plug-and-Play PCI and ISA resources around non-Plug-and-Play 
ISA devices. This gives Windows a very powerful tool that can automatically resolve 
many possible IRQ conflicts without direct intervention on the part of the user (or 
technician). If PCI bus IRQ steering is disabled in Windows, the BIOS assigns IRQs 
to PCI devices. But if PCI bus IRQ steering is enabled, Windows will assign IRQs 
to PCI devices. When your system supports PCI bus IRQ steering, you will notice numerous 
IRQ holders when you view IRQ assignments (such as "ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering"). 
An IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering indicates that an IRQ has been programmed to PCI 
mode and is unavailable for ISA devices-even if no PCI devices are currently using 
the IRQ."

there is a separate screen in the BIOS for disabling/enabling Plug-and-Play by Windows.

suggest you try IRQ steering in the BIOS both ways and see which one works for you...






On Friday, July 9, 2004 at 10:00 pm, STELE E wrote:

>Hi Everett and Friends,

>Well, my …. IRQ SHARING related real bummer issue is that I have been tryyyyyying 

>to replace a dead 3COM 56k PCI controller based modem with the exact same model 
but 

>there are no IRQs available anymore even though I have not added anything new and 

>don’t have much hardware on it anyway. I have a 5838 Presario. The installer software 

>says “no IRQs available” right away whether I have the new modem in the computer 

>or not during the install sequence.

>

>COM2 is “missing” in the Device Manager under the “PORTS {COM & LPT}.

>When I fake it… and “install a modem” using the modem install dialog box in the 
control 

>panel … just to see what happens… it installs it on COM1. COM2 and COM3 are not 
listed 

>when I check the DIAGNOSTICS tab… is that relevant? 

>

>However, the COMs listed in my HKEY are COM1, COM2 and COM5. Also, when I put the 

>modem it is recognized as new hardware but it thinks it is a “serial port device”, 

>not a modem. 

>

>To “check” the new modem out I have tried putting another modem in, and in different 

>PCI slots… wheww… but the responses have been the same. Flashed BIOS. Reinstalled 

>WIN98. Yeh sure.

>

>When the non-functioning modem first died, I used the diagnostic program on the 
3COM 

> CD to look at it. It saw it and said it was AT”ing”and looping OK but it was unable 

>to detect dial tones. After I messed around with un-install and whatever else I 
did??? 

>To prepare for the new modem, the 3COM’s diagnostic soft could not see the modem 

>at all. The same diagnostic program can’t see the new modem either…  DANG me darn 

>it.

>

>ANY clues for me, Stele E  /Boulder, CO 

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

hELLO eVERETT, thanks for the help. as it turns out, my techie neighbor was able to find and force another driver to work with the modem without using the "modem installation assistant" that was insisting that there were no IRQs available. so Everett, thanks for the help. Take care, Stele E greenmatrix.org


On Saturday, July 10, 2004 at 6:44 am, Everett wrote:
>STELE:
> http://www.computeruser.com/articles/2007,5,21,1,0701,01.html
>
>says: "PCI bus IRQ steering gives Windows 98/SE/Me the flexibility to reprogram PCI
>interrupts when reconfiguring Plug-and-Play PCI and ISA resources around non-Plug-and-Play
>ISA devices. This gives Windows a very powerful tool that can automatically resolve
>many possible IRQ conflicts without direct intervention on the part of the user (or
>technician). If PCI bus IRQ steering is disabled in Windows, the BIOS assigns IRQs
>to PCI devices. But if PCI bus IRQ steering is enabled, Windows will assign IRQs
>to PCI devices. When your system supports PCI bus IRQ steering, you will notice numerous
>IRQ holders when you view IRQ assignments (such as "ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering").
>An IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering indicates that an IRQ has been programmed to PCI
>mode and is unavailable for ISA devices-even if no PCI devices are currently using
>the IRQ."
>
>there is a separate screen in the BIOS for disabling/enabling Plug-and-Play by Windows.
>
>suggest you try IRQ steering in the BIOS both ways and see which one works for you...
>
>

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

I have a Model 56SF-92 56K V.92 Internal ISA Controller-based Data/Fax Modem from BestData that is giving me fits while I try to get it into a Win98SE machine. Debug shows com1, 2, and 3, but device manager and the modem install routine in windows shows only com1 and 2 along with LPT1. It was purchased a year ago, and on the BestData site the latest driver is 2000 vintage. I did the 'tickle the modem' commands from command prompt in Safe Mode, but it did nothing. The modem worked great in a Win2K machine I took it out of. It has manual jumpers for com and IRQ, currently set at com3 and IRQ9, the first open ones, in the device manager list. I think it must be a windows thing since the bios sees the port. Any ideas?


On Friday, July 9, 2004 at 10:00 pm, STELE E wrote:
>Hi Everett and Friends,
>Well, my …. IRQ SHARING related real bummer issue is that I have been tryyyyyying
>to replace a dead 3COM 56k PCI controller based modem with the exact same model but
>there are no IRQs available anymore even though I have not added anything new and
>don’t have much hardware on it anyway. I have a 5838 Presario. The installer software
>says “no IRQs available” right away whether I have the new modem in the computer
>or not during the install sequence.
>
>COM2 is “missing” in the Device Manager under the “PORTS {COM & LPT}.
>When I fake it… and “install a modem” using the modem install dialog box in the control
>panel … just to see what happens… it installs it on COM1. COM2 and COM3 are not listed
>when I check the DIAGNOSTICS tab… is that relevant?
>
>However, the COMs listed in my HKEY are COM1, COM2 and COM5. Also, when I put the
>modem it is recognized as new hardware but it thinks it is a “serial port device”,
>not a modem.
>
>To “check” the new modem out I have tried putting another modem in, and in different
>PCI slots… wheww… but the responses have been the same. Flashed BIOS. Reinstalled
>WIN98. Yeh sure.
>
>When the non-functioning modem first died, I used the diagnostic program on the 3COM
> CD to look at it. It saw it and said it was AT”ing”and looping OK but it was unable
>to detect dial tones. After I messed around with un-install and whatever else I did???
>To prepare for the new modem, the 3COM’s diagnostic soft could not see the modem
>at all. The same diagnostic program can’t see the new modem either… DANG me darn
>it.
>
>ANY clues for me, Stele E /Boulder, CO

[Reply or follow-up to this message]

Well, I can call off the dogs. I solved the problem. I will mention it here in case it helps someone eventually. I had forgotten an important step in the setup. Ideally, one first configures the modem with the proper unused port and interrupt request. Then one installs the modem card in the computer. Eventually, one installs the modem drivers and if one forgot what I did, that installation will not work as the com port won't show up. The forgotten step was the installation of the communications port that the modem was configured to use. To install the communications port you must do a windows hardware detect ("add new hardware" from control panel) and let windows do the search. It will find a communications port and thereon will list the new port in the setup when you attempt to install the drivers. Bingo.


On Friday, September 3, 2004 at 10:01 pm, Randy Ohman wrote:
>I have a Model 56SF-92 56K V.92 Internal ISA Controller-based Data/Fax Modem from
>BestData that is giving me fits while I try to get it into a Win98SE machine. Debug
>shows com1, 2, and 3, but device manager and the modem install routine in windows
>shows only com1 and 2 along with LPT1. It was purchased a year ago, and on the BestData
>site the latest driver is 2000 vintage. I did the 'tickle the modem' commands from
>command prompt in Safe Mode, but it did nothing. The modem worked great in a Win2K
>machine I took it out of. It has manual jumpers for com and IRQ, currently set at
>com3 and IRQ9, the first open ones, in the device manager list. I think it must be
>a windows thing since the bios sees the port. Any ideas?
>
>
>

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