Can't get external modem to work- ASUS P4P800-E DELUXE & Windows 2000

  • Thread starter Thread starter Johnny Asia
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J

Johnny Asia

I have had this same problem with 2 different mainboards,
with 2 different serial modems.
I RMA'ed one P4P800-E, the replacment came, I still can't
set up and use an external modem.

I install the modem, all seems to go well, it shows up in
device manager, but when I try to connect to
the internet, or run modem diagnostics, Windows freezes up
and I have to turn the power off to restart the computer.

Do you have any ideas about what the problem is?


my system:

Windows 2000 Professional w/ service pack 4
ASUS P4P800-E DELUXE mainboard
P4 2.8EGHz
1GB Geil Dual Channel PC3200
Thermaltake 420 watt psu
WD 80 GB hard drive IDE
Apollo Geforce 64MB video card
+

Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
http://johnnyasia.info

"When a man describes himself as a "guitarist from
the future" the warning bells go off,
.... But Johnny Asia really sounds like he's doing
something new. .....Check the mans' music out
and hear something different."
- Nick Dedina, Staff Writer, Listen.com
 
pope_about_town at said:
I have had this same problem with 2 different mainboards,
with 2 different serial modems.
I RMA'ed one P4P800-E, the replacment came, I still can't
set up and use an external modem.

I install the modem, all seems to go well, it shows up in
device manager, but when I try to connect to
the internet, or run modem diagnostics, Windows freezes up
and I have to turn the power off to restart the computer.

Do you have any ideas about what the problem is?


my system:

Windows 2000 Professional w/ service pack 4
ASUS P4P800-E DELUXE mainboard
P4 2.8EGHz
Click to expand...

I've seen your post before, and didn't want to suggest this,
as it will be a PITA.

You need to test that the serial port works. If you use two
computers, run a copy of Hyperterm or similar serial port
terminal application on each computer. Connect a rollover
(A.K.A null modem) cable between computers. Set baud rate
and other settings to common values (probably both computers
will default to 9600, so you shouldn't need to do anything).
Try to type. Do characters show up on the other computer's
copy of hyperterm ? Are the characters corrupted or the wrong
value ?

I think your motherboard has two serial ports, but the second
port requires an adapter to connect to the header on the
motherboard. You could use the same technique - connect
null modem cable between the two ports, use two copies of
hyperterm, and type in one, checking for characters in the
other window.

The motherboards I've examined lately, have a GD75232 RS-232
driver chip from Texas Instruments (ti.com) on them. This
device needs -12V from the power supply. If your power supply
doesn't have -12V or the voltage is really low, that will
prevent serial ports from working.

If the interface checks out, then Windows is borked somehow.
Do you have any other hardware in the computer that instantiates
"virtual" serial ports ? At least on one computer I helped someone
with, this involved disabling an option for MC'97 in the BIOS.
That probably isn't what is doing it on your board, and is just
an example of a source of virtual serial port. Maybe MIDI
shows up like that too ?

Like I said, none of this is a lot of fun to set up. Many
people would tell you to just reinstall Windows, but I'm not
one of those people.

Just some guesses,
Paul
 
Johnny said:
I have had this same problem with 2 different mainboards,
with 2 different serial modems.
I RMA'ed one P4P800-E, the replacment came, I still can't
set up and use an external modem.

I install the modem, all seems to go well, it shows up in
device manager, but when I try to connect to
the internet, or run modem diagnostics, Windows freezes up
and I have to turn the power off to restart the computer.

Do you have any ideas about what the problem is?
Click to expand...

<<snipped>>

Whose modem drivers are being used? Direct from the
modem vendor or via Windows update? Problem could
be the use of the latter or even the wrong drivers...
i.e., they need to be specific for Windows 2000.
 
Whose modem drivers are being used? Direct from the
modem vendor or via Windows update? Problem could
be the use of the latter or even the wrong drivers...
i.e., they need to be specific for Windows 2000.
Click to expand...

I used the drivers for Windows 2000 from the installation CD.


The event log doesn't record the crash, the freeze happens
instantly, as soon as I click "query modem" or "connect"

+

Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
http://johnnyasia.info

"When a man describes himself as a "guitarist from
the future" the warning bells go off,
.... But Johnny Asia really sounds like he's doing
something new. .....Check the mans' music out
and hear something different."
- Nick Dedina, Staff Writer, Listen.com
 
Like I said, none of this is a lot of fun to set up. Many
people would tell you to just reinstall Windows, but I'm not
one of those people.

Just some guesses,
Paul
Click to expand...

Thanks Paul.

I just formatted and reinstalled. Same problem.

I think I'll get a hardware PCI modem. I'll get around to
setting up the diagnostic technique you described, but
I am frazzled right now.

I don't want to use a winmodem, I tried one with a Prescott P4,
it ran 10C hotter while connected to the internet.
+

Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
http://johnnyasia.info

"When a man describes himself as a "guitarist from
the future" the warning bells go off,
.... But Johnny Asia really sounds like he's doing
something new. .....Check the mans' music out
and hear something different."
- Nick Dedina, Staff Writer, Listen.com
 
The motherboards I've examined lately, have a GD75232 RS-232
driver chip from Texas Instruments (ti.com) on them. This
device needs -12V from the power supply. If your power supply
doesn't have -12V or the voltage is really low, that will
prevent serial ports from working.
Click to expand...

Thermaltake W0009r
Power Supply:

Wattage 420 Watt

Number of Fans Dual Fan

Power Properties
AC Input 115V @ 8A

DC Output +3.3V @ 30A, +5V @ 40A, +5VSB @ 2A, +12V @ 18A, -5V @ 0.3A,
-12V @ 0.8A

+

Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
http://johnnyasia.info

"When a man describes himself as a "guitarist from
the future" the warning bells go off,
.... But Johnny Asia really sounds like he's doing
something new. .....Check the mans' music out
and hear something different."
- Nick Dedina, Staff Writer, Listen.com
 
pope_about_town at said:
Thermaltake W0009r
Power Supply:

Wattage 420 Watt

Number of Fans Dual Fan

Power Properties
AC Input 115V @ 8A

DC Output +3.3V @ 30A, +5V @ 40A, +5VSB @ 2A, +12V @ 18A, -5V @ 0.3A,
-12V @ 0.8A

+

Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
Click to expand...

Have you looked in the Power Monitor in the BIOS ?
Is the voltage measured on the -12V supply pretty close
to -12V ? It would have to drop to about -7V before the
RS-232 chip won't work.

I'm pretty bad at debugging Windows problems, so I don't
know other causes for the network stack to freeze up.
I take it other uses of the computer are trouble free ?
Are there any other symptoms that aren't normal ?

Paul
 
Have you looked in the Power Monitor in the BIOS ?
Is the voltage measured on the -12V supply pretty close
to -12V ? It would have to drop to about -7V before the
RS-232 chip won't work.
Click to expand...

All I see is +12V, it runs 11.977 - 12.159


I'm pretty bad at debugging Windows problems, so I don't
know other causes for the network stack to freeze up.
I take it other uses of the computer are trouble free ?
Are there any other symptoms that aren't normal ?

Paul>
Click to expand...


I put a cheap Best Data PCI modem in, I bought it at Radio Shack just
to see if a PCI modem would work. It lost connection frequently,
but no freezes. I'll try a better PCI modem.

I was able to burn a CD with no problems, and I ran Fresh Diagnose,
which shows it performing like a champ. CPU temps run 37C - 44C.

Johnny
 
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