DIAL UP / MODEM / PORT PROBLEM

  • Thread starter Thread starter David
  • Start date Start date
D

David

Hi,

When I boot up my system and then connect via my dial-up connection there is
no problem. The problem occurs after I have disconnected and then want to
connect again later. Each time I get an error message

ERROR MESSAGE 676 THE PHONE LINE IS BUSY

The phone is not busy and the only way to get back online is to restart the
PC.

I am running Windows XP Home Edition.

Please can anyone suggest what I should do?

Regards,

David Russell
 
Hi,

When I boot up my system and then connect via my dial-up connection there is
no problem. The problem occurs after I have disconnected and then want to
connect again later. Each time I get an error message

ERROR MESSAGE 676 THE PHONE LINE IS BUSY

The phone is not busy and the only way to get back online is to restart the
PC.

I am running Windows XP Home Edition.

Please can anyone suggest what I should do?

Regards,

David Russell
Click to expand...

- Uninstall/reinstall modem driver
- New modem driver
- New modem
 
Hi,

When I boot up my system and then connect via my dial-up connection there is
no problem. The problem occurs after I have disconnected and then want to
connect again later. Each time I get an error message

ERROR MESSAGE 676 THE PHONE LINE IS BUSY

The phone is not busy and the only way to get back online is to restart the
PC.

I am running Windows XP Home Edition.

Please can anyone suggest what I should do?

Regards,

David Russell
Click to expand...


I have a us robotics that will choke at times... If the modem has a very
convoluded driver setup (separate programs need to run at startup, etc.)
those can fail and leave it without anything to talk to.

www.newegg.com I just bought an ambient chipset hardware modem for 13
bucks shipped.
 
yak said:
I have a us robotics that will choke at times... If the modem has a very
convoluded driver setup (separate programs need to run at startup, etc.)
those can fail and leave it without anything to talk to.

www.newegg.com I just bought an ambient chipset hardware modem for 13
bucks shipped.
Click to expand...

I can see the sales hype has been working its wonders. The Intel/Ambient
chipset used in cheap internal PCI modems is NOT a full hardware chipset but
is in fact controllerless - otherwise known as a form of
winmodem.....Intel/Ambient do make a full hardware chipset however but it is
designed to be easily incorporated into external serial port/ISA or PCMCIA
(PC Card) modems ONLY as the interface for the chipset is not easily
compatible with connection to a PCI bus. I suppose they'll sell faster
processors though since people need to use them to "assist" their modem
along - as in Host Assisted Modem (H.A.M) - a name that was bandied about
associated with these devices or did the A stand for Accelerated......
whatever, Intel/Ambient chipset based Internal modems are NOT full hardware
modems. http://www.intel.com/design/modems/

There are just a few true hardware PCI modems around though, excluding some
specialised multiport devices such as some of those made by
www.mainpine.com, the buyer is left with choosing a unit based on certain
chipsets provided by Topic (now renamed IC Plus) or the Lucent/Agere Venus
chipset. Conexant/Rockwell do NOT provide any full hardware modem chipsets
for native use in PCI devices AT ALL.

The number of times I've seen controller-less or even worse softmodems
(without both a controller and a hardware datapump/DSP) being sold as
"hardware" modems at computer fairs and big retailers disgusts me. Buyers
need to beware and fully research prospective purchases in advance!

Paul
 
kony said:
- Uninstall/reinstall modem driver
- New modem driver
- New modem
Click to expand...

To expand a bit on Kony's reply -

Check your System Properties and see if there's more than one modem
installed. If so, this can sometimes cause dialling problems. Yell if
you need help doing that.
 
I can see the sales hype has been working its wonders. The Intel/Ambient
chipset used in cheap internal PCI modems is NOT a full hardware chipset but
is in fact controllerless - otherwise known as a form of
winmodem.....Intel/Ambient do make a full hardware chipset however but it is
designed to be easily incorporated into external serial port/ISA or PCMCIA
(PC Card) modems ONLY as the interface for the chipset is not easily
compatible with connection to a PCI bus. I suppose they'll sell faster
processors though since people need to use them to "assist" their modem
along - as in Host Assisted Modem (H.A.M) - a name that was bandied about
associated with these devices or did the A stand for Accelerated......
whatever, Intel/Ambient chipset based Internal modems are NOT full hardware
modems. http://www.intel.com/design/modems/

There are just a few true hardware PCI modems around though, excluding some
specialised multiport devices such as some of those made by
www.mainpine.com, the buyer is left with choosing a unit based on certain
chipsets provided by Topic (now renamed IC Plus) or the Lucent/Agere Venus
chipset. Conexant/Rockwell do NOT provide any full hardware modem chipsets
for native use in PCI devices AT ALL.

The number of times I've seen controller-less or even worse softmodems
(without both a controller and a hardware datapump/DSP) being sold as
"hardware" modems at computer fairs and big retailers disgusts me. Buyers
need to beware and fully research prospective purchases in advance!

Paul
Click to expand...


Oh boo ****ing hoo. It was 13 bucks. I don't give a shit. It works. They
can call it a virginia ham for all I care.

I'd hate to see how worked up you get over tax reform.
 
yak said:
I have a us robotics that will choke at times... If the modem has a
very convoluded driver setup (separate programs need to run at
startup, etc.) those can fail and leave it without anything to talk
to.

www.newegg.com I just bought an ambient chipset hardware modem for 13
bucks shipped.
Click to expand...

Sometimes a rural line can be a bit crackly too and fool the modem into
thinking the line is in use. A different modem will often fix it.
 
yak said:
Oh boo ****ing hoo. It was 13 bucks. I don't give a shit. It works.
They can call it a virginia ham for all I care.

I'd hate to see how worked up you get over tax reform.
Click to expand...

Paul has a point yak, although he did flog it a bit. Newegg lied to you and
took your money on false pretenses.
 
yak said:
Oh boo ****ing hoo. It was 13 bucks. I don't give a shit. It works. They
can call it a virginia ham for all I care.

I'd hate to see how worked up you get over tax reform.
Click to expand...
Please don't misunderstand me yak, the point of my post is simply to
inform - because there's lots of misinformation out there and misinformation
on this scale is leading to LOTS of people buying items that they may
otherwise have steered clear of for another model with better features (full
hardware unit) for a similar or only slightly higher price. While its true
that the ambient chipset based modems are reasonably reliable compared with
other controller-less ones (You're not alone - I fell for the "Hardware
Modem" sales patter on a virginia ham too - I have since sold the machine
with that Ambient modem in it though), the full hardware based modems tend
to dominate the reliability (and compatibility) ratings hands down, that's
why multiport modem makers (who make specialised modems for servers) such as
Mainpine, predominantly use full hardware chipsets and even make their own
specialised PCI bridge for full hardware chipsets not intended to run on a
PCI bus.

yak, can you honestly say that you're not even a little peeved that you
bought something based on misinformation which, had you known the truth
about and been presented with other *similar priced* items (particularly
Topic based units), may have gone with a full hardware unit instead - I know
that was the case for me! I get annoyed over things that wrong people and
act to try and fix those situations the best way I know how to.

Paul
 
Shep© said:
PIMPLMAO :)
Click to expand...
As you can see from my earlier post and lengthy follow-up, this is an issue
I always take seriously (misrepresentation selling). Not everyone will feel
the same importance for it, fair enough, but if its enough to make a few
purchasers aware so they can make truely informed purchasing decisions,
rather than being misled (WYSIWYG doesn't always apply - especially with
regards to PCI modems), then I'm happy that my mission will be accomplished!

Paul
 
Paul has a point yak, although he did flog it a bit. Newegg lied to you and
took your money on false pretenses.
Click to expand...


Nah they didn't, I just didn't care. The box says 'hardware based.' I
didn't buy it because it was a hardware modem. I bought it because it
had the most stars...
 
yak, can you honestly say that you're not even a little peeved that you
bought something based on misinformation which, had you known the truth
about and been presented with other *similar priced* items (particularly
Topic based units), may have gone with a full hardware unit instead - I know
that was the case for me! I get annoyed over things that wrong people and
act to try and fix those situations the best way I know how to.

Paul
Click to expand...


Yes, I can. I just mistyped my post.
 
As you can see from my earlier post and lengthy follow-up, this is an issue
I always take seriously (misrepresentation selling). Not everyone will feel
the same importance for it, fair enough, but if its enough to make a few
purchasers aware so they can make truely informed purchasing decisions,
rather than being misled (WYSIWYG doesn't always apply - especially with
regards to PCI modems), then I'm happy that my mission will be accomplished!

Paul
Click to expand...


Again, it was my mistake in my original post:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=25-180-001
&depa=1

Encore 56K Internal PCI Fax Modem, Model ENF656-EHW-INPR - Retail

Detailed Specifications
Model ENF656-EHW-INPR
Key Features Not specified
Standards V.92 and earlier ITU standards, G III
Chipset Ambient (Intel)
Fax Mode ITU-T Group 3 compatible fax machines/modems
300bps 14400, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400bps Class 1 Fax interface
Interface PCI Bus, Plug and Play
Voice Function Allows a DTE to record and play back voice through
sould card
Data Modulation Rates - V.92: Upload speed up to 48K bps
- V.90: Receive speed up to 56K bps
- ITU-T V.34: 33600, 31200, 28800, 26400, 24000, 21600, 19200, 16800,
14400, 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400bps
- ITU-T V.32 bis: 14400, 12000, 9600, 7200, 4800, 2400bps
- ITU-T V.32: 9600, 4800bps
- ITU-T V.22A bis: 2400bps(QAM)
- ITU-T V.23: 1200/75bps (FSK)
- ITU-T V.22: 1200bps (DPSK)
- ITU-T V.21: 300bps(FSK)
- Bell 212A: 1200bps (DPSK)
- Bell 103: 300bps(FSK)
DTE Rate 115200 bps maximum
Data Compression ITU-T V.42bis and MNP 5
Error Correction ITU-T V.42 and MNP 2, 3 and 4
Humidity Not specified
Operating Temperature Not specified
Weight Not specified
Dimensions Not specified
 
<snip>
Again, it was my mistake in my original post:
<snip>

Thanks for correcting that misinformation - now I can get back to more
important things.... once I can find my tax documents ;-)

Paul

PS The box labelling of "Hardware Based" is deliberate marketing hype gone
out of control. They know that people are looking for full hardware PCI
modems and this is one attempt to cash in on that demand. The astute buyer
will research things fully first and know what they're getting. It could be
argued that even software modems are hardware based as they still are
hardware. The safest way to do it (which doesn't involve any smoke and
mirrors on the chipset/modem manufacturers part) is to say whether the
device uses an onboard controller (vs. the controller-less product type such
as yours) and whether the datapump/dsp is also onboard (if not, its a full
software modem, with all the modems own work being done by the machines
CPU - the cheapest and usually nastiest sort).
 
Nah they didn't, I just didn't care. The box says 'hardware based.' I
didn't buy it because it was a hardware modem. I bought it because it
had the most stars...
Click to expand...

And a pretty box<grin> ;-)
Funny thing is there's not many good analogue modems left and those
that are are well over-priced due to,"Broad-band" which not all of us
are privvy to.
However there are still some good cheap ones about that are
semi-hardware,not full soft modems,

http://tinyurl.com/4ccdj

This one is way better than most,
http://tinyurl.com/5b9zh


I'm still using a similar modem on 21 hops to US servers on Quake and
can still kick Yankee ass DSL and cable players =)




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David said:
Hi,

When I boot up my system and then connect via my dial-up connection there is
no problem. The problem occurs after I have disconnected and then want to
connect again later. Each time I get an error message

ERROR MESSAGE 676 THE PHONE LINE IS BUSY

The phone is not busy and the only way to get back online is to restart the
PC.

I am running Windows XP Home Edition.

Please can anyone suggest what I should do?

Regards,

David Russell
Click to expand...

I agree with someone else about the quality of rural lines. I
experience problems with my dial-up all the time. I thought it was
the modem, but after replacement I was still experiencing problems. I
am now at school where I have hi-speed access, so I don't use my home
internet much.
 
David said:
Hi,

When I boot up my system and then connect via my dial-up connection there is
no problem. The problem occurs after I have disconnected and then want to
connect again later. Each time I get an error message

ERROR MESSAGE 676 THE PHONE LINE IS BUSY

The phone is not busy and the only way to get back online is to restart the
PC.

I am running Windows XP Home Edition.

Please can anyone suggest what I should do?

Regards,

David Russell
Click to expand...


Hi David, I'm not going to take the time to read all of your responses
to this question, but remember that Abe Lincoln said "Beleive only
half of what you see and nothing of what you hear". I hate Win Modems,
but they have the ability to drop the line at the end of a session.
Research your modem book and you will find a command "ATH". It's
purpose is to drop the line (hang up). Your modem may not be using
that command. Try uninstalling the modem and reinstalling it. It may
not have been set up correctly the first time. You may have to check
the maker's site for an uninstaller or it may be on the installation
disk. Luck Jim
 
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