Hi,

I have a Dell Latitude D600 notebook and I'm trying to use it with an
external modem (a US Robotics V.92 Model 5686-05 - according to its
label).

Whenever the computer tries to communicate with the modem (either via
hyperterminal or the Modem applet in control panel), the computer
hangs.

Everything stops responding (mouse and keyboard stop working) until I
turn the modem off or disconnect it from the computer.

Anybody has any ideas that might help me?

THanks!

Alex

Alex Acuna wrote:

Possibly a defective modem or cable, or a COM port/IRQ conflict. Have
you tried the modem on another computer, to see what happens there? Are
you sure the cable is the correct type and not a null-modem cable. It
sounds like you are not seeing any response from the modem when you
connect to it, therefore it just sits there and waits. Also check the
DIP switches on the modem to make sure they are in the normal default
settings. Good luck.


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

Hi Art,

US Robotics 56K in my previous post hasn't been tried in another
computer.
Just tried with an older USE 33.6 which worked with another pc and am
having the same problem.

Tried 2 cables already (one of them yanked from the other PC with the
older modem) with same results.

Laptop's OS is XP (same as desktop where the 33.6 was).

Tried to boot to Command Prompt (XP's version of DOS I guess) and run
a program called FindPort.exe which used to come with BananaCom (an
old and very reliable terminal program). The laptop locks up as soon
as findport queries COM1. When I turn off the modem, computer comes
back to normal.

Cables are regular modem cables (not null-modems) with db9 on one end
and db25 on the other.

Thanks!

Alex


Art Jackson <nospam@ringading.buz> wrote in message news:<oqbQb.14814$DX.13965@bignews3.bellsouth.net> ...

Alex Acuna wrote:

That throws it right back into the laptop. Check Control Panel, System,
Device Manager and see what the COM1 properties are. Normally they are
COM1, IRQ4, 03F8. Do you have another serial port on your laptop? If so,
try that one. Does the modem show up in Device Manager as a US Robotics
56K Fax Ext. PnP ? Is there any other dialup modem within the laptop?
Was the modem installed with the correct USR driver/inf files, or did
WinXP use it's own files to install the modem? Are there any "Unknown
Devices" showing up in Device Manager? If so, remove them, reboot and
see what happens. Then it could also be a defective serial port. Lots of
unanswered questions. Good luck.


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

Hi Art,

Things just got a tad more interesting tonight as I had a chance to
make a little experiment.

I booted the laptop with a DOS 6.22 diskette and ran FindPort.exe
again. It locked up, just like it did under windows xp. (For those
reading this thread 10 years from now, FindPort.exe is a little
program that scans all the com ports looking for a modem.)

I can't think of a simpler and more fail-proof set up than that, yet
it failed again for some reason.

I think it's a weird incompatibility problem between the Laptop and
the modem.

Any other suggestions? Or pointers as to where to turn for additional
help? There is definitely a problem, but in all the world there are
probably just a handful of people trying to hook up an external modem
to a laptop that already has an internal one in order to run a piece
of software that's 10 years old (pc-anywhere 5).

Thanks for all your help!

Alex

Art Jackson <nospam@ringading.buz> wrote in message news:<ZTfQb.4525>

Alex Acuna wrote:
You mentioned an internal modem was still in the laptop. Have you
un-installed it or disabled it in Device Manager. At this point I would
lean toward some sort of IRQ conflict. If the internal modem happens to
be camping on IRQ 4 which is the default for COM1 serial port, that
could cause a lockup. That combination will sometimes work if nothing is
connected to the external serial port, but as soon as you plug something
into it, there is a conflict created. Another place to look is in the
system BIOS settings. Boot into the BIOS, usually by hitting the DEL key
when first starting, and check out the assignments for the serial
port(s). Another possibility is the internal modem has a defect in it.
Was the internal modem working? Can it be readily uninstalled and
physically removed from the laptop? If so, then try the external modem
after you take the internal one out. I can't offer any other suggestions
until I know what your serial COM port(s), and internal modem's IRQ
assignments are. It would just be a guess without some definite
information to go on. It would also help to know what make/model of the
internal modem is, and what kind of slot it is in. Good luck.


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

Hi Art,

According to window's device manager, the internal modem is using
IRQ5 and IO Ranges B400-B4FF and B080-B0FF.

Interestingly the DMA controller is using IRQ4.

I was able to disable the internal modem through the CMOS setup. Same
symptoms.

The internal modem (in case it's still relevant) is a Conexant D480
MDC V.92. That's what I get from Control Panel. It's built into the
laptop (Dell Latitute D600).

In the CMOS setup you can only change the port's designation (COM1 or
COM2) but it doesn't allow me to control the IRQ or the IO assignment.

Thanks for any ideas!

Alex

Alex Acuna wrote:

Some things are still confusing to me. How about doing this for me. Go
to Start|Run and enter msinfo32 into the box. Look in the Hardware
Resources section and check Conflicts to see what is coming up. Then go
to the IRQ listing, and copy and paste that into a reply here. Example
of mine is:

0 System timer
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2 Programmable interrupt controller
3 Communications Port (COM2)
4 Communications Port (COM1)
5 Creative SB16 Emulation
6 Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7 EPSON Printer Port (LPT1)
8 System CMOS/real time clock
9 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
9 RADEON 7200 SERIES
10 (free)
11 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
11 SCI IRQ used by ACPI bus
11 Creative SB Live! series
12 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
12 U.S. Robotics 56K Fax PCI
12 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
12 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
12 D-Link DFE-530TX+ PCI Adapter
13 Numeric data processor
14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller
15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller



Another thing you can try is to enter the CMOS BIOS and assign the
external serial port to COM2, then see if it works that way. I still
think there is a conflict when it is assigned to COM1.


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

Hi Art,

No conflicts:
System Information report written at: 01/26/04 11:39:16
System Name: KATIA
[Conflicts/Sharing]

Resource Device
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 Direct memory access controller

I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF Intel(R) 82855PM Processor to AGP
Controller - 3341
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF MOBILITY RADEON 9000

IRQ 5 Dell TrueMobile 1300 WLAN Mini-PCI Card
IRQ 5 SigmaTel C-Major Audio
IRQ 5 Conexant D480 MDC V.92 Modem

IRQ 11 MOBILITY RADEON 9000
IRQ 11 Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C2
IRQ 11 Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C4
IRQ 11 Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C7
IRQ 11 Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller - 24CD
IRQ 11 Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller
IRQ 11 O2Micro OZ711EC1 SmartCardBus Controller
IRQ 11 O2Micro OZ711EC1 SmartCardBus Controller

Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xEFFFFFFF Intel(R) 82855PM Processor to AGP
Controller - 3341
Memory Address 0xE8000000-0xEFFFFFFF MOBILITY RADEON 9000

Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF Intel(R) 82855PM Processor to AGP
Controller - 3341
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF MOBILITY RADEON 9000

I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB Intel(R) 82855PM Processor to AGP
Controller - 3341
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB MOBILITY RADEON 9000

I/O Port 0x0000C000-0x0000CFFF Intel(R) 82855PM Processor to AGP
Controller - 3341
I/O Port 0x0000C000-0x0000CFFF MOBILITY RADEON 9000

I recall having set the port to com2 in the bios with the same
results, but I will try again tonight as soon as I have a chance and
post the results as well.

Thanks!

Alex

Alex Acuna wrote:

around to it, post the IRQ listing from the msinfo32 Hardware display.
I'm particularly interested in what it says for IRQ 4 and IRQ 3. Also
the Properties for COM1 and COM2 listed in Device Manager under Ports.
If you only have one serial COM port on the back for external devices,
then there should only be one communications port listed in DM. That
should be the one that you enabled in CMOS BIOS. If by some chance you
have one or both assigned in DM, it would be a good idea to Remove them,
before you reboot and make the assignment in BIOS. When you make that
assignment, Save and Exit and continue the bootup. Windows should
re-install the serial port using the assignment you just made in BIOS.
Good luck.

--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

Art Jackson <nospam@ringading.buz> wrote in message news:<%_kRb.16742$L04.1589@bignews4.bellsouth.net> ...
DM's properties for COM1 (the only port that shows up - thank God):
Port Settings:
- BPS: 9600
- Data: 1
- Parity: None
- Stop: 1
- Flow ctl: None

Resources:
- IRQ: 4
- IO range: 3f8-3ff.

So far everything seems normal.
IRQ list from msinfo:
System Information report written at: 01/28/04 11:32:59
System Name: KATIA
[IRQs]

Resource Device Status
IRQ 9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System OK
IRQ 11 MOBILITY RADEON 9000 OK
IRQ 11 Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C2 OK
IRQ 11 Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C4 OK
IRQ 11 Intel(R) 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C7 OK
IRQ 11 Intel(r) 82801DB/DBM USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller - 24CD OK
IRQ 11 Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller OK
IRQ 11 O2Micro OZ711EC1 SmartCardBus Controller OK
IRQ 11 O2Micro OZ711EC1 SmartCardBus Controller OK
IRQ 10 O2Micro SmartCardBus Reader OK
IRQ 5 Dell TrueMobile 1300 WLAN Mini-PCI Card OK
IRQ 5 SigmaTel C-Major Audio OK
IRQ 5 Conexant D480 MDC V.92 Modem OK
IRQ 12 Alps Touch Pad OK
IRQ 1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard OK
IRQ 8 System CMOS/real time clock OK
IRQ 0 System timer OK
IRQ 13 Numeric data processor OK
IRQ 4 Communications Port (COM1) OK
IRQ 14 Primary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE Channel OK
IRQ 2 System board OK

Thanks!

Alex

Alex Acuna wrote:

only suggestion I could make is to [Remove] COM1 in DM, reboot and let
it re-install. If that doesn't get it going, I'd almost have to think,
you have a bad serial port chip on the motherboard. Good luck.


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.

Art Jackson <nospam@ringading.buz> wrote in message news:<cWZRb.4390$qR3.2149@bignews3.bellsouth.net>. ..
Hi Art,

I'm at a client now and tried connecting a serial printer to the
laptop's serial port.

Opened a command window (start/run/cmd) and typed the following
command, which is what I usually use to test these printers:

DIR > COM1:

The printer printed the first line and then the computer froze (same
symptom as when using the external modems).

I have a feeling that there's something seriously wrong with the port
and/or the laptop. What's your opinion?

Thanks!

Alex

On 29 Jan 2004 11:32:42 -0800, fa0425@softhome.net (Alex Acuna) put
finger to keyboard and composed:

Some time ago I wrote this diagnostic utility for testing COM ports in
real DOS mode. The program toggles each output pin at a visible rate
(1Hz, 0.5Hz, 0.25Hz) and allows it be looped back to any input pin.
The status of each pin is displayed continuously.

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~fzabkar/comstest.exe

Hope it helps.


- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 's' from my address when replying by email.

Alex Acuna wrote:

be a problem with the port hardware. The DOS test confirms that. :-(


--
Art Jackson W4TOY Owensboro, KY USA
Life is God's open book test. In order to pass,
you must open His book to find the answers.