Modem Troubleshooting

Upgrading your modem Removing the old modem software (9x, NT) Click on Start/Settings/Control Panel Double click on Modems Click on any installed modems, and click "Remove". Close the Modems control panel Click Start/Shutdown and shutdown the system Removing the old modem hardware Disconnect the phone lines running into the modem. Open the case, and remove the old modem. Some computer manufacturers, such as Packard Bell actually integrate the modem into the motherboard.  If this is the case, then the easiest thing to do would be to enter the BIOS setup for the computer, and disable the modem from there. Putting in the new modem hardware Choose a free ISA expansion slot for 16 bit modems, or an empty PCI slot for some of the newer PCI modems, and insert the modem. Most newer modems are Plug & Play compatible, which means the drivers will automatically set the modem resources, but if it is an older modem, you may need to set the jumpers or dip switches to a certain COM port. The best setting for this is generally COM4, because it will not interfere with your mouse. Consult the modem documentation for more information on these configurations. Screw the case back on the computer. Connect the phone and line cables to the new modem. Installing the new modem software (Plug & Play, Win9x) If the modem is Plug & Play compatible, then when Windows 9x boots, you will receive a message stating that Windows 9x has found new hardware and is installing the software for it. A screen should appear asking if you would like to install the Windows default driver, a driver provided by the manufacturer, a different Windows driver, or not install anything. If the modem came with a driver disk, choose the second option, and insert the disk. Depending upon the format of the disk, you may need to do a little but of browsing.  Windows 9x drivers are commonly in the "Win95" directory, or "Win98", if they have an updated disk. If they have no disk, choose the last option, and proceed with the instructions in the next section. Installing the new modem software (Non Plug & Play, WinNT) If you were not prompted, do not have a driver disk, or are using Windows NT, proceed with the following section Go to Start/Settings/Control Panel Double click on Modems If the modem control panel appears, click on "Add…", otherwise, proceed with the next step. Click the Next button to allow Windows to detect your new modem.  If it does not detect your modem, then see the following section. Usually, it will detect your modem as a "Standard Modem," which you will want to change by clicking the "Change…" button, because the standard driver does not support error control or compression.  If you have the driver disk, click on the Have Disk button, and browse for the correct directory, usually Win95, Win98, or WinNT.  Otherwise, choose your manufacturer and a modem as close to yours as is listed. Close the Modem Control Panel What if it doesn't detect my modem? (Win9x) If the Add Modem Wizard does not detect your modem, then you may need to add the port it's using. Click Start/Settings/Control panel Double click on "Add New Hardware" Click "No", and click "Next" to manually choose new hardware. Click on "Ports (COM & LPT)" and then click "Next" Click on "Communications port" and click "Next" It should add the next COM port, numerically, that you do not already have. You may need to do this a couple of times, to add all the COM ports 1 through 4. Once you've done with this, try running the Add New Modem Wizard.  If it still doesn't work, call the modem manufacturer's technical support. What if it doesn't detect my modem? (WinNT) If Windows NT couldn't detect your new modem, click on Start/Settings/Control Panel Double click on the Ports icon Click Add… to add the next numerical port.  Repeat this until all ports, 1 through 4, are added.  Make sure you set the port speed to 115000 for optimum connect speeds. Once you've done with this, try running the Add New Modem Wizard.  If it still doesn't work, call the modem manufacturer's technical support. Testing the modem (Win9x) Click on Start/Settings/Control Panel Double click on the Modems icon Click on the Diagnostics tab Select the port the modem is listed under Click the "More Info…" button If the modem is correctly installed and functional, you should receive various diagnostic information about the modem. If all this checks out, you can try using HyperTerminal to create a terminal connection to IUPUI Take your modem for a test drive (Win9x) Click on Start/Programs/Accessories/Hyperterminal Double click on "hypertrm" or "hypertrm.exe" depending on how the folder options are set Type IUPUI for the name of the connection Enter 278-5619 for the phone number, and click Dial You should hear the modem dial, and receive the standard IUPUI connection script. If all this works, then the modem is ready for PPP   What if my modem is detected, but does not respond? (Win9x) Right click on "My Computer" and click on "Properties" Click on the "Device Manager" tab Check to see if any devices have yellow exclamation points, or red question marks, or red x's over them. If so, then you most likely have a device resource conflict.  Many devices, such as COM ports, sound cards, printer ports, ethernet cards, etc, require an IRQ and a base I/O address.  If any of these devices are using a non-standard IRQ or I/O address, then a conflict occurs.  Check the table below for most common settings Device  IRQ I/O address COM 1 4 3F8 COM 2 3 2F8 COM 3 4 3E8 COM 4 3 2E8 Sound Card 5 220 and 330 LPT (Printer) Port 7 378 Ethernet Card 10 (varies) 280 (varies)   What if older Win3.1 software can no longer access the modem? (Win9x) Some older software, such as AOL 2.5 and below, CheckFree, QuickLink for Win31, some versions of Juno, etc, do not use Windows' modem configuration, and will directly interface with a particular COM port, instead of with the modem. A problem arises, because many Plug & Play modems do not use an IRQ and I/O configuration that matches up with one of the COM ports.  Sometimes, Windows will identify this as COM 5, sometimes not. If this occurs, you will need to change the modem configuration so it's resources match up with one of the COM ports in the table above. Right click on My Computer, and click Properties. Click the Device Manager tab Expand the modems section, click the modem, and click on Properties Click on the "Resources Tab" Uncheck "Use Automatic Settings" Click on the IRQ setting, and click "Change".  Enter an IRQ which corresponds to one of the above, and click "OK" Click on the I/O setting, and click "Change".  Enter an I/O address which corresponds to one of the above, and click "OK" NOTE: Some modem drivers may add a tab to the modem properties which allows you to force the modem to use a specific COM port.  If possible, use these options, instead of modifying the resources directly. What if I have Windows 3.1? Many Plug & Play modems come with software which will allow you to set the resource settings and use the modem through Windows 3.1 This software, however is very problematic and is difficult to properly configure Some newer 486 BIOS's, particularly Packard Bells, have Plug & Play extenders installed, which are supposed to detect the modems, but when used in conjunction with the software supplied by the manufacturer, you run into many conflicts. Strictly speaking, you should contact the manufacturer when trying to install a Plug & Play modem on Windows 3.1, or upgrade to Windows 95 if the computer will support it.