Cannot Access The Net.......

[Linda4938]

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I would appreciate any assistance anyone would care to give with this problem.

I recently reinstalled Windows on my dinosaur Win 98 SE. I brought it to a pc repair shop a few days ago to have a new modem installed since the pc didn't "recognise" the old one after installation. Other than a new keyboard, this was all that was done to it.

Today, after picking up the pc from the shop, I tried to install my MSN, but was unable. The older CD kept maniacaly reinstalling itself repeatedly until the pc either froze up or the screen would go blank with a message stating: "Windows Protection Error. You should restart your computer". The more recent CD would partially download, but every time it gets to the point of dialing the connection (to show the local numbers I can choose) the pc freezes and can only be turned off manually.

The men at the pc shop the computer was fine and suggested it's the MSN software. I don't feel this is the problem since I used it on another pc in July and am using it now also.

The phone line connections are fine. I feel the problem is somewhere in/with the computer, but am puzzled as to what the problem may be.

Thank you in advance to all who may care to offer assistance. It is greatly appreciated.

__________________

[charles__]

What are you showing in device manager for the modem? Did you uninstall the drivers for the old modem in the add remove program. Do you have any old dialup connection in the dialup folder? What is the make and model of the new modem and is it a pci modem? Go to the control panel,modems,diagnostics, is there more than one modem listed? High light the modem and click more info. If the old modem is still listed and still in the pc go the device manager and disable it for now and then latter you need to uninstall the drivers to the modem first then shutdown and remove the modem itself. Always remove the software first than the hardware.

Edited September 21, 2006 by charles__

[Linda4938]

Thank you Charles........

I checked, and the old modem/drivers were removed at the shop. This LT modem is "Soft voice/ring".

No trace of the MSN download after reinstallation. The problem, I feel is definitely with the pc....it reacts almost violently when it tries to dial the connection. I tried again today, and, as I said, at the point when it tries to dial, it either freezes (requiring a manual shut down), OR turns off immediately, OR shows a black screen with the message "Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer."

Today it froze up so badly the only way to turn the pc off was to unplug it.

[LLXX]

Most likely the modem drivers. Try installing newer versions.

[charles__]

Might be an irq conflict with other device,might try the modem in other pci slot. Right click My computer,properties,device manger,double click computer at top,make sure irg is picked. check to see if the modem is sharing an irq with other device.

[Linda4938]

Hi Charles.......

I did as you suggested, only the IRQ is checked.

When I did the reinstall, I could not download MSN because the pc couldn't recognize the old modem. It never did the things I listed in the above posts, it went through the dialing motions, complete with the sound the pc makes when dialing a number. Then came the pop-up box re: the modem.

The new modem is a PCI SoftV92 Voice Softening Modem. Could this be the problem? That is, is there some sort of configuration that needs to be done in order to access the net? I'm on dial-up.

Also, the modem is connected to Port Com 2. No modem is connected to Port 1. Does this matter? The men at the pc shop said "No".

LLXX.....Is there a site to download drivers so I can burn them to CD? Why would you think I need drivers specifically?

Thank you both so much for offering your help. Most people, when hearing it's a 98 SE I'm having trouble with, laugh and remind me it's 2006. No one has a clue as to what can be wrong.

Even the men at the Computer Doc shop have nothing more to offer after they installed the new modem.

[Linda4938]

BTW, as an aside, I looked in "Add New Hardware", and let it do a scan for new hardware. The answer was in the negative.

When it scanned the modem status, here's what the result was:

Checking--Com Port (com 1)

Status--Looking for modem

result: "Did not find any new modems connected to your computer".

I didn't do anything about this, I wanted to report it to you. I did see what modems are listed ti install, and mine wasn't there. The closest was "VoiceView Modem types 9600, 19200, 28800

Does this mean anything?

[Linda4938]

Today, I started the pc in Safe Mode and tried again with MSN. Here's the message that popped up on the screen..

"Your modem is not working properly or is already in use, please close the connection and try again".

I checked the "Modem Properties" and, under "Resources", I saw this: "This device isn't using any resources because it's not currently enabled or has a problem."

I looked under "Set configurations Manually" and under "Use automatic settings" I noted the box is checked. So the basic config. is "0000". The other options are: 001, 002, and uncheck "Use automatic setting". I tried all but the "002" setting, to no avail.

Also, as a side note, it bothers me that port com 1 has a note of "no modem detected".Could it be a port problem? Reconfiguration of this new modem needed? How to do this?

[charles__]

Go to dial up folder right click your connection icon go properties,make sure your modem is listed in the connect using window. Do you have the drivers that came with the modem?

You can not use the add new hardware to install the modem. These software modem use software ports not hardware ports. Two things you might try,one would be uninstall the modem drivers ,shut down and put modem in other pci slot,boot up and when windows finds new hardware install the drivers.If com port2 is listed in the device manger this is the hardware port and some modems have in the inf file to install to this port but windows think it is already in use and will not install the modem so you need to go into the bios and disable com port 2 and reinstall the modem in the same pci slot or you might just disable com port2 in the device manager,uninstall the modem drivers,reboot and when windows finds new hardware install the drivers. one more thing to check is the modem install instruction that came with your modem. Some modems with the agree chip set or lucent need the drivers installed first and there drivers have a setup.exe in the drivers,if the modem is already in the pci slot what needs to be done is remove the drivers,reboot and when windows finds new hardware click cancel until you get to the deck top,install the drivers from the setup.exe and it will install the modem.

These drivers should work with your modem. before using them check the version that you have. These are the 8.30 only us them if it is an upgrade to the drivers you have if you have like 8.17 or so on. Check the drivers version because Lt modem have other chipset that use other drivers. Do you have the make and model of this modem.

http://www.agere.com/entnet/modem_driver2.html

Edited September 24, 2006 by charles__

[Linda4938]

I called the pc shop and talked with the tech about the possible problems as mentioned by you kind folks. I then brought in the pc for another check.

Tomorrow I pick up the pc from the shop, and it's all fixed (fingers crossed).

The problem WAS with the new modem; it turns out that for some unknown reason it's not compatible with MSN.

This time a different tech went the extra mile and took the pc home with him and hooked it up to test the MSN download. This was crucial because, otherwise, if I simply brought the pc back to the shop and he checked it, it would have shown the previous new modem was fine, as it WAS installed properly, drivers installed properly, etc. In other words, back to square one, so God Bless this man for his efforts.

He removed the other modem and replaced it with another new modem aqnd drivers of a different name brand (I'll ask the name tomorrow). He was then able to complete the download for me without incident. He stated he could now access the net..... as I'll find out tomorrow when I bring it home.

I'm making this post for two reasons. One is to alert anyone with a Win 98 SE that needs a new modem to reconsider before installing the PCI SoftV92 Voice Softening modem with an MSN ISP.

Secondly, I'd like to once again thank those people who took the time and effort to offer their help, especially you Charles, who spent time researching possible solutions to this problem. Bless you and my heartfelt thank you!!

It is much appreciated!!

[charles__]

Good to hear they are going to fix it for you but it should of been install correctly before they sent it back to you. I use to be a mod on modemsite.com and from what you have posted they just did not install the modem correctly. Some modem are installed first than a reboot windows will find new hardware and you just point it to the drivers or hit cancel and run the setup.exe in the drivers. You always remove the drivers first and shut down to remove any hardware.

From what I see on MSN System Requirements the other should of been fine.

http://join.msn.com/dialup/requirements