Folks, I’ve got a computer issue so @#$#!&@ annoying, it’s driving me to post in MPSIMS. (Joke, really. But I figure this is the best place for pleas for help.)
When I’m disconnected by my ISP, and when I disconnect voluntarily, my telephone rings. When I pick it up, I hear modem line noise, as though my modem hasn’t dropped the connection. I immediately hang up, and all is well. But if I don’t pick up the receiver and put it back down, it’ll ring indefinitely.
It doesn’t happen on my other box (the dinosaur), so I know (well, I think)it’s not my lines or my ISP.
The machine is a Dell PIII 450, with 256mb RAM, running Win98SE, and an internal USR 56k Winmodem (v.90).
I don’t think it’s a driver issue either, as I cannot find any more recent software than what I have (and as an aside, I friggin hate winmodems anyway, but that’s neither here nor there).
Do you have call waiting? If you do here’s what might be happening: you’re online, and somebody calls. The call waiting beep makes your modem barf, and it hangs up, but for some reason the ISP’s modem doesn’t. If you hang up when there are two calls on the line with call waiting, your phone will ring and it will reconnect you with the first call (i.e. your ISP’s modem) when you pick the phone up.
That’s my random guess anyway. I think I’ve seen this happen a couple of times.
Okay, I know this may sound stupid, but bear with me here. When that happens, when you have disconnected and the phone starts ringing, can you still browse? Try it.
Winmodems do suck. Huge. Check the above, then try this too. Completely uninstall the modem and reinstall with the latest driver. Winmodems are known for non-clean driver upgrades.
Are you using the new computer and the dinosaur at the same time? Win98 has modem sharing - if it is enabled, could be doing weird things.
Bobort, I’ve seen the call waiting thing too, but not when the user disconnects manually.
I had this problem with a Packard-Bell winmodem just before it died. Replaced the dead winmodem with a 56K voice/fax modem and haven’t seen that problem since. Maybe a coincidence???
Open the Modems Control Panel applet. Click the Dialing Properties button. Check the box labelled To disable call waiting, dial: and select *70, in the combo box to the right.
Well, I don’t have call waiting. So SingleDad, I tried the *70 switch and get a “We’re sorry, your call cannot be completeed as dialed” message.
Katt: 1) Negative. I cannot continue to browse. I lose my connection to my ISP when Windows thinks I have. and in fact, I hear a cisconnect click from the modem when I do manually disconnect.
2) I’ve completely uninstalled it from the OS and reinstalled, but I have not yet pulled the card out of the box physically. I’m putting it off since the dust bunnies are growing fangs back there.
3) I’m not sharing the modem.
The old box (P133) has an external USR 56k that works well, but was an absolute bitch to get configured (it’s an older flex, my ISP goes v.90).
If you have a bad line, interference or a voltage spike would cause both the modems to disconnect and the phone to emit a short ring. Also, the phone company may be running some sort of continuous diagnostic on your line.
You might call the phone company and ask them if they’re doing anything weird on your line.
I don’t think it’s the lines, as it’s been going on since I get the machine (several months), and the other modem I run int he house is fine (the external 56k flex).
If it were me, I’d pitch the Winmodem. Can’t stand the things. But if you don’t want to go that route, try downgrading your driver. Seriously. If you can find the next-to-latest driver for your modem, completely uninstall it (software, shouldn’t need to physically remove it) and reinstall with that driver. New drivers can be quirky, 'specially brand new drivers with brand new systems.
That’s the wierd thing, though–it’s not a new driver, it’s just the newest one I could find. It’s from 6/29/98. The previous version won’t talk to my modem at all, and neither USR nor Dell has a more recent one.
Aieeeeeeeeeeee!!
You’re right, I shoudl just huck the modem and get a new one. But it works so well!
You may not like winmodems but telling someone who has a problem with one to dump it is not useful advice. It’s like when people tell me to reinstall a program or the OS. I do not need to hear that and I know full well I can do it.
There are millions of WINmodems out there working well and in some points seem to work better than the other types. Both my computers have winmodems and work perfectly.
Personally I cannot imagine the cause of your problem. It seems your computer and modem disconnect correctly and then the modem at the other end calls you back? How can this be? It can only know by using caller ID? Have you tried to disable it? I really do not understand the problem well.
I think what you’re experiencing here is a classic example of quantum bogodynamics. It is widely known that winmodems are prime examples of technical idiocy (it’s not even proper to call them modems since they neither modulate nor demodulate–they’re just crappy sound cards attached to phone jacks). As such they are the source of a powerful bogon flux. They are probably generating fat electrons in your telephone wires which cause your phone to ring at inopportune times.
Seriously, I would say that your problem most likely has its cause in hardware rather than software. It’s conceivable that your modem drivers are at fault, but I wouldn’t bet on it. The fact is that winmodems are designed to be cheap first and foremost, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the modem operates slightly out of spec regarding voltages on the phone lines or whatever.
It’s possible that your phone is playing a part in this also. Is the phone connected to the modem? You might try putting a different phone in its place to see if that makes any difference. You could also try plugging the phone in somewhere else (or do you already have other phones?) or plugging the phone and the modem into a line splitter instead of plugging the phone into the modem. Or any combination of the above.
I’m guessing it’s a PCI card? Is there a card installed in the second PCI slot? There should be. That’s where the first PCI card should go on many systems. Even if there is a card in the slot, move the modem to another slot. If it’s in the second slot, you’ll have to put something else there. If it’s the only card and it’s in the second slot, leave it alone.
Also, have you attempted to factor out the particular phone jack you’ve got the thing plugged into. A crossed wire could easily foul things up. 1) Go to radio shack and get a really long phone cord. 2) Plug it into another jack (preferably the one where the other computer is plugged into) and try it out. 3) Take the cord back to Radio Shack since you don’t really need it. 4) Make sure none of the pins on the modem are crossed.
Unplug the phone from the modem. Does it work now? Try a different phone.
