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Laptop with Lucent Soft Modem Not Working

I have a Acer Travelmate 223x laptop running Windows XP Pro with Lucent Technologies Soft Modem AMR.  Clicking Query Modem on the Diagnostics tab produces "The port that the modem is attached could not be opened.  This may be the result of a hardware conflict.  Check the device manager to verify all devices are functional".

A display of the conflicts shows nothing untoward other than the modem is sharing IRQ11 with a bunch of other components.  Re-installing the driver (v3.1.197.0) has no effect.  A recent repair install of WinXP, performed to fix another problem, also made no difference.

Any suggestions, please?
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It can't be physically removed, but yes I've removed the device from Device Manager several times - it makes no difference.
Hi.It seems asif the modem drivers are such that they are not able to make the modem work. The "cannot open port" error is a sign that either the drivers are not correct, or there is a physical defect with the modem that doesn't allow it to start. While are might be some power feature in your laptop preventing the modem from being turned on, I suggest you check out some other driver version for your modem. Also the hardware conflict is not necessarily diff devices sharing the same IRQ, it can also be differenct devices sharing the same COM port. Do check that and retell.
Did you try to change to a different IRQ? most modems do not like to share resources at all.
The drivers are the latest from the Acer website.  I've tried various other from modemsite, to no avail.

There shouldn't be anything else sharing COM3.  It makes no difference if I change this to COM4 or any other value.  Is there a way of displaying COM port usage?

I can't see a way of changing the IRQ.  The modem does not feature at all in the BIOS settings.  The Change Settings button on the Resources tab for the device is greyed out.
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I think it's a hardware fault.  Thanks to responders - points split.
I am having the same problem with a desktop computer.  the modem was working ok under windows 98 until i installed a clean copy of windows xp and i get the same error message - the port that the modem is attached could not be opened. this may ....
isaacdoku
Did you check to see if your modem was XP compatable? did you check around for a new XP driver?
Did you even consider buying a new WinXP compatable modem? a new winmodem will cost less then $10, how much is your time worth to waste it trying to get an older modem working?

rayt333
Did all those checks, and during the installation, XP recognized the modem and installed the drivers for it.  The puzzles is in device manager, it reports the modem is installed and working properly.  This modem was an onboard modem. Anyway, I have some expansion slots on the computer so i have installed a new PCI card modem and it works fine.  I agree, considering the time spent and the cost of it, i decided it was pointless trying to get to the bottom of the problem.
I am having the same problem with an ACER travelmate 223x - needless to say i was hoping there would be a definate answer in this thread which there isn't :(

Looks like im going to have to get a PCMCIA card too :(
Certainly on my machine I believe the problem was hardware failure on the modem board.  It can be replaced via one of the panels on the bottom of the machine.  However buying a PCMCIA modem is likely to be cheaper and less prone to future failures.
HEY,  

I just opened up the bottom of the laptop, re-seated the modem card and it works now!

Thanks.
I spent hours trying to fix the problem identical to the one described at the top of this topic.  

Like Allan, I just opened up the bottom of the laptop, re-seated the modem card and it works now!!!!!

Thanks.