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podraskyk

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Can't open comport

I have successfully loaded Future Dial drivers and the dial up program onto my IBM Thinkpad 600 (using Win98Se) so that I can use my Sanyo 4900 cell phone as a dialer/modem.  I had the connection working before I had to wipe my hdd; now I'm trying to reinstall my software.

Current status:
Windows has recognized ports 3 and 4 and has assigned the Sanyo cell phone/modem to COMPORT 4 (Maxspeed 115200).  No modem is assigned to comport 3.

The problem:
When I try to dial, I get the message "Port was disconnected due to a Hardware failure."
When I try to do the diagnostic from the control panel/modem, I get the message "could not open port"

Any ideas?

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eccs19

If you can get into the BIOS of this machine, I would try disabling any COM ports that are active, remove any listings for COM ports within Windows along with the modem drivers (or software, I am not familiar with your exact product), reboot the machine, re-install software / drivers, and see what happens from there.

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I reviewed the CMOS but could not find anything related to COM ports.

I don't know how to go about accessing the BIOS of this machine or manipulating any of the ports.

I have recently flashed the BIOS for an upgrade.  

I had previous problems with the boot sequence (user error involved)...so I disconnected the CMOS battery to get back to the default settings.
I'm not sure, but for an IBM, it may be F1 to get into the BIOS.  If your trying to re-install 98SE, you may just have to manually try different setting till you get some combination that will work.  I've had plenty of trouble with 98 trying to get conflicts resolved.  I've had 98 tell me there are no conflicts, but in reality, there were some, and had trouble getting modems, etc working.  2000 & XP do a much better job of sorting these issues out. (don't touch ME in my opinion)
An interesting observation...the Port (com and lpt) section in the Control Panel/System/System Device section in WIN 98SE does not show COM PORT 4 (only com port 3), yet Windows has assigned the modem to COM Port 4.  

There are no options to control or select the comm ports when I access the CMOS F1 during bootup.

I did a system check while I was in the CMOS...no problems with the hardware.

Is this a WIN98 issue? or a IBM hardware issue? or a software issue?  

It doesn't make sense that it used to work prior to reimaging the harddrive...now it does not. I don't think it is a hardware issue, as suggested by the error messages.

Please help!!
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eccs19

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If I had to take a guess, I would have to say that whoever had this working before, probably had to go into Windows and manually set things up.  That is the way I've had to resolve these type of issues with 95/98 in the past.  
A:  Nope. I'm the one who set it up last install. I didn't have to manually adjust anything to get the program to dial up using the cell phone.  

The software you are using, I assume you can manually set up the ports somehow?
A: the Future Dial software doesn't allow any control or adjustments.

Try this link for this program.  It should give you all your hardware information, and it should give you an accurate reading of what your com ports are actually running at.  This may help in getting your software to work.

http://www.lavalys.com/products/download.php?pid=1&lang=en&pageid=3

A:  ok...I've downloaded it and will use it to diagnose the system. Standby.

"Is this a WIN98 issue? or a IBM hardware issue? or a software issue?"  My best guess would be that it's a Win98 issue, but I wouldn't want to tell you to install 2000/XP and find that didn't fix it.  I doubt it's a hardware issue, and if it's a software issue, that's hard to say, as I don't know your software to say if it's any good or not.  Again best guess would be 98, plus perhaps your software.  I hope some of this information helps.  Also as a side note,  if you deside to try 2000/XP,  XP can sometimes be unco-operative with older hardware, and other times it's happy as can be.

A: I agree. I'm using WIN98SE for a very specific reason: I want to be able to run older software games for my kids.  As a last resort, I'm willing to temporarily upgrade to WINXP (my desktop computer runs xp) to see if it configures the comports correctly to achieve modem functionality.


eccs19 :  Success!!

The software you recommended showed that win98se had assigned the IR device (none of which I have) to com port 4.  I removed this device and the modem now works!!

Thanks for all of your help.
Well glad to see that the issue is solve.  Glad to help!!!
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I'm not 100% sure, but I think for your $9.99 you get unlimited points that you can assign to questions.  I don't think you pay any extra for any points awarded.  Sorry my answer isn't that good, but I actually don't pay any monthly fee.  If your an "Expert" then you have to earn 3000 points per month in order to get the free service. (If memory serves me right, you actually have to accumulate 10,000 points before you get your "free" membership, then you have to earn 3000 points a month after to keep it.  So basically if your knowledgeable in computers, you can actually get the service for nothing.  If you check the FAQ in the help section (I think that's where it is) it will explain it a lot better than I just did.  :-)