Windows won't load after modem drivers installed

I'm running into a problem after installed the software for my modem.

I did the following:

1) Installed Windows 98 (1st Edition)

2) Installed the K7S5A VGA video drivers (although I guess I didn't need this with my PCI based Voodoo3)

3) Installed the PCI Voodoo3 2000 drivers

4) Installed the Sound Blaster Live drivers

At this point everything appeared to work great and the system re-boots just fine.

Then I added the drivers for my Best Data "Mach 2" and the while the software seemed to install fine the system will not make it to the Windows startup screen instead halting at a blank screen with a flashing cursor.

If I restart under the Windows "safe mode" and uninstall the modem drivers, the system is back to working beautifully.

Any ideas or troubleshooting tips?

I'm a first time builder so I might be missing something obvious here.

Bob

As additional information, I have my cards in the following PCI slots:

PCI Slot #1: Voodoo3 2000
PCI Slot #3: Sound Blaster Live!
PCI Slot #5: Best Data Mach 2 Modem

Slots 2 and 4 are empty. Might it help if I tried different slots?

Or maybe I'm having some sort of IRQ assignment conflict? (How do you check IRQ assignments anyway?)

Bob

Did you use the "add hardware" option in control panel to try and install your modem? That worked better for me than using device manager for some odd reason.

Thanks for the help.

Yes, I used the "Add Hardware" opton under the Controls panel. I think that I tried the device manager also but I think I ran into a problem with that.

The other odd thing is that after installing my Voodoo3, SoundBlaster and Best Data modem the Device manager doesn't properly identify the cards. It lists the following generic names:

PCI Card
PCI Card
PCI Ethernet Controller

Shouldn't it list these as:

Voodoo3
Soundblaster Live
Best Data Modem

And it seems odd that it apparently idenfies the modem as a "PCI Ethernet Controller".

Another question: Are these devices always listed in the Device Manager in the same order as the PCI slots? (i.e. Ascending 1 through 5)

Bob

[quote]Originally posted by tracks:
Did you use the "add hardware" option in control panel to try and install your modem? That worked better for me than using device manager for some odd reason.[/QUOTE

Here's another question: I assigned the modem to "Com1". Is that OK?

Bob

[Bluethunder]

Do not use the Add hardware option. It happened to me also, and what I did was to uninstall any drivers for the modem and make sure you clean out all the files in your windows temp folder, then shut down, before you restart unplug your modem, and restart, this is to let the registry get cleaned out. then shut down again, and put your modem in the last PCI slot. Not the one close to the agp port but the opposite side. When windows detects a PCI communications device, make sure you have your drivers cd in the cdrom and when prompted for " let windows search for the best drivers option" and make sure CDrom is selected. Then windows will load the drivers for you and bingo! itll work like a charm. I always recommend that people unplug all their cards except video, when doing a clean install, just to make sure there are no glitches in the install. I also have win98 first edition and im using a 56k modem by Modular technologies I bought at frys electronics, its working like a charm and no disconnects. GOod luck ;)

Thanks for taking the time to post all that great info. I'll give your technique a shot tonight and report the results here.

I wasn't even aware that there was a Windows temp file. As a long time Mac user, I'm new to this stuff. [img]smile.gif[/img]

BTW, I also have a Encore 56K modem that I picked up as a backup. This was one of those "free after rebate" deals at Fry's last week. If I can't get the Best Data modem to work I might just give this a shot.

Bob

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Bluethunder:
Do not use the Add hardware option. It happened to me also, and what I did was to uninstall any drivers for the modem and make sure you clean out all the files in your windows temp folder, then shut down, before you restart unplug your modem, and restart, this is to let the registry get cleaned out. then shut down again, and put your modem in the last PCI slot. Not the one close to the agp port but the opposite side. When windows detects a PCI communications device, make sure you have your drivers cd in the cdrom and when prompted for " let windows search for the best drivers option" and make sure CDrom is selected. Then windows will load the drivers for you and bingo! itll work like a charm. I always recommend that people unplug all their cards except video, when doing a clean install, just to make sure there are no glitches in the install. I also have win98 first edition and im using a 56k modem by Modular technologies I bought at frys electronics, its working like a charm and no disconnects. GOod luck ;) <hr></blockquote>

If you have external modem, then you can assign this to COM1, but if its internal, it should be something like COM3 or COM4. This MB has onboard serial ports assigned in default as COM1 and COM2. Assigning an internal PCI modem to COM1 will conflict with the onboard serial port and cause you problems. The modem driver is suppose to do this automatically, so avoid assigning resources manually.

Thanks for the excellent explanation Albert. I wonder if that might be causing some of my problems. I'll have to pay closer attention when I re-install the software. At some point in my prior installation I got a window that offered up COM1, COM2 and another option for selection.

Another oddity is that my K7S5A users manual mentions an onboard modem even though it doesn't have one. Perhaps the users guide is generic in this regard.

Bob

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Albert:
If you have external modem, then you can assign this to COM1, but if its internal, it should be something like COM3 or COM4. This MB has onboard serial ports assigned in default as COM1 and COM2. Assigning an internal PCI modem to COM1 will conflict with the onboard serial port and cause you problems. The modem driver is suppose to do this automatically, so avoid assigning resources manually.<hr></blockquote>

The onboard modem option of the board will only be true if you plug in an AMR modem on the AMR socket, a small slot beside the AGP. If you plug in an AMR modem, then you can enable "onboard modem" at the bios option to use this modem. Again, the COM port assigned is something like COM3, similar to a PCI internal modem. The AMR modem makes use of the AC97 features of the chipset without going through the PCI bus/slots. In my case, I found this modem to be a bit faster than my previous PCI modems.