[H-GEN] 56k modem problem: kinternet error - keyboard fixed.

[andrew laidlaw]

Thanks anthony,
  
  Actually, I've already been to the linmodems website a few times (over  the last two weeks) trying to solve this problem.  The latest piece of advice I just got on it was (from a staff person at "really linux", a beginners'  website):  
  
   "generally, winmodems don't work under linux."  
  
Sure, there are (generic) linux drivers out there for most of the main chipsets and kernel revs,  and I have even had another one of my winmodems running some diagnosics  under linux, although it was not autodetected.  But it would not  dial.  
  
  When I reinstalled said modem under windows, I first tried to use the win98se generic  drivers for the chipset, and it installed fine and also ran diagnostics,  but crashed the machine every time I tried to connect with it!  I've never seen that before.   Ultimately, I found the modem manufacturer's specific driver, which  worked  (after convincing windows that I really did want to take  such a "backward step", which wasn't easy).
  
  I think that has to be the gist of a likely explanation / rule of thumb applicable to Linux - If  the generic chipset drivers don't work for windows, it is probably a bit much  to expect linux drivers to do any better.  There seems to be  enough being done by the different pci modem manufacturers on the board but outside the chipset  to  render the generic / chipset approach to drivers (which I assume is all  there is for linux) unworkable on many, if not most, specific products.

So, I bought a USB modem, which turned out to be an undetectable YAS (Yet Another Softmodem), and returned it in exchange for the plain old external serial port real modem which has now got me on the internet, in five minutes without the slightest hassle, and which I'm using to send you all this email.

So, it is problem "resolved", I suppose.

Thanks again for your inputs.

regards...... andrew.
  
  PS: Nowhere in the dozens of websites, "Help" documents  and user orgs I've tried to hammer this problem with over the last fortnight did I see anything to warn newbies that "your winmodem just might not work".  The closest thing was actually the webpage at http://linmodems.org/, to which anthony referred me.  As above, my guess right now is if you can't get a soft modem working under windows with the generic chipset (as opposed to modem product specific) drivers, you have little or no chance under linux.  
  
  .
  
  
  
  

Anthony Irwin <anthony at server101.com> wrote:  [ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and     ]
[ Unix-related topics. Posts from non-subscribed addresses will vanish. ]

andrew laidlaw wrote:

> And now the standard scripts I'm using, modified for my modem device 
> id, returns:
>
> # /usr/sbin/pppd: unrecognised option 'dev/ttyLT0'
>
> I wonder if this modem can be used at all?

Andrew,

I have never had a reason to use internal modems in Linux so don't know 
much about them however if you go to the web site below you should be 
able to find out more about how they work with linux and what is 
supported etc.

http://linmodems.org/

Also in the unix world internal modems are often refered to as 
winmodems. The reason for this is that they tend to require software to 
do certain operations instead of the hardware supporting it and when 
windows was the only system that had the software they got the nick name 
winmodems or that is how I tend to remember the internal modem story 
however it could be some what different.

Kind Regards,
Anthony Irwn


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