I recenty purchase a new Gigabyte MB, AMD 750 T-Bird CPU, and PC133 Memory as an upgrade to my old systm. Every thing seams to work ok with just the barebones, HOWEVER... the system DOES NOT power up when I insert the PCI modem. No matter what PCI slot I put it in, the computer does not power up. What is kinda weird is that when I do plug in the modem an internal LED lights up. The manual says it is the "STR/DIMM" LED I'm not sure what this is for. Bottomline is that the system is seeming fine without the PCI modem, but when inserted the modem seems to disable the entire system, except turn on that little LED on the motherboard. Please help me!

Oh, by the way the modem worked fine in my other system. Plus when ever I do plug in and remove the pci modem in the new system. I have to disconnect and reconnet the power supply connector from the motherboard to boot the system up again.

Again...Please Help!
http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/mad.gif


Thanks,
Ergm

Have you tried anything else in the PCI slots?

I'm gonna try a couple different pci modems. The tech support guy said it may be a compatibility issue with the older modem ('96)???? http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif Wish me luck! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

For what it's worth, I'd forget about the PCI modem and get a hardware modem. Most PCI modems are software based, or winmodems, and the worst thing you can put in a computer except maybe AOL...

CSO (http://www.computersurplusoutlet.com) has US Robotic 56K ISA modems, which are hardware modems, for $49 right now, with shipping that's about the same as a winmodem from [insert retailer name here]. Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com) might have some good prices posted too, I haven't looked.

To identify them:
If it's an ISA modem, it's hardware. If it says PCI, LT winmodem, HCF or HSF, it's software. Software modems also often list minimum CPU requirements. That's for the software to run.

Winmodems are often difficult to install -you're finding that out- use system resources instead of a chip on the modem, and get flaky connections, sometimes even no connection at all, or disconnected often. Open a second browser window and the connection speed drops, and won't come back up.

The connection problems are usually because these modems are designed to talk to other Lucent modems, which most ISP's don't use. The connection speed issues are because they tie up more and more system resources as you open more windows, or start downloading. No serious problem with a hardware modem, but with software modems the connection speed doesn't come back.

The winmodem is cheaper because of the lack of the chip on the card that causes your system to have to do the modem's work. Hardware based modems are a bit more expensive, but usually work much better all the way around.

More info:
Beware winmodems (http://www.56k.com/reports/winmodem.shtml) from 56K.com.
Epinions (http://www.epinions.com/cmhd-Modems-All-3Com_56K_Winmodem(r)_PCI_Faxmodem) Several reviews and comments concerning software based modems, and several are from techs, not just someone who had one problem and is biased against the modem type in general.

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Thanks for all the help guys! http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif But I decided to take back the system. I'm looking for a new MB without any sound or video on board, because the sound on this MB is kinda crappy. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif Anyway... if anyone has a recommendation of a good MB for gaming please let me know!!!

Thanks,
ERGM