vista is knocking out my modem use in xppro.

i don't even have to use the modem in vista, just installed it, went to xp & no work.

symptoms are I hear a (slightly ragged) dial tone, xp doesn't dial & then comes back & sez 'no dial tone'.

Reseating the modem gets it working again but doing that everytime i boot to xp is getting old.

Any ideas for this weird interaction?

their both assigning com3, irq20. modem works fine in Vista using its own drivers, & in xp (after reseating) using usr drivers.

MOBO=GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R
CPU=INTEL Q9550
RAM=MUSHKIN 996580 DII800 (XP2-6400) 8Gb
POWER SUPPLY=Corsair 620HX
HARD DRIVES=2 ea Western Digital 750Gb SATA
HARD DRIVE= 1 ea Western Digital 640Gb SATA
DVD BURNER=2 ea LG GH20NS15 20X SATA
VIDEO CARD=VGA GIGABYTE GV-RX385512H HD3850
MODEM=USR5670 56K V.92 PCI

then comes back & sez 'no dial tone'.
That usually means the modem is not getting a dial tone or is intrinsically dying. Try a new telephone cable and ensure all the connections are tight - indeed even listen for a dial tone.

When rebooting to one or other OS the whole modem is reinitialised and there should be no cross-over between the two OSes.

problem is, I can hear the dial tone, also, its a new modem, this is a new build.

and the thing works everytime in vista & works fine everytime in xp as long as I reseat it first.

all I can think of is the vista drivers are somehow doing something to the modem that carries over when I reboot to xp, but that makes no sense, it's like it would have to write something to a chip or something.

the fact the dial tone sounds a little ragged after I reboot to xp might be a clue also, maybe its just off enough that xp can't recognize it. It doesn't sound THAT flaky, same volume, just a little rough, but then reseating clears it up.

Does this happen if you power down between going from Vista to XP or just on a reboot?

on a reboot. I cant remember if i tried power down from vista then boot to xp. I'll have to try that I guess.

I just had it off to reseat it again & it came right up & connected just fine in xp.

before that, when it wasn't working, I went into hyperterminal & tried a few ATZ & ATIn commands to see what I could see. It gave me a bunch of settings, not sure what they mean. I also tried dialing out from hyper terminal with ATDT but got the same no dial tone msg, pretty infuriating since I can plainly hear the dial tone thru the speaker.

just tried power down from vista, boot to xp, got the same no dial tone baloney.

Boot into Vista.

Power down, pull the plug...tap the power button to discharge the capacitors...wait about an hour or so, then reboot into XP.

If that doesn't make any difference, we'll try using a terminal program and issuing some commands directly to the modem...in XP.

You can hear the dial tone but xp can't. I have not seen a PCI modem that didn't reset on a reboot - a serial modem I have seen - so it must be possible I guess. I just somehow don't buy that its related to the Vista installation unless you installed Vista to the same partition as XP - and assuming it would do that.

Not hearing a dial tone that is audibly there smacks of dodgy modem/connections, the wrong or outdated drivers, a broken winsock or, as a long shot, malware.

If by reseating the modem you mean physically removing the card and reinserting it then that shouldn't be necessary. Common things being common I would guess the drivers need removing/updating/reinstalling. I would grab the latest from USR (http://www.usr.com/support/product-template.asp?prod=5670) and if necessary update the drivers from Device Manager later on.

Other software approaches to "re-seating" are (1) to remove all references to modems in SafeMode in DeviceManager, AddRemove Programs and Control Panel and then reboot or (2) to remove all registry entries so the system has no record of the drivers ever having been installed (we won't go there just yet).

Suggest you also delete all existing DUN connectoids and reinstall a brand new dial-up connection for your ISP.

Try the WinSock fix (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4372.html) as the last resort.

One thing that I'm thinking of...and issuing the AT Zn command would comfirm, is that Vista is writing its own custom config and saving to NVRAM...and XP is initializing the first saved config. If issuing AT Zn (looks like Z3 would be factory defaults for this modem) makes the modem work, then that is most likely the case...

Also, this modem does have the AT Yn where Y is the power on/reset command to load a configuration from NVRAM...

The NVRAM is a good thought certainly but windows or an app writing directly to the BIOS like that must be fairly rare.

It's also not entirely clear if the problem occurs with every restart to XP or only after Vista has been loaded in the interim. It's not specifically clear if it's after Vista has intervened or after any XP to XP reboot as well.

If it definitely is only post Vista it will be most interesting to find out the reason because either the Windows software or the BIOS must be being altered in some way. One way I can think of to differentiate if Vista is "the culprit" is to make an image file when working in XP, load Vista and then subsequently restore the image file.

Another is to use the CMOSSAVE utility from http://mindprod.com/products1.html#CMOSSAVE

Unzip the download and navigate to the directory from a command prompt and run cmossave cmos.sav
This creates a binary copy in the cmos.sav file. When you later want to check if the CMOS has changed you go to the same directory from a command prompt and run cmoschk cmos.sav and if the cmos has changed in the interim it will be reported as such.

To restore the original settings cannot be done from NT windows (which will reset any changes you write! and makes one wonder if Vista can therefore alter the CMOS period) and so must be done from DOS on a boot floppy by having a copy of the utililites and the cmos.sav file on it and then running cmosrest cmos.sav though I have never attempted this.

More info in the enclosed cmossave.txt file.

I was in vista when I powered down last night so I just went & did the pull plug/tap button thing. will turn on in an hour & try it.

My current partition scheme is 1 gb unallocated, 35 gb 'c' drive for xp, ''d,'e','f' 100 gb each 50 gb 'g' for vista (which vista calls the 'c' drive when I'm in vista I notice, it evidently translates whatever partition its in to the 'c' drive when it's active, all the other partitions then get bumped up 1 drive letter), the rest is unallocated.

Paul, re your 2nd sentence, this is a new build only been running about a week & I d/l'd the xp & vista64 bit drivers from usr a few days ago.

As stated above xp is using the usr drivers but vista is not only using its own native drivers but refused to allow usr '64bit' drivers in the system. The install said 'successful' but then vista came right back with 4 error msgs saying it was removing them as they were 'unsigned', even tho I told it to install regardless! this is one nagging/hand holding system to work with.

I did find 3rd party software 'TweakVI' I think its called, which has a 'allow unsigned drivers to be installed in vista' option so I'll probably try again after enabling that. I'm still thinking the native vista drivers may be fouling things up for xp, tho the modem seems to work just fine with them in vista.

I dug out my old cmd reference for my usr external sportster modem (one of the best I've had) to try in hypertermial. a lot of them produced ERROR tho the ATZ & ATIn worked. didn't try the ATYn as wasn't sure what I was doing, didn't want to write anything. I had the idea of comparing the ATIn results in xp & vista but, wouldn't you know, vista no longer installs hyperterminal.

I'm pretty sure the modem will continue to work in xp as long as I don't boot to vista but I'll doublecheck that by rebooting to it a couple times.

Thanks for the ideas so far.

some slight progress. just booted to xp after doing the pull plug/tap switch thing (& being off all night) & xp dialed right out! Lower speed than usual but it dialed.

now need to determine if I can just pull plug or have to wait an hour, clumsy but better than opening up computer & reseating.

the ATZ3 thing is intriging also, will try that later after booting to vista & back to xp.

edit-just rebooted back to xp & modem still works ok so rebooting by itself is not screwing it up.

will now try vista then back to xp.

I suspect that ATZ3 will work...I really think that Vista is writing a custom config and the XP driver is not 'clearing' it by calling the defaults. If it does work, you should be able to add the ATZ3 to the 'extra' strings in the modem properties.

yes, I think I just confirmed that vista is writing something somewhere.

after success in xp I booted to vista-did NOT dial out (I mean I didn't try) -booted back to xp & the phony no dial msg was there again!

went to hyperterminal, tried ATZ3, it sez OK tried ATDT4563638 & it sez no dial tone.

shutdown-pull plug-tap power switch 4 times-immediately power up back to xp & it dialed right out!

Now what? I'm thinking it would be nice if I could get usr's "64bit" drivers into vista-will try that later-again. I've got a msg into them about that, I don't see why they can't just sign their 64 bit bloody drivers as vista is so picky about that.

I was hoping ATZ3 would work, it would be easier but no go.

That modem has six NVRAM modem config locations...0,1,2 are the 'user' locations; 3,4,5 are the 'factory' locations...try them all, one at a time.

Well I think I found the technical data (http://www.usr.com/support/5670/5670-ug/technical.html) that mjc is referring to and I realize that I was going off at the wrong tangent altogether. I had supposed the settings were in the mobo's bios and not, as is now obviously the case, the modem's firmware. Be most interested to see if you can now reset the modem.

Yep, that's it...I was running most this on memory and couldn't remember that link to the USR page, but that is the info that is probably going to be most helpful. The one thing I wish I could find would be the exact strings stored in the factory config locations, but even after sifting through the online materials available for that model, I can't find those.

It seems, to me, that Vista has no problem with XP's string, but the converse isn't the case, or it just overwrites it. The fact that it resets after totally losing power seems to confirm that it is one of the 'soft' locations and not one of the factory ones causing the problem. Most USR modems will only hold the 'soft' locations under power. The factory locations are actually stored in an EEPROM (or Flash RAM) and are not changeable, except through a firmware update.

thanks for the link Paul, I was going to ask mjc where he was getting this modems info. shud have examined usr's website more closely.

a lot of those look similar to the ones for my old external usr but i when i tried those i got a lot of ERROR.

i'll try the ATZ4 and 5 later. also want to make another stab at installing usr's 64bit vista drivers. like to see if tweakvi's allow unsigned drivers/defeat the nag thing works.

good news/bad news: tried again to install the usr drivers in vista. the allow unsigned drivers feature in EasyBCD (its easybcd not tweakvi) does work but...'fail to connect'.

modem properties shows the usr drivers are there but also sez 'windows cant load driver, code 39'. so, uninstall modem, reboot to vista & back connected again. I notice vista doesn't even bother with the found new hardware msg, just loads the drivers. If you want too much information the usr driver (doesn't work, or wont load)is v7.66.0.0 dated 6/7/07; the microsoft (works) is v7.39.6.1 dated 6/21/06.

so i went back to xp, got no dial tone & tried ATZ3, 4, and 5. they all said OK but no luck dialing. then I captured the output from the ATI1-9 commands. shutdown, pulled the pkug, booted back to xp, got dial tone ok & captured the output of ATI1-9 again. thought I'd compare them for any differences. a quick glance they look similar. I can post the output if your interested or think it will help anything.

Post the output...they may not be as similar as they look and a second set of eyes may spot the diff.

ok, here they are-when its not working:
***********************************

9/16/08/1838-In XPPro, after warm reboot from vista, modem inop with no dial tone error msg from hyperterminal:

OK
atz3
OK
atdt4563638
NO DIALTONE
atz4
OK
atdt4563638
NO DIALTONE
atz5
OK
atdt4563638
NO DIALTONE
atz6
ERROR
atz1
OK
atdt4563638
NO DIALTONE
atz2
OK
atdt4563638
NO DIALTONE
atz3
OK
atdt4563638
NO DIALTONE
ati
5604
OK
ati1
255
OK
ati2
OK

OK
ati3
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem 7.32.00
OK
ati4
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Settings...

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S01:000 S02:043 S03:013 S04:010 S05:008 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002
S10:014 S12:050 S16:000 S18:000 S27:073 S29:070 S32

LAST DIALED #: T4563638

OK
ati5
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Settings...

Template Y0:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

Template Y1:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

STORED PHONE #0:
#1:
#2:
#3:

OK
ati6
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Link Diagnostics...

TERMINATION REASON..........No Dial Tone
LAST TX rate................0
FIRST TX rate...............0
LAST RX rate................0
FIRST RX rate...............0
PROTOCOL....................None
COMPRESSION.................None
RxLEVEL.....................0
EQM Sum.....................0
RBS Pattern.................0
Local Reneg Count...........0
Remote Reneg Count..........0
Digital Loss................0
Local Rtrn Count............0
Remote Rtrn Count...........0

OK
ati7
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Configuration Profile...

Product Type USA FCC D/F
Product ID 5670
Data Options V.32bis,V.34+,V.80,V.90,V.92
Fax Options Class 1
Line Options CallWaiting
Code Date 08/05/2005
Code Rev 7.32.00

OK
ati8

OK
ati9
<1.0PCI\VEN_14F1&DEV_2F30&SUBSYS_200014F1\\Modem\U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem
>FF
OK
***********************************
Now when its working:

9/16/08/1850-In XPPro, dial out ok from hyperterminal (after coldboot)

OK
atdt4563638
NO CARRIER
ath
OK
ati
5604
OK
ati1
255
OK
ati2
OK

OK
ati3
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem 7.32.00
OK
ati4
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Settings...

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S01:000 S02:043 S03:013 S04:010 S05:008 S06:002 S07:060 S08:002
S10:014 S12:050 S16:000 S18:000 S27:073 S29:070 S32:000

LAST DIALED #: T4563638

OK
ati5
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Settings...

Template Y0:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

Template Y1:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

STORED PHONE #0:
#1:
#2:
#3:

OK
ati6
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Link Diagnostics...

TERMINATION REASON..........Key abort
LAST TX rate................0
FIRST TX rate...............0
LAST RX rate....
FIRST RX rate...............0
PROTOCOL....................None
COMPRESSION.................None
RxLEVEL.....................0
EQM Sum.....................0
RBS Pattern.................0
Local Reneg Count...........0
Remote Reneg Count..........0
Digital Loss................0
Local Rtrn Count............0
Remote Rtrn Count...........0

OK
ati7
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Configuration Profile...

Product Type USA FCC D/F
Product ID 5670
Data Options V.32bis,V.34+,V.80,V.90,V.92
Fax Options Class 1
Line Options CallWaiting
Code Date 08/05/2005
Code Rev 7.32.00

OK
ati8

OK
ati9
<1.0PCI\VEN_14F1&DEV_2F30&SUBSYS_200014F1\\Modem\U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem
>FF
OK

There is nothing glaringly obvious...except this...but that could just be you clipped the output when copying it...

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0 S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 <--not working
E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050<--working

I'll need to research the strings a bit more, but at first glance they both should be fine...also the fact that none of the factory locations changed anything is a bit more puzzling. Vista is obviously interfering, somehow...it jsut isn't very obvious as to where.

I looked at my files & I must have done that when copy/pasting, the originals both say Y0, however, S32 has nothing for not working & 000 for working I'll double check that in hyperterminal. S32=bit mapped register setup? what the heck is that?

I did notice S7 (number of seconds modem waits for carrier) was different, 50 for the not working & 60 for working. That would be after it connects tho wouldn't it? if so probably irrelevant.

edit-just noticed you must be looking at the ATI5 output, on that one my capture file IS truncated I'll doublecheck that too. I was looking at ATI4 output.

Which one is the main set the modem is using that we should be concerned with?

You are correct in that the wait for carrier is a post dialing command. It shouldn't impact the connecting process, but you can try manually setting it when it isn't working.

I'm not sure what else to check at this point...

Did the USR XP drivers add a custom init string (under the modem's properties, probably...it has been too long since I've even had a modem connected, let alone an internal one)?

I know this is a apparently a software issue but is it just possible the hardware is malfunctioning??

The error with atz6 must be because there is no z6 - they go from z0 through z5 and atz0 has not apparently been tried and noting that "Z0 Resets modem to profile selected by Y command".

Yeah, it is possible that the modem itself is faulty...but I had a similar problem with my wireless network card in my last rig, going from XP to Linux. I had to to either power down completely, not reboot, or manually reset the card in Linux before it would work...I'm still using the same card in the new build and it hasn't been an issue. So while there is a good chance the modem is faulty, I think there is an equally good chance that it isn't properly reinitializing going from Vista to XP.

If there isn't any progress, soon, I'd say go ahead and try a different modem...if possible, return this one under warranty.

well I rechecked the registers in hyperterminal & they were all filled in, so they did get truncated in the copy/paste.

no differences except the s7 went from 50 to 60, irrelevant I think.

I did discover all I have to do is flip the power switch on the power supply til the light goes out on my optical mouse, power back up & the modem is 'fixed' for xp.

usr wants me to call them sez the issue is too complicated for emails. Maybe someone their can tell me how to simulate a power loss with commands. I don't have my hopes up, probably just run thru basic troubleshooting I've already done. I'll ask them if they think the modems faulty & about their 64 bit drivers that vista wont install.

I looked under advanced-extra initialization strings & there are none if thats where you meant.

At least I can close up the computer, flipping the power supply switch is easier than going in & reseating.

thanks for the assistance so far, i'll keep you posted if a fix presents itself.

As far as a different modem, if I can ever get the serial port adapter for this board I may hook up my external, however the better news is the phone company out here tells me I can FINALLY get dsl, we'll see.

Did you sort out or try the atz0 versus atz6 difference?

I did ATZ which should be the same as ATZ0.

the ATZ6 I did just for the heck of it, the command ref sez only 0-5 available.

I'm gonna call usr. Interested to see what they have to say about this.

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0 S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 <--not working
E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050<--working

Since atz0 is dependent on the y setting it could perhaps explain the difference between y and y0 in the string above.

that &Y was a copy/paste error, a recheck in hyper terminal shows &Y0.

USR was pretty lame. Said they only supported the modem in one operating system per computer, no drivers for Linux & their "64bit" drivers don't always work in every installation.

At least I've got a workable solution. Thankfully DSL should be here within the week.

thanks again.

Yn Selects power-on/reset default configuration
Y0 Use profile 0 setting in NVRAM
Y1 Use profile 1 setting in NVRAM

Z Resets modem
Z0 Resets modem to profile selected by Y command

With DSL on the way is there any point in pursuing Y1 followed by Z0 ?

As far as I can tell the stored profiles are the same.

Must be something somewhere else being reset/messed with.

working:

ati5
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Settings...

Template Y0:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

Template Y1:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

not working:
ati5
U.S. Robotics V.92 PCI Faxmodem Settings...

Template Y0:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

Template Y1:

E1 L1 M1 Q0 T V1 X4 Y0 &A0 &B1 &C1 &D2 &G0 &H0 &I0 &K1 &M4 &P0 &R1 &Y0
S00:000 S02:043 S06:002 S07:050 S08:002 S10:014 S12:050 S18:000 S27:073
S28:000 S29:070 S32:000

made another strange discovery.

was in vista & then booted with dos 6.22 floppy to backup cmos & mbr.

went to xp & modem worked.

went back to vista then to xp & got no dial tone msg. booted with dos floppy & then back to xp & dialed out ok.

booting with dos floppy=killing power to the computer?! I'm wondering what the similarity is.

Killing power...complete reinitializing of the the PCI bus.

DOS...same thing.

"Warm" boot...probably not.

"Cold" boot...maybe.

BIOS...make sure that there are no 'wake on' events set...like 'wake on modem'...that may keep the bus 'hot' during a boot event.

Check the power off setting...make sure it is 'power' off and not something else. Something that Vista is doing is definitely not letting the modem reinitialize...

It is a strange but interesting problem. What seems to be known at this point is that a true cold boot (e.g. power to PSU cut between vista and xp) etc allows "a reset". Surely this indicates that it is not directly related to any NVRAM value anywhere but to volatile memory - ie to RAM - holding onto settings that XP reads but doesn't overwrite. If it was any setting in NVRAM in the main BIOS or the modem's firmware then powering off completely shouldn't make a difference. Or am I missing something? If there is any setting for shadow RAM in the BIOS then that is all I can think of changing for now; or any other BIOS setting that relates to RAM or to a "Plug-n-Play" OS ...

PS
... and particularly since DOS (as used in the interim) is not a "Plug-n-Play" OS. I can't see how un-powering the PCI bus should affect things unless the modem has its own RAM rather than or in addition to any NVRAM. The utility I posted about earlier will allow one to see if the main BIOS has been altered during restarts.

Most internal modems have several true 'NVRAM' locations and one or two locations to store init strings that are sort of like NVRAM, but only as long as it's getting some sort of power...kind of like using the battery to keep the CMOS 'alive'...also, a couple of the NVRAM locations are set aside for user strings. What I was wanting to see is if the Vista was saving a custom string and to one of the user locations and then if it was being called by XP, instead of the 'default'. Now, it is possible since it seems to be completely dependent upon whether or not power/bus reset/PnP, that the Vista changes are in the 'working' memory.

But, it could also be something else...like the motherboard could be not resetting the card without a reset of some sort..

Yeah, a real head scratcher...