Modem Problem

[Staar]

The modem is a pci card.  I read some articles indicating that most of these do not work properly.  I was just curious as to why it worked on Xandros but not Ubuntu.  When it did work it never achieved anything close to a 56K connection.  After reading some articles today, it sounds like I'd need to pay for one of the linux drivers to achieve 56K and it would only be compatible with the version I'm running now.  I went out at lunch and purchased an external modem with a serial connection.  Hopefully that takes care of the problem.  Are there better applications to use to establish/terminate dial-up connections?  This pc is for a total newbie with absolutely no experience with linux or windows.

I chose /dev/modem as the location.  I also tried all the ttyS*.  When selecting the ttyS* ports, it did not return any errors but would not dial either.  I'm guessing that ttyS refers to the different Serial connections available.



-----Original Message-----
>From: larry <larry at isp.com>
>Sent: Feb 12, 2007 2:33 PM
>To: Staar <michael_staar at earthlink.net>, "Ubuntu user technical support, not for general discussions" <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com>
>Subject: Re: Modem Problem
>
>Staar wrote:
>> First off, I'm primarily a windows user so you'll have to bare with my ignorance a little.  I installed Xandros on an old pc for a relative so he could avoid spending obscene amounts of money on windows just to check email.  The dialup connection was always slow and recently began dropping out on him often.  So I decided to try Ubuntu 6.06.1 LTS (Dapper Drake), but I am having problems configuring the PCI dialup modem.  Using ubuntu, Under Network Settings, when I attempt to activate it, I receive 'Could Not Enable the Interface ppp0'.  When I go to Interface properties and attempt to auto-detect the modem, I receive 'Could not autodetect modem device'.
>>
>> When I looked up the device it indicates the following:
>> HCF 56K Data/Fax/Voice Modem (Worldwide)
>> Vendor: 
>> Conexant
>> HCF 56K Data/Fax...
>> OEM Vendor: DIGICOM Systems, Inc.
>>
>> Any idea what the problem is?  I stumbled across a HCF driver downloads page on linuxant.com (http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/hcf/full/downloads-ubuntu-x86.php?PHPSESSID=9e8a2e93e875447ced96514bfc3b4ed2) that says I need to pay to get 56K support?  Is that true?  That could explain why the connection was so slow on Xandros.  I'm probably going to be trying different distrtos often until I find one that my relative likes and would like to avoid paying for a driver every time I upgrade or go to a different distro.  If I purchased an external modem, would I have to worry about a different driver every time I change distros?
>>
>> Any info would be greatly appreciated... 
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>>
>> Mike
>>
>>   
>Is your modem a serial port type, or what...???
>
>I have a Data/Fax/Modem Best Data so when I setup my ppp dialup, when it 
>ask's me to autodetect, it does the same as yours...So I manually 
>install it using ttyS0, and it has worked for years now...
>
>If it is an external serial modem, then go through each ttyS port, you 
>can use minicom also to access your modem...Hopefully it isn't a win 
>modem, for most all of those do not work in linux...
>
>Hope this helps...
>
>Good luck, Larry
>
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