NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/dcom/modems-part2/11636

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 3.3 KB

Path: viking.arc.nasa.gov!lamaster
From: [e-mail] (Hugh LaMaster)
Newsgroups: comp.os.ms-windows.win95.setup,comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.comm,comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: Loss of IO board facilities with Win 95
Date: 20 Apr 1996 00:47:15 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center
Message-ID: <4l9c6j$[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <4l3nrf$[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: viking.arc.nasa.gov

In article <[e-mail]>,
Clay Leihy <[e-mail]> writes:
|> Hugh LaMaster wrote:

|> > |> Under Windows 3.x, parallel and serial ports are polled, not interrupt
|> > |> driven.  Under Windows 95, though, both parallel and serial ports
|> > |> _are_ interrupt driven.  The ISA bus was not designed to share IRQs
|> > |> across boards, so the standard configuration of COM1,2,3, and 4 using
|> > |> IRQs 4, 3, 4, and 3 respectively typically won't work under Windows 95
|> > |> unless the four ports are all on the same board, and on-board logic
|> > |> arbitrates among them.
|> > |>
|>
|> A possible fix for that would be to set the jumpers on the second board to use
|> different IRQ's, if possible. Some allow you to select virtually any unused IRQ
|> for each COM port.

In my case, the modem board does not seem to have any jumpers.
The internal modem expects to be configured via software.
The supplied programs mostly seem to be for Windows 3.1x,
not Windows '95.

|> > |> You may want to try installing the COMM.DRV polled communications driver
|> > |> for ports 3 and 4, but it you also want to use a modem on one of those
|> > |> ports, you'll still run into some difficulties.
|> > |>
|> > |> My suggestion: configure your system so the mouse is on COM1, IRQ4, your
|> > |> modem is on COM2, IRQ3, and forget the others.  Ditto with LPT2:  Just
|> > |> use LPT1 on IRQ7...
|> >
|> > So, what do you do if you are trying to configure a new PnP type
|> > modem like the "Motorola Lifestyle" on a PnP mboard under Win '95?
|> > Specifically, Win '95 wants to configure the modem as "COM5", but,
|> > virtually all the software only recognizes COM1-COM4 (mouse on COM2).
|>
|> Well, if you use Win95 software, it shouldn't care what COM port your modem
|> uses. It should just give the data to the OS and let it sort it out. Else, why
|> would Windows have to know what COM port the modem is on? If you're using all of
|> this top-notch hardware, you should be able to afford new, Win95-logoed SW.

The problem is not Windows '95 specifically.  W95 does the right
thing, sort of.  The problem is that a lot of software exists,
including software shipped with the modem itself, which only work
with COM1-COM4.   So, is there a way within W95 to move the modem
to COM1-COM4 and also to make sure W95 knows about it?

|> > [Award PnP BIOS ?.??].  Is there way to override the automagic
|> > setup?  If you manually reconfigure it in "settings", it just thinks
|> > there is *another* modem sitting on the hardware serial port.


--
  Hugh LaMaster, M/S 233-18,    Email:       Please send ASCII documents to:
  NASA Ames Research Center     Internet:    [e-mail]
  Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000  Or:          [e-mail]
  Phone:  [phone]          Disclaimer:  Unofficial, personal *opinion*.