4-26-94                 IDE/serial card combos

    A  problem  with internal modems can come when a computer uses  an  IDE
controller  card that has built-in serial ports. Often the modem  will  not
work  (com  3/4)  or the mouse (com 1/2) will not work when  the  modem  is
installed.  This is more likely to happen with a high-speed modem  than  an
old 2400. An IDE controller, and seperate comport card works OK.

     Even  with  the  serial ports on the IDE  disabled,  the  problem  can
persist. If you are unsure if you have an IDE/serial, just look inside your
computer  and if there are cables from the Hard Drive controller  going  to
the ports, you have the IDE in question.

>>> I have one of those IDE combos, and in order to get internal modems to
work,  I  had to put my Mouse on com2, modem on serial 1,  modem  on  com3,
modem  on com4/irq5. They would NOT work set any way, with mouse  on  COM1.
>>>Another person found even his >>external<< had to be on one and mouse on
two, with no other installed cards.

>    I had one dealer on the phone who had an IDE/serial card in a computer
he was setting up. Portutil (with MTEZ) scrambled the screen and went  back
to prompt. He took out the IDE/serial and put in a plain IDE (while he  was
still on the phone) and Portutil and MTEZ would both work.  He then put  in
a plain serial card (for Com1/2).

     If the modem works well on one machine, but not another, it may be an
IDE  problem  also. While there seems some regular problems,  the  problems
associated  with  the IDE/serial combo can differ. Whenever  possible,  try
seperate cards.

     There  have been a few reports of the modem making noises, which  stop
after  the  modem  has  been initialized. You can make a  1  line  file  to
initialize the modem from your autoexec.bat as follows:

C:\>copy con atf.txt     (type at the C:\>  dos prompt)
AT&F                     (type this line)
^Z                       (press Ctrl-C) then [Enter]

Then in your autoexec.bat enter this line:

copy atf.txt com3        (or com4)

  *  If all else fails, you may need to use an external modem.


                                   Don Hinds - Zoom Tech
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