modem problems

[Johnson David]

On Monday 23 June 2003 05:31 pm, Plunkett, Ian Gregory (UMC-Student) 
wrote:
> Hello list,
>
> I just installed FreeBSD 5.0 and I am trying to work all the kinks
> out.  One problem I am having is the modem.  I tried connecting to my
> ISP with ppp.  When I switch to terminal mode, I can't enter any of
> the commands except the ~ sequences.  I am pretty sure this has to do
> with the fact that my modem isn't being recognized by the OS. (at
> least I think it's not).  According to Windows ME (both OSs are
> loaded on my machine) the modem, which is a Conexant HCP V90 56K RTAD
> Speakerphone PCI Modem, is located at COM3, its IRQ channel is 11,
> the I/O is located at 0xDFE0-0xDFE7.

This question belongs to the freebsd-questions list (this list is for 
newbie chatting, not for technical questions).

Doing a quick check on the web though, it is highly probable that this 
is a "WinModem". In other words, it was designed by the manufacturer to 
work only with Windows. You need a special Windows-only driver to get 
it to work. WinModem's suck. They suck big time. In fact, you don't 
even want them under Windows, because all the modem work is being 
rudely offloaded to your poor overworked CPU. 99.9999% of PCI modems 
with a Rockwell chipset are WinModems.

It may be possible to get it to work, but don't count on it. If it is 
possible, the -questions list might have the answer. But in my opinion, 
buy a new modem if you can afford it. Make sure it is not a WinModem. 
This can be hard to determine, so check for modems that say they will 
work under DOS or Linux. A modem that works under DOS is your best bet, 
since there are some WinModems with Linux drivers. Your safest bet is 
an external modem, though they do tend to cost about $20 more than an 
internal.

David