On 16 Dec 98 at 20:33, Thomas Holmes wrote:

>      At the conclusion of the extended process we are left with
> two questions. First, why should one disable the onboard serial
> port 2 in order to install an internal modem?

  Failure to disable the onboard port means that when software tries
to talk to the COM2 port, two devices attempt to answer the call.
The COM port built in on the internal modem needs to *replace* the
onboard port.

>   Next, what does it mean that the COM port will not open?  Is the
> modem installed incorrectly or or the COM 2 installed incorrectly?

  The order you've listed for the process is a bit different from
what I have ever done.  My usual procedure has been to disable the
onboard port first [*], install the hardware, set up the drivers, and
then adjust the IRQ resource usage.

[*] Actually, I usually put the serial mouse on COM2, external serial
device (modem, PDA, or whatever) on COM1, and internal modem on COM3
-- with a non-standard IRQ if there will be times when I want to use
both it and the device on COM1.

David G

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