My friend took the laptop to a computer store.  They looked at it and
said the problem was a virus and, also, an intermittent modem problem.
They removed the virus and replaced the modem and all seems to be
working fine now.

Thanks to all of you that replied.

Loy

Lynn Tracy wrote:

>Hi Loy!
>
>Get this program & install then run it as the modem is dialing-  it'll tell you what is holding the modem hostage:
>
>http://www.dr-hoiby.com/WhoLockMe/index.php
>
>>From there you can decide the next course of action.
>
>LT  ;^)
>
>
>
>On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 11:21:28 -0600, Loy Pressley <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>I have a friend with a Toshiba laptop who called me this morning
>>with a problem with the modem.  The modem would not dial out and the
>>error message was that the dialing software could not access the
>>modem because it was in use by another device.  The modem has worked
>>previously and no new devices have been installed.  We tried
>>deleting the modem and reinstalling it but got the same error
>>message.  The software is installing it on Com-3.  We tried the
>>manual install and it would not let us select another port other
>>than Com-3.  I think the problem is an IRQ conflict but I can't find
>>where the IRQs are listed.  BTW, in Device Manager, it states there
>>are no conflicts.
>>
>>Norton Anti-Virus says that there is a possible(?) clandestine
>>script accessing the modem and but the Norton message does not give
>>any directions on how to fix it.
>>
>>The operating system is WinXP.  The laptop operates at 2.4 GHz and
>>there is at least a gig of ram and plenty of hard disk space.
>>
>>Could it be a virus causing this problem?  If so, what can we do
>>about it? If not, what else could be causing this problem and what
>>can we do to fix it.
>>
>>Thanks...
>>
>>Loy
>>
>>              The NOSPIN Group Promotions is now offering
>>             Mandrake Linux or Red Hat Linux CD sets along
>>            with the OpenOffice CD...  at a great price!!!
>>            http://freepctech.com/goodies/promotions.shtml
>>
>>
>
>        The NOSPIN Group has added a new feature on our website,
>           web based bulletinboard for questions and answers:
>              Visit our sister website at http://nospin.com
>
>
>

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