HEWLETT-PACKARD PAVILION AND LUCENT WINMODEM. MODEM DIED...CAN SOMEONE ANSWER A QUESTION?

14 June 2003

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

My Hewlett-Packard Pavilion 633 Mghz (clock speed) CPU had a Lucent Winmodem which the lightning apparently sent to modem heaven (or hell...depending upon your point of view). Using the childrens' old, slow computer I am now trying to seek technical assistance from a smarter-than-the-tech-support Free Republic member who would be gracious enough to either use the e-mail or this thread to answer the following question(s):

What type of modem plug-in (bus?) does the HP Pavilion (model 6735) have and can another modem besides a Lucent Winmodem be used with this computer? Also, what does the term "PCI" refer to? I am in the process of ordering a new modem via the internet and wanted to get one that will work well with that computer. Any advice I can get is very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Thanks for any technical explainations, etc.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Get an external serial modem. The Pavilion has a serial port, and external serial modems are the most reliable modems available.

[Abcdefg]

Punch here: http://productfinder.support.hp.com/tps/ProductFinder?h_query=Pavilion%206735&h_tool=use,prodhomes&h_lang=en&h_cc=us&h_page=y150_pfinder&cc=us

[Abcdefg]

There are 3 items, one must be yours. They have a detailed rundown on your PC. Winmodems can be had for less than $20 if you shop around. They are nearly worthless.
I suggest a modem with a controller built-in.

[rs79bm]

The term "PCI" is the name of the slot (or bus) that your computers system board uses. Your Pavilion should have at least 1 or 2 of these free. I have found that the Lucent WinModem you have mentioned is the least reliable of any modem, as the term "WinModem" means it uses your systems resources for power. This is not necessarily a good thing. I would recommend getting any PCI modem that is not a WinModem, and you should be back in business.

[JCG]

Last I heard ISA modems were preferable to Winmodems. That's been awhile back, however. For all practical purposes, PCI refers to the type of slot the modem resides in. It is shorter than the ISA slot.

(Ok, I confess, I'm not that techie.)

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[FreePaul]

I don't know what HP uses for anything. That's why I don't buy any of the name brands. I build my own. I'm not a big fan of winmodems but a 56K Lucent PCI winmodem was about twelve bucks the last time I bought one. PCI describes the type of slot the modem plugs into in the computer.

Are you sure the modem is the only problem? My grandson did have that problem with a lightening strike and the modem was the only thing knocked out. You need a UPS with a modem connection to protect you computer.

[rs79bm]

Reliable, and slightly more expensive.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Reliable, and slightly more expensive.

Plus, they are much easier to troubleshoot and they will work with any operating system on any typical PC, because they all have serial ports.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Easier to install, too, because you don't have to open the case. A big plus for people who know little about hardware.

[Abcdefg]

"they all have serial ports"

I bet that changes. They are trying to do away with floppy drives and the serial ports might be next, in favor of USB.

[fjsva]

My kid's computer is a Pavillion 6357. Any good quality PCI modem will do. Just make sure the drivers are right for your operating system. Also, best to get a modem w/ the controller on the card not shared like the lucent.

The Lucent modem was reported to have a lot of problems, although we never noticed any. With broadband we havn't used a modem in years.....don't even have them plugged in.

[boltCutter]

Take the computer case off and look at the motherboard. You will notice that there are cards inserted in slots on the motherboard. The backs of these cards are exposed to the outside of the case so that you can plug stuff into them (like a phone line, audio cables, etc.). Look closely at the slots the cards are inserted into. One type is short and white, the other long and black. The black ones are ISA, the white ones PCI. If one of them is free, go buy a PCI modem (not a winmodem) and plug it into that slot. If you don't have one of the white slots, see if you have a free black slot. If you do, buy an ISA modem (not a winmodem) and insert the card. That should work fine. Since you are apparently using windows, the software to run the card will come with the card when you buy it.

[rs79bm]

Actually it already has. Now, Gateway and a few others sell computers that only have 4 USB ports on the back. Yes, "4" USB ports (for your keyboard, mouse, and two other devices you may have) is all you will find on the back, in addition to your monitor and power ports.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

Okay, I believe that helps immensely. I am used to the old stuff, the ISA slot, I believe it is. This computer (Dad's old one...he bought a new one.) has the shorter slots and I believe they're the PCI slots. The modem died (I think). I've tried to go through control panel to system to device manager to see if it is dead and can't figure out how to run a diagnostic on it. However, I'm pretty sure the modem is dead...it quit dialing out and it says it doesn't have a tone (however, when I pick up the phone I have a tone). So, if I buy a new modem that fits the PCI slot and it comes with drivers (or they're downloadable from the internet) I can get back in business?

[boltCutter]

BTW, almost any card you can buy will work with a windows computer, just be sure you have a free slot for the card type. If you're paranoid, just look on the box (or on the internet web page advertising the card) and it will tell you if it works with windows. It almost certainly will.

[Abcdefg]

Check your phone line into the modem first. It could have been pulled loose.
Pull it out of the modem and plug it directly into the phone, just to be very certain. Assume nothing.

[kylaka]

PCI = Periperal Component Interconnect buss. I've got an ISA Lucent Winmodem which I removed from an HP 6835 computer when I installed a DSL modem. You are welcome to it, FREE plus shipping. I'm quite certain it's an exact swap. The software drivers are probably the same.

[July 4th]

I bet that changes. They are trying to do away with floppy drives and the serial ports might be next, in favor of USB.

Some of the newest motherboards out now have done away with the serial port. I wish the floppy would have died along with it, in favor of a better format, but it looks like the FDD will stay around longer than the serial port.

Oh well...for those of use with serial peripherals (like an LCD display or something), there are serial to USB adaptors.

[rs79bm]

That should get you back in business. However, you wouldn't be able to download the drivers from the internet unless your modem was installed properly first, so make sure you get a modem with the software included. If your modem has stopped dialing, it is probably dead. Get yourself a fairly decent PCI modem and you should be all set.