Modem trouble
 

Once again I am having modem trouble.

A while ago I bought a PCI modem that was marked in big letters "Compatible with Linux - Hardware Modem." Before I reformatted and started over with Linux, that modem was working. With that said...

I've run pppsetup, switched the modem to the correct COM4 /dev/ttyS3 port, I've even tried moving the pppsetup around to every different port there is. I have also deleted and recreated /dev/modem several times and tried that. In every case, when I run ppp-go as root I get the message "Connect Script Failed." I try it in KPPP and I get "Modem Busy" or, sometimes, I get "Modem Ready," but it sits there forever waiting for an OK. I got a serial US Robotics modem for free and I decided to give that one a shot. Once again, like the other modem, this modem works fine under Windows and I figured out the COM port in windows and ran pppsetup yet again. Still, ppp-go gives me "Connect Script Failed" and kppp gives me various errors. What am I doing wrong this time? I know that the PCI modem worked under Linux before without doing anything special... my kernel might be a little different now but I can't think of anything that would be causing the problem. Any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
JMagi

You might track down the Hayes command string that is being used to initialize the modem and make the connection. Maybe there is a bug in the Hayes command string.

I left the default command string for initialization as is. I don't think this is a problem with the PCI modem at least because I got it to work before with all the same settings (pppsetup defaults). As for the new modem, it is a relatively new US Robotics serial modem and I don't think it uses a non-standard initialization string. Is there any reason why the pppsetup defaults would not work?

-JMagi

"my kernel might be a little different now"

If you have compiled your own kernel you should check make xconfig to be sure that ppp is configured correctly in the kernel.

I've done that, lsmod shows the module as being installed and set up properly. Before when the module wasn't working properly ppp-go wouldn't work at all (it gave me an error about ppp not being in the kernel, now it gives me "connect script failed"). Any other ideas?

-JMagi

You could use minicom to check how the modem responds on a command by command basis and walk the modem through your ISP sign on.

I have been working through a very simillar problem here. What has worked for me is to uncomment the /sbin/modprobe ppp_generic line in /etc/rc.d/rc.modules.
Hope this helps, it may not be the "right" way but it worked for me.

I believe I've done that since lsmod shows that all the modules (including ppp_generic) are installed. Thanks for the info though, I'll go make sure this is the case just in case. I'll try that minicom thing too, but I'm not quite sure how to use it.

-JMagi

Here's a HOWTO on diagnosing with minicom.

http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Modem-HOWTO-11.html

It would help if you could find your Hays command strings and try them out through minicom.

Agree that minicom will help check your hardware. I'd also check the /etc/ppp/files(???secrets,etc)for typos. Can't believe I'm offering help since I'm barely able to get this thing working at all. Frustrating isn't it? I wish I could find a good book specific to slackware.

I have played around with minicom but I can't figure out exactly what I am trying to do with it. I'll read that tutorial and see if I can find my command strings.

-JMagi

Going back to the init string, why don't you try ATZ. Its not most elegant but it works for most modems under most circumstances.

You know that something issued by both the kppp program and ppp-go is failing.

What I would do is find the Hayes command strings being issued by either kppp or ppp-go and issue those command strings through minicom step by step until something failed.

Ok, I looked at that site and tried out minicom. I don't think I understand the program... can someone explain exactly what I need to do? I typed 'minicom -s' and set up all the information, saved it as default, then went into the program. It initialized the modem, then brought me to the default screen. However, it would not let me type anything on that screen. All I can do is bring up the ^A commands, but if I type anything on the main screen it doesn't show up. I quit and typed minicom and immediately hit AT and enter but again nothing showed up on the screen. The only way I was able to type was when I went into the first option on the ^A Z screen (I forget what it is) and then quit out of it. Then I was able to type on the main screen, but AT still didn't get an OK or any response. It seems like I should be able to type just when I go into the program without doing anything special. What am I doing wrong?

Also, when I read the /etc/ppp/options file, there are two lines near the bottom that say PPP has not been configured into the kernel. However, all the ppp .o files are there, ppp-go works (it doesn't give me the error that ppp isn't in the kernel), and lsmod shows me ppp_generic and ppp_async as being installed and running. insmod ppp_generic tell me that it is already installed and running. I assume this is just some error left over from when it wasn't installed, but is there anyway ppp isn't installed even though lsmod shows ppp_generic?

Thanks again,
JMagi

Looking more and more like a hardware conflict or setup problem. I was able to duplicate your minicom experience (no response to typed characters) by configuring mincom to the wrong port. On my box I had to disable on board comm2 in BIOS to get my internal modem to work as ttyS01. Are you sure minicom, ppp,kpp is looking for the correct port via /dev/modem or otherwise? ls -l /dev/modem will show the linking.
From what you say it looks like ppp module is running ok. I also have the "cant find ppp" message in ppp files as a leftover from when ppp module was not installed.
I wish linux had "device manager" utility to look for IRQ conflicts, etc. Or maybe it is avaiable somewhere?