console resolution at boot up conflicts with modem?
 

I've been trying to get 1024x768 at boot up and for my consoles. Everything works fine, and the computer boots up fine. I log in but when I try to use the onboard modem by typing 'pon' there is some sort of error. The modem will actually start dialing, then at about half way through dialing it stops. Then there's a message from syslogd in the xterminal or console (it doesn't matter which) and then a whole lot of text scrolls down the screen. This text doesn't stop, the keyboard freezes, and the computer needs to be rebooted. Strangely the mouse keeps working. I cannot switch to a console, or, if I am in a console I cannot switch back. The following is my grub entry:

I use a conexent internal modem. The driver comes from a company called linuxant. The driver is in the form of a deb package, but of course I didn't get it using apt-get and linuxant isn't in my sources.list. Below is some of the error message that I could copy by hand or with the mouse:

This part streams down the screen and repeats itself over and over until I must restart the computer.

Does anybody else have one of these modems, or can anyone advise me on an easy way to solve a problem like this. I suppose I could just stay away from 1024x768 for the console. I don't know if it matters but I use the fglrx driver for my video card. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. :)

Use an external modem on a com port, say com 1 or com 2

These external modem can be had used for not much cost if you ebay shop or elsewise have access to surplus computer store and/or computer store.

Linux likes hardware modem, especially likes external modem on com port.

If your internal is a "Win" modem then these can difficulty to work with Linux.

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Alan.

Thanks for the quick reply. I neglected to mention this is a laptop. I don't think I have a com 1 or com 2. Also, the modem works with the linuxant software, just not if I pass 'vga=791' as a kernel parameter. Any other ideas?

/boot/grub/menu.lst

next snippet is from above file

title Debian GNU/Linux, kernel 2.6.18-5-686
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-5-686 root=/dev/sda2 ro vga=0x317
initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.18-5-686
savedefault

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Mine's a desktop. It didn't like the other form of vga=

(that's why the hex) in mine -- I guess it's hex that I'm using -- I do not know why it didn't like the digits form

Oh, I don't know much -- maybe it's not hex in mine. I *did* have to experiment with it for some time just in order to get frame buffer working like it does now for me. (default Etch for me was very huge terminal screen fonts without frame buffer). I now have near or do have 1024x768 frame buffer in terminal.

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Wierd that modem and frame buffer (have anything) to do with each other.

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3com or usrobotics pcmcia card modem ???

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I'd do the pcmcia card thing on my (old) IBM Thinkpad 600E laptop rather than to get its onboard modem working in Linux. But I don't need a modem so I've never fiddled with same on my laptop.

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Alan.

I don't know who makes the modem. The laptop is Dell, and the ordering info says the modem is integrated into the network card, which I can tell is Broadcom from lspci. BTW, I tried the 'vga=0x317' too, with the same result. It is hex. I kind-of like having the modem 'internal' and don't need 1024x768 on the consoles so badly, so I'll probably just do without the high resolution. I did read somewhere something about irq's though, and think they might be my problem. Which irq my console uses and which irq my modem uses, and how to change one of them, though, is beyond me. If anybody knows, that would be great.

It's also possible that you have a memory mapping conflict.
If it's irq's, try pci=biosirq or some other kernel parameters affecting interrupts.

What does one do about memory mapping conflicts. How does one even detect them? I tried 'pci=biosirq' and 'irqfixup' but neither one worked.

EDIT: I also tried 'irqpoll'. That didn't work either.