once-working modem refusing to re-install

I’m re-doing an XP Athlon 2100+, 256 mb 2100 DDR ram, 40 gig HD, putting XP Pro back on. Mobo = Amptron, it came with the MicroModem inserted on the board. When I first set up this machine, I went to the Amptron website, and downloaded the drivers for its VIA chipset, everything installed okay.

Now, on second try, the modem WILL NOT install "“ I’ve tried 10+ drivers now, including the motherboard specific drivers, and nothing seems to work. Oh, Reboot? are you listening?

This is one of those micro modems by PCtel = HSP56MR, CNR, v1.2. Now, I know that XP says it’s not compatible with this little modem, but many people have been able to get it to work with either XP or 2K drivers, and somehow I worked around it the first time I set up this machine, and the modem installed fine. With most of the drivers I’ve tried from Amptron, driverguide.com, and various PCtel driver sites -- it’s a file to be unzipped in a location that you can path the new hardware install to; a couple have been *.EXEs. And for those who will ask: Yes, I tried numerous times to update the driver in device manager, then deleted the modem from device manager and tried again numerous times with the new hardware announcement.

I keep getting error messages that it can’t find the pthsp.dat file "“ so I went and found it from the internet and put it in the directory, and the install continued until it couldn’t find the vpctcom.sy_ file, so I went and found it and install continued until it couldn’t find the ptserlv.sy_ file, and so on and so on. It seems to be looking for those files in the Windows\System\Driver Cache\i386 file, but I cannot get it to locate anything in there. I put the install disk back in the CDRom, and it couldn't seem to find what it was looking for in the multitude of folders and subfolders I tried on that disc.

I wondered if I overlooked some install files when I was loading XP, so I went back and installed additional components for "Simple TCP/IP Services." Still nothing.

Can anyone suggest where I might find the files that the install is looking for in the Windows Driver Cache? Or maybe explain what's going on? I don’t understand why this worked before, but not now "“ must have done something different in the XP Windows install?

Thanks for any help!

-maureen

 

Heh, I've seen this a time or two before. The problem is the files that end with the _ are compressed, and you need to actually run the .exe to decompress them, then it's supposed to install, make the necessary registry entries and so on.
I have had luck using various unzip/uncompress programs to get all the files in one place, and then boot to SAFE MODE, remove all com ports, and other extraneous stuff from device mangler.
Restart, and let things install. Once it's done the obligatory restart, open device mangler, see if you can find the actual modem (it may be in Other Devices) hit Properties, then the driver tab, and update driver. Now browse to the extracted files. It's only looking for one simple .inf file at first, which will point to the (possibly compressed) .dll and .sys files if they're needed.
If you've already run the odd .exe, odds are the files are on the system already, in the c:\windows\inf\other folder, as well as c:\windows\system32 (and it's sub folders (I know, there's a lot of them)).
It can be done, but I have also found out that purchasing a Lucent winmodem is usually better, cheaper, less headaches, and more hair still on my head, than trying to get the CNR working in XP.

 

Thanks, Reboot.

I tried everything you said, and still didn't work. Still wondering why some people have no trouble, even with 2k drivers.

Anyway, after another unproductive couple of hours fighting with it, I pulled another PCTel modem out of an old computer around here. This one was a full pci modem, and it installed with XP's own drivers, didn't even use the drivers I downloaded. Tested the modem out with a dialup, and worked fine.

Guess I'll have to save the little micro riser modems for 98 and Me machines... Anyway, thanks for your time and suggestions.

Hats off to all our firemen and policemen on this sad anniversary...

maureen