Display degraded by modem removal

[My OS is Windows 98 First Edition.]

I recently took out my old LT Winmodem (which was put into my June 1999-built PC by the computer maker) and replaced it with a used, eBay-won USR internal hardware type modem. The removal of the old modem caused my display quality to degrade rather badly. [The new old USR modem works just fine.]

I went to Control Panel | Display | Settings and tried to change from the current poor-graphics-quality "16 colors" to what I believe I enjoyed before the modem removal: either "256 colors" or "High Color (16 bit) "-- I can't recall which one it was. But the change didn't take-- I still get the bad quality display set at "16 colors ".

How is this fixed? [I know I had this problem some years ago and fixed it. But I don't remember what the fix was or involved then.]

I hope someone can help get me back to great graphics/image quality.

[My OS is Windows 98 First Edition.]

Stan

 

Hi Stan. I just performed the same operation only removed an on board HSP56K Micromodem and installed a USR External 56K Serial faxmodem with no problems. A couple of things to check:

Did you go into Device Manager and remove the LT Winmodem?
Did you check in Control Panel>Add/Remove programs for the Windmodem and uninstall anything found?
Check in the BIOS probably under "chipset features" and make sure the "On Board Modem" setting is set to "Disabled ".

When the above is done, reboot computer with the Winmodem removed.

Also suggest you uninstall the new modem and reinstall.

Another possibility is that your video card drivers were accidently removed. You may have to reinstall drivers for the card you have.

 

Stan,

Sounds like the video dsiplay adapter changed for some reason. Verify that the adapter is the correct one. If not, then change it to the correct display adapter.

George

 

Well I didn't check the BIOS (but might tomorrow or Saturday) but I did have to look for the latest drivers for my video card. I found them at Intel, installed them and got back my wonderful graphics and images. But perhaps because I had to unplug a pair of small diameter wires that ran from my old LT Winmodem (which I removed recently) to my Creative Sound Blaster Audio PCI 64V card, my sound card no longer works! I found this out when I tried to listen to a webcast today. I then tried to listen to any WAV file I had saved and the Windows Media Player says there's no sound card. So I went to Creative today and downloaded some large file which apparently will update my sound card. [Maybe the sound card no longer works just because I unplugged that pair of wires from the old Winmodem to the sound card-- I don't know. I know that the new old USR internal hardware-type modem I won on eBay cannot accept those little wires, but the former owner of the modem told me that if I don't want to use my computer as a phone answering machine, I really don't need the kind of modem that would run a pair of wires to a sound card.]

I might be able to fix the sound card tomorrow or on Saturday. I hope all goes well then.

Thanks for your help John. [I might be back if I don't get the sound card working properly again or if something else goes wrong!]


Stan

 

Stan,

The guy you bought the modem from is correct that you do not need those audio wires going from the modem to the sound card. Those wires are onyl for the answering machine function and why use a $1,000 PC for an answering machine. I never saw that function as viable.

As for your sound now messed up, I suspect you have more here than meets the eye.

1. Check to make sure the sound card did not come loose from its connector on the motherboard. You should not see much copper showing on the edge connector. You card should sit square in the connector and should not be cocked at one end.

2. Check Device Manager for a conflict (yellow exclamation point or question mark). Right click on My Computer, scroll to Properties, then choose the Device Mangler tab. Check for a conflict.

George

 

Creative Sound Blaster sound card not working

George, though I did take out the sound card (to examine the markings and labels on it) and then I put it back, the sound card *seems* firmly and squarely seated in its slot on the motherboard. And I don't see any yellow exclamation points or question marks in Device Manager.

While Windows labels my sound card "Creative Sound Blaster Audio PCI 64V ", I did take out the card and see that it says "Ensoniq" on it. [One apparently important chip has a small, round green sticker on it but one's still able to see "Creative" on that chip. No other markings or stickers on the card match anything found at the Creative card identifier webpage. I don't know if Creative has any updates/upgrades for my card. Today I sent Creative an email message and hope they can help me get things working again.]
Yesterday and again today I used the hardware drivers CD <that came with my computer (built in May '99)> to re-install the drivers for my sound card. But this didn't help--> something is still wrong.

When I want to listen to a webcast, or play a MIDI or WAV file I've saved, I get this:
"MPlayer2 (Windows Media Player version 6.4.07.1124) has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. MPLayer2 caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll at 015f:bff9dba7." [Same message when I use Real Player.]
At this same time, the following message appears: "Windows Media Player error: Can't play back the audio stream: no audio hardware is available, or the hardware is not responding. Error=80040256. "

Any thoughts or ideas for me? [My computer maker went out of business in 2000 or 2001. Therefore, no support from a now non-existent computer maker.]


Thanks,

Stan

 

I just did a search (using "no audio hardware available ") at the Creative website. The following turned up and it sounds as if it would be good for me to try this too:

" http://forums.creative.com/creative...aster&message.id=12808&query.id=389504#M12808

I removed all (sound) drivers and hardware from the Device Manager.
Removed the card out of the PC, rebooted & shut down again.
Re-installed the card but in a different PCI slot, and let Win XP find it.
Installed the driver SBPCI_WebDrvsV5_12_01.exe & rebooted again.

We have sound again! "


I'll try the above steps perhaps later or tomorrow.


Stan

 

What I found and wrote above didn't work for me: I still have the invalid page fault in Kernel32.dll when I want to play any sound file or when I want to listen to a webcast. This fix is trickier than I suspected. I suppose I'll have to read a lot at the Creative website. I found good info there which applies to a sound card similar to mine, so I hope the procedure works for me.

Stan

 

Well Let me see if I get things in the correct order so I cna mybe come up with some ideas from previous problems of my own.

We are in 98FE.

A Modem was removed. Was the removed Modem a built-in, ISA slot or PCI. Being that the machies was in'99 I am guessing a PCI.

The modem was removed. And another installed. ( PCI I presumme )

Then we had a Video Problem. And no Sound.

Yes it does but WHY ?

Somewhere in the list I see a Kernel32.dll error. That I believe is a Windows system file.

I will not bother about Media PLayer right now because it won't work without a properly setup sound card.

I will gamble here and say that we very possibly have the good old fashioned IRQ problem.

It is possible that the old Sound/Modem system was set to use certain IRQs and won't change ?

But if they were all removed form the DM it should pick up the new I believe.

AWWW !! StanP

What may be just a thought .

When you removed the old stuff from the DM did you just warm restart or shut down the machine ( power off ) and restart ? Sometimes these DM changes will not take effect without a power down restart.

BillyBob

 

If your FE means "First Edition ", yes, we're in Win98 First Edition (what Microsoft calls "Standard Edition ").

Yes, it was an internal LT Winmodem, a PCI type modem card.

I installed an internal, USR (US Robotics) hardware-type, *ISA* card modem.

Yes, but I corrected the video/display problem soon after the display had been degraded. I have my fine, high quality display again, for some days now.

I didn't follow instructions for removal of the old internal LT modem. I did some step out of a certain order that should have been used. The result was the display being affected, and, according to the Creative Sound Blaster (sound card) website, the sound card doesn't work sometimes when some piece of hardware is removed.

Well until today the sound card and the USB port were on the same IRQ, 10 as I recall. But I put the sound card in another PCI slot and, according to instructions from the Creative website, I looked for and deleted today specified files that were put on my system by re-installation of my Creative sound card a few days ago. Now when I look <in DM> at my IRQs, I see that the sound card has an IRQ by itself, IRQ 3-- it's no longer sharing with the USB port (which I've never ever used in this computer).

I don't recall what I did exactly when I removed the old internal LT Winmodem. I'm sure I didn't follow instructions for modem settings removal. I think I just turned off the computer, took out the internal LT modem, turned the computer back on, removed software settings in DM, etc., and then turned off the computer, installed the new modem and installed the driver for it. The new (actually old- it's an eBay-won USR modem) internal hardware type ISA slot modem works fine since installing it over 1 week ago but somehow the Creative sound card got upset by the presence of the USR internal, ISA modem and no longer works.
I'm about to download one or more files from the Creative website. Creative says that these waveset files -- the ones I'll be downloading along with other software -- are needed for one of their sound cards to work. I don't know if installing all those Creative files will make my sound card work and will get rid of the "invalid page fault in Kernel32.dll" problem, but I hope so.


Stan

 

COPY CAT

And you are SO RIGHT. One missed or out of place step can make a bad day out of a good one.

But I will give you !00% credit for a least admiting that you may have made an error. Which BTW IS VERY EASY to do And the more stuff we have in these contrapcions the easier it is to do. And it is very easy to say " I Thought I did that. "

I wish you good luck in getting your Audio back.

And you are getting the BEST experience possible HANDS ON

We can read books. Do something several times.But when something goes wrong THAT is when we learn.

As to the Kernel32.dll problem HELP !!! I have only had it pop up a couple of times but a Windows restart made it go away.

BillyBob