Disappearing Com ports

I installed WINXP fax services on my laptop and when it got hung up sending and I couldn't get it to work, I gave up and uninstalled it. Subsequently, my dial out programs wouldn't work (they would dial but get no dial tone or response) and when I checked the device manager, there were no COM ports listed. I tried making Windows reinstall them as PnP but that didn't work and when I installed a port manually, it said the port was not functioning (the yellow dot in Device Manager).

Does anyone have any suggestions how I can get my ports back so I can use the internal modem?

thanks.

 

May not work but the first thing I'd try is deleting them again then boot and get into the BIOS settings and disable them.

When you boot back up, let the OS install them for you.

 

You could also check this thread!

 

Thanks for everyone's help. I installed an updated modem driver which got the modem working again (whacking self on head - I shoulda tried that earlier).

The com ports are still not listed but since that's not a pressing issue now, it goes to the back of the line.

cheers,