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From: "Mack Stevenson" <mackstevenson@hotmail.com>
To: stodolsk@rcn.com
Cc: discuss@linmodems.org
Bcc: 
Subject: Re: Persistent problem with MiniPCI Lucent winmodem in a Thinkpad T21
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 04:23:39 +0200
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Message-ID: <F202kvRdNuowy5WRSOi0000463f@hotmail.com>


Marvin,

Thanks for the reply.

I did was you told me (hard resetting the modem) without success. In my 15 
attempts to establish a connection, only 3 were successful...

The other stuff you mentioned are things I had already tried.

I will try installing the card on a windows laptop and go to IBM.

Thanks anyway.

Cheers,

Mack

>From: Marvin Stodolsky <stodolsk@rcn.com>
>To: Mack Stevenson <mackstevenson@hotmail.com>
>CC: discuss@linmodems.org
>Subject: Re: Persistent problem with MiniPCI Lucent winmodem in a Thinkpad 
>T21
>Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 20:36:07 -0500
>
>Mack
>
>RE:
>=======
>Inspite of all this - and perhaps only to drive me crazy! :-) -, the
>modem has always worked occasionally: perhaps 3 out of 10 times might be
>a correct statistic...
>=======
>shows your modem + ppp setup per se is OK.
>The failures indicate something sporadic is occurring.
>
>Suggestions:
>
>0) Use AT &F (hard reset) before other Init strings
>
>Simplify your System as much as possible by:
>$ ifconfig eth0 down
>$ rmmod ModuleNames
>$  /etc/init.d/pcmcia stop
>Stop as many running programs as you can
>Stop sound support
>Check /etc/cron/*  for any periodic actions, such as "rmmod -a"
>which might interfere with modem function.
>Then check if modem stability improves.  If so, judiciouly add functions
>back to identify onset of the conflict.
>
>2) If not already, upgrade your PPP to at least version 2.4
>
>3) Look through your /var/log/messages sections representing successes
>and failures and try to identify the differences.
>
>MarvS
>
>
> > Stevenson wrote:
> >
> > Dear list members,
> >
> > First, let me apologize for the length of this message. I only hope you
> > regard it as a testament to my effort in getting this piece of hardware
> > _working_! :-)
> >
> > I am running Slackware 8 with a 2.4.6 kernel installed. My laptop is a
> > Thinkpad T21 (2648-8AU) with a built-in MiniPCI "combo card" with a 
>Intel
> > NIC and a Xircom winmodem. At least three persons with the same computer 
>and
> > combo card, using 2.4.x kernels and the same driver, reported 
>successfully
> > using their winmodems under Linux when I asked for help in the
> > linux-thinkpad mailing-list a few months ago.
> >
> > I have successfully compiled the driver ltmodem-5.99b, without any
> > unresolved symbols. I installed it and created the /dev/ttyLT0 device 
>node
> > using the scripts provided in the package.
> >
> > I have since long made the script /etc/rc.d/rc.pcmcia unexecutable, so 
>that
> > I am sure that pcmcia-cs isn't causing any problems.
> >
> > I am used to run wvdial to handle the PPP connection to my ISP, so I
> > downloaded the latest version (1.42) and, after running
> >
> > # modprobe lt_serial
> >
> > , ran
> >
> > # wvdialconf /etc/wvdialconf
> >
> > . Before doing so, I created a symlink from /dev/ttyLT0 to /dev/ttyS14. 
>The
> > modem was detected correctly, and I filled in the correct details in the
> > wvdial configuration file.
> >
> > If I run 'wvdial', everything goes fine until the modem "handshake" (I 
>think
> > that is the correct name when referring to the "noisy" period after the
> > number has been dialed). Then, wvdial stops waiting for a carrier, and
> > outputs lots of garbage to the screen. In the middle of that garbage, 
>the
> > line
> >
> > Carrier detected. Waiting for login prompt...
> >
> > can be found. This line is followed by yet more garbage until I kill the
> > process with Ctrl-C.
> >
> > I have a PCMCIA modem, which, if I enable pcmcia-cs at boot time, can be
> > used by wvdial without any problems at all, using the same phone 
>line/socket
> > and ISP account. When I use that modem, no "garbage" is output and a
> > connection is successfully established. So I am pretty sure that this
> > problem hasn't got to do with either my ISP's login procedure or phone 
>line.
> > (I also tried appending "stupid mode=yes" in the wvdial configuration 
>file,
> > but this just results in pppd being started, and no IP address is given 
>to
> > my computer by the peer. After a while, the connection is dropped.)
> >
> > [I don't try to use the winmodem after having used the PCMCIA one - I 
>reboot
> > to make sure that the PCMCIA subsystem is completely "off".]
> >
> > Today I noticed that 'cat /proc/interrupts' showed, after wvdial had 
>dialed
> > the number and "handshaked", that the 'ltmodem' was sharing a PCI IRQ 
>with
> > the USB subsystem. So, hopeful that this might help, I changed the IRQ
> > settings in the laptop's BIOS, so that all four PCI interrupts used
> > different IRQs. After rebooting, 'cat /proc/interrupts' showed ltmodem 
>and
> > the USB subsystem using different IRQs, as I expected. Yet, the problem
> > persists.
> >
> > Inspite of all this - and perhaps only to drive me crazy! :-) -, the 
>modem
> > has always worked occasionally: perhaps 3 out of 10 times might be a 
>correct
> > statistic...
> >
> > This also happened with the same driver (and an older one, 5.78x) with a
> > 2.2.19 kernel on the same laptop, but it didn't bother me because I 
>could
> > always use the PCMCIA modem. Unfortunately, now I need the two PCMCIA
> > sockets for something else... :-(
> >
> > I have also tried running the modem with the driver for the built-in NIC
> > (eepro100) (a)compiled into the kernel, (b) as a loadable module and (c)
> > without having it compiled, at all; but this didn't change anything.
> >
> > Can any of the more knowledgeable ltmodem users offer any advice to this
> > desperate fellow-traveller?
> >
> > Thank you very much for any input on this issue.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Mack Stevenson
> > 
>_________________________________________________________________________
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>
>

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Last modified: Wed Jul 30 11:02:43 EDT 2003