-----Original Message-----
From: pavan bayyapu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sunday, July 09, 2000 9:55 AM
Subject: [expert] USB modem
>Hi folks,
>I have recently installed Linux Mandrake 7.1 on my
>system. My USB external modem is not getting installed
>and configured all by itself. I tried to query the
>modem thru kppp and it says that the modem is busy.
>Do I need to meddle with the Bios to get the modem
>working???
>Can someone help me in this regard.
>Thankyou
>Pavan
>My system's config is
>INtel Celeron with intel 810 chipset
>and the best data modem external usb modem is on com2.
>I chose to put the modem on com2 as it is on com2 in
>windows.
>
>
>
>=====
>pavan kumar bayyapu
>200 Oakcrest Drive, UPA #162
>Lafayette
>LA-70503
>
>Phone: 337-262-0283
>
>__________________________________________________
>Do You Yahoo!?
>Get Yahoo! Mail � Free email you can access from anywhere!
>http://mail.yahoo.com/
>
>
Read the box your modem came in--bet it says "Requires Windows
95 or 98, 166MHz or faster Pentium type processor" or words
to that effect.
I don't know if there are any true modems on the USB--just
modem-like devices driven by software (sometimes miscalled
winmodems) is all that I have seen sold.
Linux is likely _never_ to support this sort of modem, which
really isn't a modem. The issues are that some of the
software driving them is *patented* and *secret*. Binary-only
drivers, sitting in the core of the operating system, is a
great way to be unable to tell if your system will remain
*stable* or not. That is anathema to the linux community.
Example: The Personal Internet Appliance (PIA) sold at
www.planetpia.com is a cheap mobo with a PCTel software modem
(including a linux driver). I support three people who have
them.
All three have reported hard-lock crashes (and I teach them
program crash recovery first thing--how to kill a crashed
program without rebooting) and this off a well-cooled
moderately clocked mobo running Debian--the most conservative
of the major distros. I cannot tell for sure if it is the
modem code, but in most cases the crashes came from playing an
online game.
Civileme
