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dbfruth
01-09-2003, 12:09 AM
I am posting this for the benefit of others due to the fact that when I was researching this problem on LNO and Google all I was able to find was more people with the same problem and no answers . So here goes...

I recently bought a Intel modem for my computer off of ebay to use as a backup means of connecting to the net in the event that our cable modem should go down. The seller advertised the modem as a hardware modem but after receiving it I realized that what I had bought was a controlerless HSP modem with intel hardware and Linux drivers. Not exactly what I expected but for $9.45 I wasn't going to waste my time complaining about it, I have better things to do! I figure this would be a good chance to learn something new about Linux, so I was determined to make this thing work.

The install went off without a hitch, the installer script installed the drivers modified the startup scripts and inserted the modules. The next step was to check if the device file was set up and linked to /dev/modem. So far so good. On to testing the modem. I opened KPPP, setup my internet account and proceeded to dial. It made all of the familiar sounds then blew up and gave me a message that pppd has unexpectedly quit. WTF! I figure a quick search of LNO and Google will turn up the answer to my problem. Well no such luck so I was forced to figure it out on my own. After extensive searching and reading the man pages I found that I had to edit the "/etc/ppp/options" file and uncomment noauth. If you have and existing ethernet connection such as I do KPPP may attempt to request the server to authenticate, needless to say most servers will not do this and terminate the connection. Uncommenting the noauth option prevents this from happening and allows you to connect.

My next problem was that after I connected I still could not browse the web. I figured that this was because Linux was attempting to use the ethernet connection instead of the PPP connection. To remedy this I simply ran "ifconfig eth0 down" as root and killed the LAN connection then redialed my isp. To bring the NIC back up when I was finished I could have just rebooted but to avoid that and keep my uptime I ran "ifconfig eth0 up" as root and then "/sbin/dhcpcd" to restore the internet connection.

I am using Slackware 8.1 so your files may be in different locations.

dbfruth
01-09-2003, 06:22 PM
I forgot to add that you need to make sure that the following modules are loaded

ppp_generic
ppp_async
slhc

Billjr
01-15-2003, 07:23 AM
Dbfruth,
How about giving me a step by step in plain english how to install the drivers for a win-modem. I can't get mine installed. When I say step by step I mean from: after Linux boots you.....
The drivers are on a floppy. I'm running RH8.0 or it's running me.
Also I don't know how to do some simple things like open a terminal from within the opened page from the floppy. Any help is appreciated.

dbfruth
01-15-2003, 08:39 AM
what kind of modem do you have? What brand name and numbers does the chip on the modem say?

Billjr
01-15-2003, 05:53 PM
It's a Zoltrix HSP 56K micromodem. It is listed on the Linmodem
site and thats where I got the driver [module]. Here is the address: http://www.idir.net/~gromitkc/pci_list.html
If you go there, my modem is listed about 3/4 of the way down the list. It has a Pctel chip but I don't no the serial or model numbers. The modem list has yellow tags to the left end of the info line, of the Linmodems. Mine is a known Linmodem as per the yellow tag. I downloaded the driver from that line. Then as per instructions I did below:
mknod /dev/ttyS15 c 62 79
chgrp uucp /dev/ttyS15
chmod 666 /dev/ttyS15
ln _s /dev/ttyS15 /dev/modem
After this I had an icon in my Home folder that looks like a chip from the motherbrd. It says ttyS15 0bytes and has a green arrow curling up, above it. Is that where the driver is supposed to go ? If so how do I get it there? Thanks again.