Got my broadband

[don't ask]

the modem (Speedtouch 330) seems to be playing at silly beggars.

When I switch on the PC the modem doesn't load - its systray icon says 'no device was found'.

After a frustrating weekend and loads of uninstall and reinstall of the drivers etc. - hubby found that in Device Manager it seems to be listed under USB controllers as an 'unknown device' - when you look in its properties it says the device has been disabled and I have click the button to enable it and restart the computer - all is fine and it shows in Device Manager as Speedtouch USB modem and I can surf to my hearts content - but the next time I want to put the computer on (yes I switch it off after a session and put it on again when I want to use the machine) then the blessed modem is shown again in the systray as 'no device was found'.

It is a bit of a nuisance and fraying my fragile temper somewhat!

Actually - our son has the same modem and ISP (Virgin) and he gets the same thing. Virgin's blurb says that when you install the modem you get a pretty Virgin Broadband icon on the desktop - neither of us have a Virgin icon.

Do you think we should moan at Virgin about the Speedtouch modem that keeps getting lost?

[-pops-]

Did Virgin supply the modem (and software)?

Do you have the Virgin Internet setup disc?

When I first went on to BT BB I was supplied with a disc with the modem (an Alcatel frog) drivers and the BT BB program which got me on to all the BT facilities. I do it differently now but that is by the bye.

The important thing was that the modem drivers had to be installed EXACTLY according to the instructions given. ANY deviation at all from the written word resulted in a faulty installation similar to that you are experiencing. I can't remember the details of the procedure, as I said, things are different now but, I was thinking that I knew how to install USB devices and did it my way when the correct way was slightly but distinctly different.

I go round it by doing a system restore to before I had BB and started afresh and it worked first time.

Now, I'm not saying categorically this is the problem you're experiencing but, it's worth a thought.

[rong]

Silly Question, but have you tryed changing to another USB port.

[Wilt]

Did you plug the modem in before installing the drivers?

[don't ask]

Modem applied for via a link from Virgin when Broadband applied for (the dsl shop I believe it is called) - Virgin refer to it as a starter kit . No Virgin software supplied.

Modem installed exactly as directed (several times!!).

I have tried all my 4 USB ports several times.

I find it strange that son is experiencing the very same but he tends to leave his PC on most of the time so doesn't do so many shutdowns and powering up as me, so doesn't face the prob so much.

I am on WIN98SE and son is on XP.

[r4may]

This may help :blink:

I have a Speedtouch 330 modem, and have successfully installed it on both XP & Win 98SE. ( but not virgin) Using the original Speedtouch software that came with the modem

The Speedtouch software MUST be installed before connecting the modem. Then connect the USB modem and it say that new hardware has been found, then ask if to install. Reply yes and you should then see the Modem icon on your desktop and a status reporter in the taskbar.

this may work for you, best of luck.

[Chris]

Chipset on the motherboard is?

[-pops-]

If there was no Virgin software then that is most likely why there is no virgin icon on the desktop or any of their facilities loaded in the computer.

Don't forget, as r4may and Wilt agree with me, ensure that you follow installation instructions EXACTLY and don't deviate one jot from that. Remove failed installs before attempting to install again either by a system Restore or via Add/Remove Programs.

[djohn]

I have the speedtouch 330 and it works fine through the USB port on the rear of the PC even though there are three other USB hardware devices plugged in at the same time.

USB modems can be fussy though and they sometimes play up if sharing with other hardware as they require the full 500 milliamp that the port can provide. Do you have any other USB hardware connected through the same port? If yes, then remove these for a while and see if it works OK .

Have another look in device manager and scroll down to "Universal Serial Bus controllers" click on the + sign to expand then right click on each of the "USB Root hubs" in turn, select properties then power management tab. If there is a tick in the box "Allow the Computer to turn this device off to save power". Remove the tick.

Give this a try and let us know how you get on. :)

[don't ask]

Thanks folks.

Powerless - Chipset is SIS 735.

Djohn - Don't see a box saying 'allow the computer to turn this device off to save power' - will I see that with Win98SE?.

Off to have conference with hubby - back tomorrow.

Mind you - when I powered up to see if any replies on this forum - the blasted thing behaved itself. I'll see what it does to me in the morning.

Thanks and night night all.

[scuzzman]

Not knowing much about the speedtouch this may be a dumb question: but does it have an ethernet interface? If so - install a nic in the computer and try that. If not, borrow/buy one that does and install a nic.

There is a very well known conflict between Win9x and USB modems of any sort...

[don't ask]

OK - this morning when I powered up the machine said there was no device again. I thought I'd try my trick of going into Device Manager and the properties of the unknown device and ask it to enable the device - only to find that there was suddenly no option to enable the device.

When hubby came home we uninstalled the modem, powered off, powered on again, shut down everything in the systray except for 'explorer' and 'systray' and reinstalled the stuff yet again.

I am online again meantime - will see what happens in the morning when the machine has been off overnight.

When I hover the cursor over the modem's systray icon it says 'PPP disconnected'. What is PPP please?

Maybe (as Scuzzman says) there is a conflict issue between Win98SE and USB modems (but my son with similar problem is on XP). Maybe it is a chipset issue!

Regards

browned-off of East Anglia

[djohn]

PPP is Point to Point Protocol. The fact you are seeing this message will explain why your losing your connection. The only information I can find so far is that your modem/ISP settings are not installed correctly.

Sorry I can't be more specific but will keep looking and maybe one of the other forum members will know the answer. :(

[Tankus]

up to date frog drivers here ...its the top one ..... Ive got this modem as well ...and it got a bit funky with connections on my XP lappy ....no probs since the update ...logs in really quick to.......!

[don't ask]

The modem wouldn't load this morning again - I uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers (after closing all programs and unplugging modem). Restarted machine. Still didn't load. Powered off and on again - it went through its paces and let me go online.

Updated drivers as Tankus suggested. Now Device Manager shows the modem as 'Other Device'. System Tray Icon still saying PPP disconnected.

I will probably phone Virgin later.

[-pops-]

Have you tried removing all traces of earlier installs before re-installing?

What about Virgin software? There must be some somewhere to be able to get any Virgin icon on the desktop, no?

[djohn]

This is how it shows in my device manager. I'm on XP Pro but I think it should be the same for you?

[don't ask]

"This is how it shows in my device manager. I'm on XP Pro but I

think it should be the same for you? "

Yes Djohn - when I manage to get up and running that is what sometimes shows - this morning it showed as an Unknown Device with a yellow question mark as an item on the main list - other times it is listed under USB Controllers as an Unknown Device.

-pops- every day (sometimes twice or more) I am using the Uninstall provided on the disk provided - restarting machine - removing everything except systray and explorer from Ctrl/Alt/Del box and loading afresh from the disk. It works when installed from new, but when I power down and start machine up later in the day the computer tells me there is no device (the icons are in the system tray 'tho).

The only thing in common with the new installations is that when I do get it running the message that shows when I hover on its icon is 'PPP disconnected'.

Got to pop out and post a snail mail letter.

[-pops-]

Don't know how relevant these are but I've found the FAQ for the modem. There may be something in there that gives a clue as to what's going on. Although I didn't see anything directly connected with it myself, there was mention of PPP.

Have a gander http://www.speedtouch.com/supfaq330R3.htm and/or http://www.speedtouch.com/supfaq330R2.htm

[don't ask]

Thanks -pops- I had a quick look - will delve in deeper later.

Oh dear - don't want to buy new gear to make the modem happy! :o

[djohn]

When you first install the modem and have it working. bring up device manager as in my screen shot above. Scroll down to USB modem and click on the plus sign to expand, it should now show the actual modem, again as in my screenshot.

Right click on the modem, choose properties from there and see if a power management tab appears, if so remove the tick from "Allow the computer........" I know you have already tried this but may have been looking in the wrong place or trying while the actual make/model of modem was not showing. :(

Your son is using XP and it will show in his device manager so you could ask him to try the same. If it cures his problem then we might be getting somewhere. Don't lose heart though, we will find the problem and the fix. :)

[don't ask]

Ta Djohn - when I go into Device Manager and click for properties on the actual modem I only get a box that says the modem is working (under the General Tab) and the other Tab is for Drivers where there are two buttons - one to give driver details, the other to update the drivers.

Will try and get hold of son later (when he returns my hoover!),

Thanks for the moral support - I need some today!

[Tankus]

When I unzipped the update and ran it ...it automatically removed the previous drivers ... I did'nt even bother unplugging it either ..... on reboot ...it just found it and I logged on straight away ......

[don't ask]

Gave it one more chance - decided to unplug USB printer and leave it like that and see what happened when I powered on this morning.

No modem loaded - restarted - no modem loaded - tried applying a downloaded update driver and restarted - no change.

Uninstalled software and restarted - this time it found new hardware and went through installation process from the disk and asked me to restart - it hung. Hit restart button - modem working wih usual PPP disconnected.

Hubby phoned Virgin last night - they have no suggestions at all to offer - other than saying if we phone the DSL Shop they will gladly exchange the modem. He also told them our son in the same position to which they said nothing.

I have had enough :wallbash: - I will try swapping the modem - if that doesn't do anything I'll consider going back to dialup.

[-pops-]

Does your machine have an ethernet connection?

I changed over my BB connection to ethernet from USB some time ago now. It's far better. Perhaps a little more fiddly to set up (but nothing like the messing about you have been doing) and there is nothing further to do. As soon as your computer is booted up the Internet connection is there waiting for your instructions.