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Upgrade 101-7 - Sound and POTS modem cards

Copyright © Myles White, 1999

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Preparation and Precautions (READ THIS FIRST)

• Introduction
• Before you go shopping
• Shopping
• Before you install
• Plug 'n' Play?
• Installing
• Audio controller troubleshooting
• Modem troubleshooting
• Resolving hardware conflicts
• Questions

In part seven of our 10-part series on upgrading we're going to install sound and internal modem expansion cards in your PC. Installation is a level 2 task (you have to open the case), requiring only a screwdriver and possibly long tweezers or needle-nosed pliers to pick up the odd dropped screw. Troubleshooting and resolving conflicts may be a little harder.

If all you do with your system is a little word processing, a bit of Internet surfing, or even listening to the odd audio CD while you work, then the sound controller that came with it should be perfectly adequate for you. None of the sounds you hear through the device is going to place a heavy load on the controller's digital circuitry.

I've used the word "controller" because the portion of your PC that's creating sounds may be on a separate circuit board in one of your system's expansion slots, or it may be embedded in the system's motherboard. If you bought a low-end system based on the Cyrix/IBM MediaGX processor, it's on a separate companion module and it isn't upgradeable (sorry).

Likewise, if your computer's audio controller is part of its motherboard, even if you have empty expansion slots to accommodate a replacement, you can only upgrade if there are specific instructions in the motherboard manual explaining how to disable it. Even with Windows 98, which allows you to use multiple graphics controllers, you can't have more than one audio controller operating at the same time.

For internal POTS (plain old telephone service) modems the same rules apply. One modem at a time; if there's one already embedded in the motherboard, you'll need to find out how to turn it off. If you already have a "56K" POTS modem, there's no point thinking about another POTS modem upgrade (there are no faster devices of this class). Switching up to either high-speed "xDSL" access or to a cable modem is a different matter (and we'll be discussing these options in more depth when we discuss home networking next week).

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Before you go shopping

Re-read our preparation and precaution article originally published September 23. Once you've done that, open the computer's case and have a look at your motherboard.

Identify the expansion slots. If you have an older 486-based system, your motherboard may have nothing but brown, 16-bit, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) expansion slots (or some variations called VESA local bus or Extended ISA or EISA slots). If it's a slightly newer Pentium or Pentium MMX, it will have a mixture of mostly ISA and a few white, 64-bit, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slots. If it's a relatively new Celeron, Pentium II or Pentium III system, it may have primarily PCI slots and very a few ISA slots. If you bought it last week, it may have no ISA slots at all (like the IBM Aptiva S 650 with the Athlon processor I'm currently testing).

We're doing two things here: identifying which type of slot(s) you have free (don't forget to add the one where your current audio card or modem is located) and noting that ISA slots are on their way out. It is getting increasingly hard to find new expansion cards using ISA slots. Eventually, they'll be gone from the market entirely. If you must seek out an ISA version of a product, however, try at least to get one that offers "Plug 'n' Play" installation (more below).

Have a look at your present audio controller. Does it have wires running from the card to your CD-ROM drive and/or from your motherboard? If you don't have the audio controller's original manual or if it doesn't explain these wires, plan to take them with you to the store so you can show them to the vendor. At the very least, you want to come home with a CD-ROM connection that has the right plug on the CD-ROM end and one that is compatible with your new sound card on the other end (they're not all the same).

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Shopping

Over the past few months in my Computer Wares columns, I've tackled both sound controllers and modems, so to save some space, I'm not going to get very detailed about options and brands here. I'm going to assume that you will do your own research into the type of sound card that best suits your interests. You will make different choices depending on whether you're heavily into gaming or MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) music.

Likewise, I'll merely repeat that when you're shopping for a new POTS modem and you decide to go with a PCI-based model, you get two choices. Traditionally, modems came with hardware components on board to handle data compression, error correction, and other background services. However, PCI-based modems called "hardwareless" modems, "soft" modems, or more popularly, "WinModems." are less expensive because this hardware is no longer present. The services are provided through software drivers and rely on your computer's processor to do the work. They may not give you great service if you have a slow processor (under 300 MHz) and they do not work unless you're running Windows 9x (95 or 98).

In a general sense, when two or more products appear to be similar, you'll choose the one with the best technical support - a company that not only has telephone-based support, but also has a site on the Internet where you can get updated software drivers and ask questions.

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Installation prep

Before you remove or disable your old audio controller or modem, read the manual that will come with your new one to see if it wants you to install - and/or remove - any software drivers before or after you install the device. Leave your present device in place for the time being.

If your new component is an ISA-based card, and even if it was advertised as a "Plug 'n' Play" device, the manual will tell you whether its P'n'P status is the default or whether you have to make any changes to the device to tell it what you want. If it is a P'n'P device, that's good. If it isn't a P'n'P device, you'll have to do some investigation of your system to collect information you'll need.

Under Windows 9x, either right-click on the "My Computer" icon, then select Properties from the context menu, or open Control Panel from the Start Menu/Settings, then click on the System applet.

Once the System Properties dialogue box is open, click on the Device Manager tab. You'll see a list of installed device types. Click on the plus symbol beside the listing to view what's under each main heading. If you're replacing a sound card, it's listed under "Sound, video and game controllers." Modems are listed under "Modem."

Find the appropriate device, then select it by right-clicking its name. Choose Properties from the context menu. Click on the Resources tab. If you're looking at an audio controller, you should see listings for Interrupt Request (IRQ), Direct Memory Access (DMA), and Input/Output (I/O) range. There will only be one IRQ assignment (usually IRQ5), but there may be more than one DMA channel and I/O range listed. Write it all down and put it somewhere safe.

When you look at your current modem settings under Connection, simply note which communications (COM) port the modem is using.

There's just one other thing to do while we're in Device Manager. Go back up to the top of the list to find "Computer." Again, select it by right-clicking, then choose Properties. Here you get a quite different dialogue that allows you to view at a glance all of the IRQ, DMA and I/O assignments currently in your system. You don't change anything here, but it might not be a bad idea to take notes. The key to understanding these lists is that anything not shown is available.

For example, you'll see IRQ channels numbered 00 (zero zero) to 15. If a number in the sequence is missing, it's available. Typically, you'll find your existing audio controller is using IRQ 5, DMA 1 (and possibly 2 or 5), and one or more I/O ranges.

You won't see your modem listed per se, but the COM port it's using will be listed. COM1 and 3 use IRQ 4. COM2 and 4 use IRQ 3. Yes, you're right; having two COM ports sharing one IRQ can cause problems. See below.

If, by default, your new sound controller uses the same IRQ, DMA, and I/O range(s) as your present controller, that's great - these resources will be freed up when you remove/disable the old one. If your new modem uses the same COM port as your old one and your old one was working (albeit slowly), that's good, too.

It's when this new device doesn't, by default, use the same resources as the older one that we run the risk of conflicts and you get choices:

• change the device settings (if that's possible) so that its needs match what you have available;
• start juggling your existing resources (which may mean having to change other devices) so that the services your new one needs become available, or;
• give up on the whole thing, go back to the store, and get a Plug 'n' Play version and/or;
• beg the store to install your new device for you.

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Plug 'n' Play?

When Plug 'n' Play first came out of Intel's labs, it was often called Plug 'n' Pray. Early versions of Windows, plus some of the technical weirdness in the ISA expansion slot design, made its implementation "Hit 'n' Miss."

Introduction of PCI slots and later versions of Windows improved things a lot. Today, setting up a PCI Plug 'n' Play device is dead simple. Put it in the slot, attach any appropriate wires, power up the computer, then respond to Windows' prompts to install the appropriate software drivers. That's it. PCI devices can mostly share IRQs.

Installation

Prior to installing a sound card, if the manual for it suggests removing the old controller's software, follow the advice. Do not remove Windows system devices such as volume control.

Power the system down, open the case, then remove your old device or follow the motherboard manual instructions to disable an embedded device.

To remove an expansion card, dump static from your body by touching a grounded metal object, then undo the screw holding the backplate to the computer chassis.

Remove any external cables connected to the device (e.g., speaker cables, phone cables).

If this is a sound card, there will be an internal wire leading to your CD-ROM drive and possibly another leading to the motherboard. Disconnect them.

Rock the device board gently from end to end as you ease it out of its slot (lift the front, poke your finger through the slot at the back of the computer and gently pry up on the back plate).

Reverse the procedure to install your new device (don't forget to dump static again before taking it out of its package). If it's going back into the same slot the old one came out of, that's okay. Remember you may have to gently bend the bottom of the board's backplate to fit properly between the motherboard and the computer's chassis (see part 4, for pictures).

If this is a sound card, reconnect any wires leading to the CD-ROM drive and/or motherboard, as well as any external audio cables for speakers, line in, line out, etc.. If a modem, reconnect the phone line(s).

Don't button up the case yet, but do power the system up and, if you get all the way to Windows without it coming to a dead halt, follow any instructions in the manual and/or on-screen to install any appropriate software drivers.

If your device is Plug 'n' Play, Windows found it, you installed the appropriate drivers when prompted, and it works, that's great. If it doesn't work, keep reading.

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Troubleshooting audio controllers

The computer hangs or restarts during installation or there is no sound from anything

• there's a hardware device conflict (see below),
• you didn't take out your previous sound card or its software (do so)
• the new card isn't seated properly in its slot (power down and check it)
• a PCI bus mastering device is interfering with the new card (PCI devices only - temporarily disable your bus mastering devices until the problem goes away. If the culprit is your video controller, seek updated drivers or set Windows to VGA mode).
• software such as a mixer supplied with the audio card or the Windows volume control may be set to mute,
• you forgot to reconnect the speakers and/or to power them up
• it may be defective or the victim of a static zap. Contact the vendor.

There's no sound from CD-ROM

• see above, or the audio wires to the CD-ROM are either not connected, not connected firmly, or the wrong type (hint: connect headphones to the CD-ROM player - if you hear something the drive is not the problem)

There is no sound when you play games from DOS

• You may need both your motherboard manual and the sound card's manual to sort this one out, particularly if it's a PCI-based card. PCI slots have no direct access to IRQ or DMA channels in DOS. You're looking for either a hardwired connection to a set of pins on the motherboard known as an SB connector, or specific instructions on how to reserve the appropriate resources at the motherboard's BIOS level. Instructions and procedures will vary depending on the brand and model of motherboard and sound card.

The joystick port isn't working

• you have another joystick port in your system and there's a conflict. Disable one of them.
• the joystick drivers are missing. Consult the sound card manual for instructions.
• See resolving hardware conflicts below

You hear static in files using the sound controller's Wave Table (PCI devices).

• Try moving the card to a different PCI slot or see resolving hardware conflicts below.

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Troubleshooting internal modems

It simply doesn't appear to work,

• The modem may not be properly seated in its slot. Turn everything off, then adjust as necessary
• If nothing works, it may be defective or the victim of a static zap. Contact the vendor
• Was there a lightning storm recently, while the modem was running? You may have your computer's power supply plugged into a power conditioner that protects it from spikes and surges, but these can also travel through the phone line! Many power conditioners come with provision for grounding phone lines, but most inexpensive ones don't. Ask your vendor for a phone grounder. It's a small plug with two phone-jack sockets and a ground plug that fits into an ordinary A/C socket and will ground your line.

You're pretty sure the modem is working, but the communications software can't find it and/or your mouse isn't working any more

• If your mouse isn't working, there is definitely a COM port conflict with the modem and mouse trying to occupy either the same port, or one of the pairs of ports that use the same IRQ line.
• If you are using DOS, the mouse and modem are both trying to use the same COM port. Change one of them.
• If you are using Windows 3.1x, and both external serial ports are active, disable the second one, then set the modem to use COM2.
• If you are using Windows 9x, check the documentation that came with the modem, open Device Manager and check to see where the conflict is. In Windows Help, see the Telecommunications Troubleshooter and follow the instructions
• If a software application can't find the modem, it may be looking for it on the wrong COM port. Try to remember which one you used for the modem, then tell the software.

Windows 9x found the Plug 'n' Play modem, but installed it on COM5

• If this occurs, both the modem and your software will throw up their hands and give up
• The problem is a COM port conflict. 
  • Re-examine your system and the hardware settings on your modem to make sure your mouse and modem aren't trying to use the same COM port or matching pairs (i.e., 1 and 3 or 2 and 4). 
  • Once you get this problem sorted out, you'll need to remove the bogus COM5 assignment from Device Manager before you'll be able to successfully install the modem
    • To do so, right-click on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop and select Properties from the pop-up list of options. 
    • When the System Properties dialogue appears, click on the Device Manager tab. Find Modems on the list and click on the "+" symbol to the left. 
    • Select your modem. 
    • Click on the Remove button at the bottom of the dialogue box.

The communications software can find it, but you can't seem to get an outside line to dial out

• Silly thought, but did you connect it to a phone line? If so, disconnect the line from the modem and try accessing a dial tone through it with a regular telephone. These phone lines and the RJ-11 connectors on them can go south very easily.
• Modems generally have two places to plug in phone lines - one carries signals into and away from the modem; the other is a pass-through that allows you to have a telephone set on the same line. Check to make sure you've plugged the correct plug into the correct socket.

You can get an outside connection to dial someone, but then either the connection fails immediately, you get gibberish on the screen or something else unexpected occurs.

• If you have call waiting or any other cute telephone services on the same line you're using to communicate via modem, find the section in the software that allows you to issue the special dial codes to disable these services while on-line. They'll disrupt communications if invoked while you're online.
• Check the telecom software manual or your Windows 9x modem configuration to set the correct settings for your session, including parity, stop bits and data bits. 
  • The values for these settings must be the same at both ends of the line. 
  • You may need to consult the other party to find out what settings they're using.
• There may be a speed mismatch between your modem and the one at the other end. 
  • Modems are supposed to negotiate speed and fall back to a slower speed if required. If one of you has your modem locked, through settings in the software, to a higher speed than the other can accommodate, the result will be a failure to connect or gibberish on screen.
  • Even if both modems are capable of the same high speed, weather conditions and distance between them can cause problems requiring them to slow down in order to work properly.
  • Let yours float.
• If it's a long haul between you and your dial-up target, particularly if there's bad weather, you may not be able to connect at the modem's highest speed.

Your modem doesn't answer (or inappropriately does answer) the phone.

• You want someone to call your modem, but the phone isn't answered by it - or alternately, whenever the phone rings, the modem answers, your boss gets this annoying high-pitched electronic squeal in her ears and she threatens you with dire consequences (this is serious!).
• All modems have internal software codes that tell them to do things, such as what method to use to dial, whether or not to answer the phone and if so, after how many rings and so on. While many brands use a set of commands known generically as the "Hayes AT Command Set," there are still peculiarities from brand to brand that are proprietary. In any event, these options are set with the telecommunications software you're using. Sorry, but there are so many different software applications that can control the modem that you'll have to read each manual to find out how to change these settings so they work for you.

You have a "56K" modem, but you don't get data back at 56,000 bits per second; if you connect directly to a friend, the best you get is 33,600 bps.

• No one outside a lab gets the full 56K download speed. The average is 46Kbps.
• "56K" modems are asymmetric. They receive data at around 46Kbps to 48Kbps, but they only send it at 33.6Kbps. It requires a special modem, which neither you nor your friend has, to produce the higher speed (and only Internet Service Providers can afford them).

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Resolving hardware device conflicts

• Open Device Manager
  • Right-click the listing for the new controller, choose Properties, then the Resources tab.
  • Uncheck the Use automatic resources option.
  • Change "Settings based on" if alternate settings are available.
  • Determine the conflict by reviewing the "Conflicting device list."
  • Select the conflicting item in the "Resource settings" list
  • Click the Change Settings button
  • Use your mouse (assuming it's working) to select a new setting
• Select OK to close each of the properties windows, then restart your computer.
• Repeat this procedure until
  • the problem goes away
  • people in white coats come to take you away
  • you decide that maybe a PCI-based P'n'P sound card is a better idea.

Questions?

Send queries to troubleshooter@computerwriter.com and by fax to 416-425-4644. Components for this series have been provided by Grey-Tech Computers, Markham, Ontario www.greytech.com 

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Part 8, Home Networking