Author : West Date : 2/28/2001 Subject : Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hokay, folks. I posted my fix for Win 98 earlier, but I recently upgraded to Win2k, so I had to solve that problem also. This took me over 48 hours of testing & hundreds of reboots, & was extremely frustrating. I have seen all the blue screen problems, hangups, poor connections, etc., but as of now my modem works fine & I have been using it for hours at a time with no problems. ASUS, you really owe me for this one. I am reminded of the joke about the priests at the pearly gates who were comparing the number of converts they had recruited (substitute your religion here). One priest brags "Hundreds!", another says "Thousands!", but the third says "Only one.". I got the one. And no, I don't really want anything material, but a thank you would be nice. I tried to make the speakerphone work while testing this, and although I actually got all the drivers installed, it still didn't work. I am pretty confident that the hardware support is just not there. Just give it up; using a notebook as a speakerphone is a pretty silly idea anyhow. The mike sucks. I have tried combinations of all the possible drivers out there, and the only one that works for my L8400B is the released 8baudw2k set, available on the ASUS web site. I had no luck at all with the WDM_8810 set which I think I found at windrivers.com (or I got it from the Aureal site when it was still there). Here's how to hack the 8baudw2k diver set & make it work: Use the recomended ASUS installation notes (I will include them here for completeness) AFTER you follow the instructions below. The drivers that come with win2K work for the sound card, but not for the modem - when I tried to use the modem, I got an immediate BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death). (For those of us who remember, the BSOD used to be the BLACK Screen Of Death, back when is was Novell ODI, not Microsoft NDIS, but who really cares?). 1. Decompress the 8baudw2k.exe file package from ASUS. 2. Edit the ADMMULTMODEM.INF file, which comes in the distribution package, as follows: a. In the [ASPEN_PARENT_DEVICE_8810.mf.Services] section, add the following line (you can copy it from the 8820 section just below & edit it to say 8810): AddService = FilterService,,Filter_Service_Inst8810 b. Find the [AspenParent_8810.mf.RegHW] section, and add the following line: HKR,,"LowerFilters",0x00010000,"FilterService" Now this section should look just like the 8820 & 30 sections, except for the name. c. Add the following line below the [ASPEN_PARENT_DEVICE_8810.mf.CopyList] section: admfilter8810.sys So, it should look like this: [ASPEN_PARENT_DEVICE_8810.mf.CopyList] admfilter8810.sys d. Find the [Filter_Service_Inst8820] section, and copy the entire section & paste above (or below, it doesn't matter), and then rename it to [Filter_Service_Inst8810]. Then change this line in the same section: ErrorControl = 0 ;%SERVICE_ERROR_IGNORE% to look like this: ErrorControl = 1 ;%SERVICE_ERROR_IGNORE% In other words, change the value from 0 to 1. 3. Edit the WDMA_aurl.inf file as follows: In the [WIN2K_8810.AddReg] section. change the line HKLM,%8810_HWKEY%,"Win2K",0x00010001,0,0,0,0 to HKLM,%8810_HWKEY%,"Win2K",0x00010001,1,0,0,0 In other words, change the value of the Win2K key from 0 to 1. I got this from someone else's post on the ASUS site, or mebbe it was somewhere else, to give credit where due. 4. Install the driver as per the ASUS instruction set below, DO NOT SKIP ANYTHING! (credit goes the person who wrote this) : Once you are done, reboot, then go to the control panel, pick Phone & Modem Options, go to the Modems tab, pick the Aureal Modem, then go to the advanced tab,just VISIT all the 'Advanced Port Settings' options, but do not change anything, just back out. Do the same for the 'Change Default Preferences'. I don't know why this helps, and in theory it should not be necessary and would not change anything, but it actually seemed to eliminate the last of the crashes I was experiencing if I did this right after the installation. 4. Reboot again. Hokay, that should do it, My system is running pretty solid & the modem works like a champ, except all I am getting for connect speeds is 50K, where with Win98 & the same phone line & ISP I consistently got 54K. I hope this works for all you other poor souls out there with L8400B's & the ill-fated Aureal modem. If anyone mails me with questions, let me explain a bit: Don't get the impression that I actually understand this crap, I am just a really good implementation specialist: if it can be made to work without writing code, I can do it (and did). Well, I sometimes write a little code. PC's (and Sun's, and Mainframes, etc, etc.) are just a sideline for me, I am really a network guy. I also work for a start-up company & am busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger, so I can not spend a lot more time on this - I got my solution, so I am pretty much finished. Some of the stuff I mentioned here may not be necessary to make this work, but I do not have time for 'regression testing'. All that said & done, I will respond to requests as time permits, just don't get mad if I do not get back to you in a timely fashion, my real job comes first. By the way, folks, this is not really an Aureal modem, but a Motorola chip. There are a few Motorola driver sets out there, but I had worse luck with them because the driver sets were not set up to install the modem as a child of the Aureal 8810 multifunction device, and my machine behaved like a kicked puppy when I tried to use them. Don't go there. Best of luck to you all, West P.S. Anyone who is interested in low cost, high quality video transmission across networks, check out our MPEG encoding products at www.VBrick.com. End of plug. HERE are the ASUS installation instructions for the Aureal Modem: EOM from West * Aureal Win2000 WDM audio and modem Install Procedure ==================================================== 1) This Win2K build (any latest win2K build for that matter) comes with an installed Aureal vortex WDM driver. For proper operation, you need to uninstall the existing WDM driver from the O/S and install the update. Uninstall: 2) Go to the Settings->Control panel->system. Go to the system->Device manager. Uninstall the Multifunction adapters. -> "Vortex Multifunction PCI Parent". From the c:\winnt\inf directory, delete the following files. 'wdma_aur.inf' 'wdma_aur.pnf', 'Adm_mult.inf' 'Adm_mult.pnf' 'Adm_port.inf' , 'Adm_port.pnf'. Go to the c:\winnt\driver cache\i386. Rename the 'driver.cab' file to something like 'driver.cat' (so that your Adm88xx.sys file doesn't keep getting installed by the OS) NOTE : If you rename this file,some system files will not be found automatic. You can find some system files such as "I8042PRT.SYS" from "C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\Drivers" From the Folder options select 'show all hidden folders'. Then 'dllcache' folder appears under C:\winnt\system32. From the 'dllcache' delete the 'Adm88xx.sys' 'Admjoy.sys' files. Now go to the c:\winnt\system32\drivers. Delete the respective 'Adm88xx.sys' 'Admjoy.sys' files. While "Windows File Protection" windows appear, please click on [Cancel] button, then click on [Yes] button to make sure remove driver. Reboot. Install. At the restart System prompts for Multifunction adapter. Install starts. In the middle of the install, the install asks for the following files. 'ksuser.dll', ks*.dll, 'portcls.sys' and '*.drv'. and finally 'aurealgm.arl'. (Everything is on your system except the aurealgm.arl file.) Browse to the following locations to install the above files: Ksuser.dll -> c:\winnt\system32 ks*.dll -> c:\winnt\system32\drivers *.drv -> c:\winnt\system32 portcls.sys->c:\winnt\system32\drivers Aurealgm.arl->'Browse to the driver location'. For the rest of the install browse to CD-ROM drive:\Audio\L8B\Win2000\ and the install is complete. Reboot. ------------------ Author : Jon Date : 3/2/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi West, unfortunately this did not work for me. I have one question on your method, in step 2b you state that the section [AspenParent_8810.mf.RegHW] should look just like the 8820 & 8830 sections. My one still has an extra child component(for MF\PCI_VEN_12EB&DEV_0003_SM56) compared to thw 8820 & 8830 sections. Is this corrct? Thanks for your help Jon ------------------ Author : West Date : 3/2/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi Jon, Nice to know someone else is actually using this info, it would seem like a waste to go to all that work to fix just 1 PC. Yes, my files, both original and patched versions have that extra entry - that is the modem itself, hopefully enumerated as a child device of the 8810. My system is still solid, so I am still confident that this stuff is right for MY system. How's about some details: 1. Is this a L8400B? What is the name on it - as I mantioned earlier, mine is (WAS) a Windrover, 128 Mb RAM, 12 & then a 20 GB drive (did that one myself, once I realized I did not have a warrantee to violate any more), S3 MX w/MV 8Mb video, DVD, no built in Ethernet, I use a 3COM FEM656C 10/100 LAN/modem PCMCIA card. Have to install & then disable the modem - No version of windows has support for multiple software modems. I am confident that the extra modem is not a factor here, and yes, I am sure that it is the Aureal modem that I am actually using when I connect - the two are enumerated differently, use different jacks ( one on the back of the PC, one on the X-JACK connector on the PC-card), and I can delete the 3COM driver software without functional effect. What BIOS? I am up to 110, & will put 110a in soon. Any other PCMCIA cards? How about software, particularly Palm Pilot synchronizers, etc, anything that accesses COM ports? Give me all the details you can. 2. Is this win2k Pro or some variation? 3. What is the failure mode? BSOD? Please give all the details possible - when does it happen, what happens, what does it take to recover, etc, etc. 4. After finishing installation, check the actual installed files in \windows & \windows\system, particularily the ADM8810.sys and admfilter8810.sys files, to be sure that they match the ones from the distribution. I found that although win2000 SAYS that it is using the .inf files from the ASUS driver set (and therefore, presumably, the drivers, such as the .sys files), if the \windows\driver Cache\i386\driver.cab file is still intact (not renamed), win2k actually reinstalls the driver files that came with win2k, and then you get the blue screen again. Make sure that the ADMfilter8810.sys file is actually there, as well. Very tricky, those microsoft fellows. 5. Check out the \windows\system32\dllcache diectory also, & get rid of anything related to this job. Forgot to mention that one, I am not sure what role this dir plays in windows operation & this install, but OI did find copies of the old files in there once, early in the process. 6. Are you a stooled to the registry? If so, check out the settings after the install - here are a few of the more critical ones involved in this: HKLM\system\controlsetXXX\filterservice That one didn't exist before following my proc, the required values should be relatively obvious from reading my instructions. HKLM\system\controlsetXXX\smserial doesn't change, just check it out. HKLM\system\controlsetXXX\WDM_au8810 Check out the W2K key & be sure that it is 1 Note: for some reason, a WDM_au8830 section gets installed in my registry after each install - shouldn't hurt anything, I just left it there. Note that I used the syntax 'controlsetXXX' (you will, you are obviously observant). If you are using multiple HW configurations, there will be multiple sections here, with XXX = 001, 002, etc. I recommend that you make them all match, or delete all but 1, then go through this exercise, then recreate any alternate configs so they will incorporate the changes, otherwise only the one that is active will (maybe) get updated. Hope this helps! Lemme know the results, we'll whip this puppy. West ---------------------------------- Author : Jon Date : 3/5/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi West, unfortunately my machine is undergoing a warranty repair at the moment(Floppy drive packed up) so I will not be able to fully explore your suggestions for a couple of weeks. However I can give a few answers: 1.The machine is definitely a L8400B, It has a Advent badge on it, who are supplied by HiGrade here in the UK who are in turn a subsidiary of ASUS(phew!). It is a PIII 700/128Mb/12Gb/Modem only, so very sinilar to your config. BIOS is at 107, I am loathe to touch this as I have had probs in the past with BIOS flashing. From the ASUS site, it does not seem as if the later BIOSes would influence matters. 2.The OS is standard Win 2000 pro, tried both sith and without SP1. 3. The failure is the kernel abend which comes down to zero divide when researched on MSDN. As I posted elsewhere this seems to be V90 only as when I restrict to V34 by %B18 in the init string, the problem is averted. This is my current workaround. 4&5. Files are all OK. 6.I may have a problem here. Before I sent the machine away, I noticed that I had 2 controlsets. Controlset001 was bad, controlset002 was good & CurrentControlSet was good. I tried to delete ControlSet001 but locked the machine and could not restart. At this point I needed my defective floppy drive so I packed it up and sent it away. So that is where we are, in the meantime I was thinking that it would be a good idea if you could post or email(jjady@softhome.net) your amended inf files so I could check every detail. Many thanks for your interest, it would indeed be great to crack this one, I feel we are so close Regards, Jon ---------------------------- Author : West Date : 3/7/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi Jon, Interesting news. My machine was solid as a rock for about 10 days (I use the modem multiple times a day for hours). Fool that I am, I kept messing around with it (the registry, only) & I GOT THE SPEAKERPHONE WORKING. Pretty cool, except now, the modem CRASHES THE MACHINE just like it use to! I am not even sure what all I put in to get the Speakerphone working, but was mainly stolen from the .INF file used by motorola, changed to fit circumstances, & hand installed in the registry. I MIGHT doucument this & build .INF files if I can get it all working together... I am going to go back to scratch, cleanse the registry ( a tedious process), reinstall as per my instructions & see what happens. If it works (I expect that it will) I can then compare what I added\changed when I messed around with the speakerphone with what I have in the reg now. I'll get back to you. P.S. Haven't been able to get on this site for days - server problems, looks like. ------------------------ Author : Dalle Date : 3/8/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi, I have L8400B. When I installed W2000 I reinstalled original W2000 Vortex drivers with Drivers that are were provided in CDROM. Modem works with my ISP I find following files in my WinNT system wdmaud.drv wdmaud.sys wdma_ens.inf wdmaaudio.inf aurealgm.arl admjoy.sys adm8810.sys But I can NOT find the files that WEST described in fixing system like wdma_aur.inf wdma_aurl.inf adm_mult.inf adm_port.inf admmultmodem.inf admfilter8810.sys aurmodem.inf and so on WEST, What files that have 'aur' 'wdma' 'adm' do you have in your system? Dalle -------------------- Author : west Date : 3/10/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi Dalle, Well, first thing is that if your modem ain't broke, don't fix it, this has been a world of hurt for me & I would not wish it on anyone else. 2. Some of the files you mentioned are windows files, such as the WDMAUD.sys & .DRV. The WDMA_ENS.inf is an install file for an Ensoniq card - ensoniq was purchased by Creative, and their PCI card was relabeled as an PCI 128 card - there are actually TWO PCI 128 cards from Creative, one is theirs, the other is the Ensoniq, and they take diifferent drivers. That was another confusing one (I have that card in one of my desktop PC's). Thanks, Creative. The Aureal files you mention are admjoy.sys & adm8810.sys. If you just used the menu's to install these drivers AND THEY WORK, I'd really like to get the details, file sizes & dates, etc. I do not know of any releases that actually work that way. By the way, the files you mentioned are actually SOUND drivers, the modem code is in a file called smserial.sys. As far as I have found, there is only ONE set of adm8810.sys and smserial.sys that can possibly work & they are the ones that are current on the ASUS web site. All the other releases do not have modem support at all, such as the ones that came with Win2k. You need the SMSerial.sys for the modem code, and the correct adm8810.sys along with it to provide the virtual UART support - that is why the Motorola drivers do not work, they do not take the 'fake' uart (Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter) that aureal implmnted with this chipset. into account. Ifyou have another release with this support that works automatically, I WANT THEM! AS a last note, I am zeroing in on what seems to be the problem, and the good news is that it is NOT the modem code, as I had pretty much determined by changing JUST THE REGISTRY and getting it to work. Guess what it is looking like - the code for the nonexistent joystick! If I install the released drivers and delete the admjoy.sys driver (19K) or replace it with the old one from W2k (ADMJOY.sys, approx 10K), everything starts working. I've even got the speakerphone working, althogh I had to hack the registry by hand to do it & modify the MODEMCSA.inf file so's windows would install the wave driver support. Pretty cool, even though a $3000 notebook makes a pretty lousy $50 speakerphone. I am going to do more testing to nail this down - Jon, if you are reading this, try getting rid of the ADMJOY.sys file & lemme know the results. You will have the joystick in errored state in the Device Maneger all the time, but small price to pay to get it to work. Here is a file listing of the drivers from the ASUS site: It seems that I can get either the speakerphone OR the modem to work - not both. I actually have to deinstall the 'half duplex audio device', not just disable it, but when it is out of there, the modem is solid - jon, another note, it seems that the ADMFILTER8810 file & service stuff is not necessary - I get the same results with it in or out. P.S. I am using my modem do send this. Good Luck! Volume in drive C is SUMMATION Volume Serial Number is 3247-09F2 Directory of c:\Utils\Asus\Audio\virginw2k 03/09/2001 01:28p . 03/09/2001 01:28p .. 11/19/1999 11:56a 98,304 a3d.dll 01/26/2000 12:16a 466,944 a3dapi.dll 09/15/1999 04:30a 1,146,880 A3DSplsh.exe 01/27/2000 01:23a 736,616 ADM8810.sys 01/27/2000 11:17p 12,904 admfilter8810.sys 01/27/2000 08:13p 19,112 Admjoy.sys 02/09/2000 12:14a 5,150 AdmMultModem.inf 01/27/2000 07:18p 233,472 AU10Setp.exe 12/17/1999 05:55p 84 au8810.reg 07/22/1999 10:22p 5,188,936 Aurealgm.arl 01/20/2000 03:32a 1,754 AurlGameport.inf 02/01/2000 12:30a 51,285 AurlModem.inf 11/05/1999 12:11a 285,541 brazil.hlp 11/05/1999 12:03a 261,031 chinese.hlp 11/05/1999 12:13a 579,856 comctl32.ocx 11/05/1999 12:04a 363,460 domestic.hlp 11/05/1999 12:05a 276,379 french.hlp 11/05/1999 12:06a 292,667 german.hlp 06/21/2000 05:23p 2,292 INSTALL.TXT 11/05/1999 12:08a 290,035 italian.hlp 11/05/1999 12:09a 354,276 japanese.hlp 12/08/1999 02:10a 90,112 McAc3.ax 11/05/1999 12:12a 127,832 sm56.reg 01/27/2000 01:36a 409,600 sm56hlpr.exe 11/05/1999 12:15a 38 sm56nt5.cat 01/27/2000 01:34a 40,960 sm56set.exe 01/27/2000 01:34a 45,056 sm56unst.exe 01/27/2000 12:03a 878,608 SmSerial.sys 11/05/1999 12:10a 286,763 spanish.hlp 11/05/1999 12:01a 285,266 tchinese.hlp 01/27/2000 01:35a 45,056 uninst.exe 01/27/2000 10:17p 4,026,723 Vor10App.exe 02/17/2000 11:33p 90,902 Wdma_aurl.inf 03/09/2001 01:29p 0 aurlfils.txt 34 File(s) 16,993,894 bytes 2 Dir(s) 10,867,343,360 bytes free West ------------------------- Author : Jon Date : 3/13/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi West, just a short note to let you know that I have my machine back and I tried getting rid of the ADMJOY.SYS but without success. Sorry to be the prophet of doom again. Have you managed to get consistent success with disabling the speakerphone? If so, please let me know how. Regards, Jon ------------------------- Author : Dalle Date : 3/16/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi West, Ok I tried a few more ISPs and eventually found one that crashed my machine. But Blue Death appeared only sometimes - lets rarely. If latop have not crashed at te begining I could work hours without nothing happened. West, How do you test your configuration if everything is unpredictable! I dont exactly what causes these cr -------------------------- Author : West Date : 4/1/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hey, Dalle & Jon, This time I really nailed it. I have reproducible results. Get ready for a fairly long dissertation, as this was a B---- to get through, and I want to make it clear that I have covered all the bases. First, a couple of replies: Jon, I know now that the joystick thing was a red herring - sorry. Dalle, I agree with you that if the thing did not crash at first connect, then it would not crash after that, although modem performance would stink at times. Luckily for me (in a way), my lockups were not that random - when I dialed, eight times out of ten my system would go belly up. However, the answer to how to test an intermittent problem is to test OVER and OVER and OVER again, which I have done. I searched and searched the web for an alternate driver for this thing, and it does not exist. I actually found a adm8810 driver for the sound card that includes the hooks for the modem I/O, but it did not come with a different smserial.sys - got this one from a chinese site. You cannot use any of the Motorola drivers because none of them are built to talk through the 8810 chip. I changed every configuration item in the registry possible for the aureal modem, including the 8810 and the smserial drivers, picking out possibilities from hints in the binaries. I tried all possible combinations of modem settings (AT commands). I am a network engineer, and know modems pretty well, and I excercised this one fully. I then said, bag it, I'll just disable the thing & use my 3Com modem in my PCMCIA net card. Well, that wouldn't work either, the machine would lock up whenever I had the 3Com modem enabled, even though the drivers for the aureal modem were not loaded (I was using the original w2000 drivers, with no modem support). Catch 22. I started focusing on the hardware, and this is where I hit paydirt. Try this: get procomm Plus, or use hyperterm, to connect to the modem. turn off error correction, and dial a 56K connection. About 4 to 6 seconds after connection, you should see all kinds of CRAP flash across your screen. If not, try waving your hand right above the modem, which is right below & slightly to the left of the microphone hole in the unit's top. Then you should see some crap. I took the keyboard & vent grille off & then removed the aluminum RF sheild & could cause a burst (a really large, fast burst) of errors just by waving my hand over the MDC (Mobile Daughter Card). So here's what was happening: Whenever the modem went onto digital mode, it was spitting out TONS of crap towards the software, at rates much greater than 115 K, and the driver could not keep up with determining that this was all crap, and throw it all away fast enough, so ot would crash bigtime. Now, the 98 software was strong enough to survive this abuse, but the win2k was not. I was never happy with the slow, jerky way that my 98 scripts executed, and the spotty performance, and this is why. However, if the crap is not spewed towards the software, it seems to do it's job pretty well (not perfect, I think - read on). So, I tried wrapping the whole thing in aluminum foil & grounding it - no good. Tried line filters - no good. Tried to find a replacement MDC - they are only sold to maunfacturers & it is a year & a half old - I can't even find one in the depot repair shops. I was about to give up on it & was putting my machine back together again, testing as I went, & noticed that even with the aluminum RF shield in place, I could still cause a burst of errors by waving my hand over tha MDC. So I taped some aluminum foil over the rectangular hole in the shield & Voila!, it started working with the error correction turned off. Procomm would still show a couple of errors trickling in from time to time, but no more than normal in a 7,000 ft plus CO line (in my experience). I then figgered that more was better, so I taped foil over the other hole in the sheld, the one with the hold down screw. Bad idea. Lots of errors. Took it off - no errors again. I then turned EC back on & tried my ISP connection - instant blue screen. Damn! Tried it again with EC off (AT\N0 as advanced initialization command). Worked. Tried it with \N1 Still works like a charm. So, where I am now is that I can get in at 50 to 54K & get a clean connection EVERY time with the alum foil & \n0 or \n1 as an init string. If I remove the foil or the whole shield, it stops working just like that. I am using the modem to send this, the first time I have actually been able to use the da-- thing for weeks. I am going to finish testing with the error-correction & fully characterize that behavior, but I am finally home with this thing. P.S. Here are a couple of things that I learned while doing this: The low level squeal from the speakers when you boot up is from the CD audio input. Mute it, it goes away. Unfortunately, it does not seem to remember through boots, but my registry is a mess from all this modem hacking, maybe that is why. You can modify the overall gain from the audio system by modifying HKLM\system\CurrentControlSet\Services\wdm_8810\Customization\AC97PCMOutVol. The default is 8 (Odb). Here's the range: DWORD Value: 0x0 = +12dB, 0x1 = +10.5dB, ... 0x8 = 0dB, ..., 0x1f = -34.5dB Mine was always a little weak, now it is decent at 4. If I can keep this thing stable & the problem readily reproducible for a couple of weeks, I am going to post it as a new message, so others can see it, not buried six messages deep. But, since some of my earlier theories did not pan out, I am going to give this one some serious burn-in time before I blow my horn. Ok, people, let me know how you fare! West. ------------------------------ Author : west Date : 4/3/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Okay, Belay that last message. I had the thing working, took the sheild off, stopped working, nice & predictable. Then I put the machine together again & ITS BACK! I am going back to the theory that I have a defective modem & am going to try to find a replacement. Some of my reasoning - If there were a problem with the 8810 - serial data transfer, then we would see the extra data coming in at all speeds, not just V.90. I have a SM56 PCI modem in one of my desktops at home, and if I connect to the SAME telephone line with no error correction, it is clean, unless I force some errors by say, picking up an extension. If every l8400 user had this problem, I think that there would be more hue & cry than there is - also, I have a co-worker with another l8400 & his works fine. If I can get a replacement, I will get back to you with the results. In the meantime, I have a V.34 modem... ---------------------- Author : Luca Date : 4/4/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi West, I have just finished going through all your posted msgs. Being a "fortunate" (it is not too bad after all) owner of a L8400B (ADVENT 8475DVD to be exact) I am experiencing the same sort of problems you and others have. I am going to be on holiday as per next week. I should have a little bit of time to try out some of your fixes. Thanks a lot for that. Meanwhile, just let me know if there is anything I can do to try to help you out solving this extrimely annoying problem. Luca ---------------------- Author : Jon Date : 4/5/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi West & others, just to let you know I am still here & have tried your foil approach but alas like you in the end without success. You mentioned that you had a friend who has no problems like this, does he have exactly the same modem/model as us? If so, then perhaps we just have part of a bad batch of modems. It is strange though that you get periods when the modem behaves correctly. Makes you hopefull, Regards, Jon --------------------------------- Author : Luca Date : 4/6/2001 Subject : Re: Fix for Aureal Modem & Win2kPro Hi, I have tried West fix of going through and changing the various files in the aureal installation directory. I have then re-install the driver without any luck. I have then added a string (%b18) to force the modem to only connect at 32k and since then I have not experienced any problem. I would not call this a lonf term permanent fix but at least it allows me to use the modem in the laptop. Regards Luca ----------------------------- Hi, I posted some time ago the following work-around: In the Modem->Properties->Advanced->Additional String insert %B18 This limits the connection to 33.6 but does work. The problem that causes the BSOD is a zero divide in the driver which seems to be in the V90 code only. Noone seems to be interested as Aureal have gone bust and Asus doesn't care. I have tried to use generic SM56 drivers from Motorola(The SM56 chip supplier) but without success. Someone at Asus should be able to get there generic drivers to work but as I said, they do not care. Regards, Jon ------------------ Author : West Date : 1/30/2001 Subject : I know secret of Aureal Modem AND HAVE FIXED IT!!! First I am going to give the fix - this works like a charm with my L8400B & resolves the last (and only, really) problem I had with it, except that the company that sold it to me with an extended warrantee, Windrover, has dropped off the face of the earth. Oh, Well. Second, I am includang an earlier post which explains some of the results of the MANY HOURS of testing I spent finding a workaround for this. HOW TO GET WINDOWS DIAL-UP NETWORKING TERMINAL WINDOWS AND SCRIPTING TO WORK WITH THE AUREAL VORTEX ADVANTAGE (8810) SOFTWARE MODEM in WIN 98, & probably 95 & ME: 1. Install version .3220 vortex advantage drivers for the sound card & modem. thse can be obtained from the ASUS site or WinDrivers.com, called the reference drivers for the 8810 chipset. 2. Get the Soundcom Modem drivers from WinDrivers - search for 'Aureal', then at the 'Aureal Sound Identify & Drivers Page, select "Modem Drivers", and get the Soundcom drivers. Extract the zip file. Take the two extracted files , ASP4_CTL.VXD (701,051 Bytes; 07/19/1999 18:35) and ASP4DFV1.VXD (350,785; 07/19/1999 18:35) from the SoundCom driver set and copy them over the ones in your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. If you read my earlier post, you will see that I tried another set, but they caused performance problems. Those were the VCOM drivers. I finally tried the SCOM ones, just being thorough, and whoopie!, they work. That's it - you don't even have to reboot. Don't thank me - just send money. West REPOST OF EARLIER MESSAGE: Hello folks, I have been having one (and only one) problem with my L8400B - the modem stopped working with windows dial-up networking after I re-installed the drivers once. I have tested the modem and it is working fine, transfers files with no errors, but, as another poster on this board pointed out, in any script or login terminal during the dial-up networking process, only one or two characters get RECIEVED visibly by the terminal window, so scripts depending on responses do not work. I have determined that the characters are actually coming in, but it is just the WINDOWS TERMINAL SCREENS that don't work. So, I re-scripted my logins with waits (sloppy, I know), instead of keying off responses, so that the scripts execute without any incoming characters, and then when the script completes and the connection is handed off to the TCP/IP stack, IT WORKS! So you can work out your login sequences and timing using hyperterm (ugggh) or Procomm Plus (Yes!), and then build non-interactive scripts to get you logged in to your service. Hope this helps all you out there with this problem, It's tough luck about Aureal and the support situation, but hey that's life. Two things to note here 1. This may be an Aureal problem (seems that way to me) but it also may be a WINDOWS problem, as my modem USED to work with the same drivers I re-installed the first time. On the other hand, if I replace ASP4_CTL.vxd and AU10CORE.vxd with some other ones I found from the defunct Aureal site, it works fine, except then the performance of the whole PC degrades seriously. I don't expect any new drivers to come out .... 2. I have had no other problems with my L8400B, & think It's a great machine. --------------------------- Dear Sir/Madam: Basically, 128M 144pin SDRAM is compatible with L8400B notebook. 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