Can monitor port be replaced on M571?

[kelli]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and hoping someone can help me. I have an old computer with an M571 motherboard that I'm trying to fix for a friend. When I reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Win98, the video resolution was stuck on 16 colors. I took the computer to a shop that said I should reinstall Win98 (which hasn't worked, because I don't have my original installation CDs and am using a store-bought Win98). After doing more research, I found the m571.com site and the drivers I need (apparently I have to upgrade the BIOS? I've never really dealt with a motherboard or BIOS before, so I'm not sure if this is correct). However, when I tried turning on my computer (for the first time since taking it to the shop), the monitor won't recognize the computer being turned on. There's nothing wrong with the monitor (tested it on another computer), so I'm thinking there may be something wrong with the port for the monitor on the back of the computer. Looking back, I remember the tech guy at the shop hastily unplugging the cords from the back of the computer before it had even finished powering off, so perhaps this is what happened to the port (although I don't see any physical damage nor is anything loose).

What I'd like to know is if this port is something I can easily replace on the motherboard, or will I now need an entirely new motherboard? Or from the scenario, could something else be wrong? Any advice would be most appreciated.

[timmy]

You do not need to do anything with the BIOS to use the drivers downloaded from the M571 Page.

What you need to do is update the VGA BIOS by using the little TSR executable that you can download (note the little comment about this on the main page).

You will put this executable someplace on your hard drive and then "call it" every time you boot by putting a line in your autoexec.bat for that purpose.

C:\directory you put the file in\597v113.exe

That is how you will call the update in your autoexec.bat.

It is also possible that you will need to adjust how much system memory you want to use for video memory in the CMOS settings. If you do not have enough memory assigned to video, you will not be able to run higher resolutions. The maximum that you can use is 4MB, and unless you don't have very much system memory, I recommend you use 4 MB for this setting.

[alex zorrilla]

You mean that when you turn the computer on, you can hear all the fans and drives spinning, but the monitor stays black? Do you hear any other activity, like a beep from the computer, Windows startup sound, etc.? If you do not hear any of this, my guess is that something inside the computer came loose in the process of taking it back from the shop. My guess would be the memory. Let me know if this is the case. I seriously doubt anything was damaged, though.

To expand on what Timmy said about the "VGA BIOS" and "TSR"... When Windows 98 came out, SiS had to make some updates to the onboard graphics in order to make them compatible. It turned out that it was easier for them to have you run a little program everytime you turn the computer on, instead of making the change in the driver. This little program is the "TSR" that Timmy is talking about. Without it, you will get the 16 color problem you are describing.

--Alex

[kelli]

Thank you both so much for responding and setting me straight on the BIOS...I do understand what you are saying better now. However, in resolving one problem (I ended up buying a new video card), I now have another. Now my modem is not being detected (I get error messages like "Cannot read port name from registry"...the modem worked perfectly before I installed the video card). I found the drivers for the modem (Diamond Sup2260 PCI HCP Voice) and installed those, but it only gave me an option for "ECP Printer Port LPT1" (no COM port). When I checked my other settings, it looks like the mouse is using COM1. I went into the BIOS setup and enabled COM2, and although I'm able to assign the modem to COM2 during installation, I still get the same error message ("Cannot read port name from registry") and am not able to connect.

Any ideas on how I can fix this? Or am I doing everything all wrong? (That's the way I feel, anyway...haha)

[alex zorrilla]

That's OK. Modem drivers can be weird about how they get their COM port and IRQ settings. It may be easier if you go to Add/Remove Programs, look for anything that has to do with your modem, and uninstall that. Reboot, then try installing the modem driver from scratch.

By the way, PCI modems do not use the COM ports from the BIOS. Those COM ports are used for external modems. Instead, PCI modems have their own COM ports... and 99% of the time it is not even a "real" COM port, but a virtual one that is created by the driver. That is why driver installation is so important for PCI modems. If the driver is not installed just right, then Windows cannot find the "virtual" COM port. This is why you are getting the "Cannot read port" errors.

By the way, which drivers are you using for the modem? Some you happened to have on floppy or CD? The ones from Diamond's website at http://www.diamondmm.com ? The generic Conexant HCF drivers from http://www.conexant.com/support/md_driverassistance.html (after you click the "Agree" button)? They all should work, but I am just curious.

--Alex

[kelli]

OK, I'm still in the same boat. I tried the drivers from the Conexant site you mentioned (specifically in the file HCFp_Win9x.zip) and got a "could not open port" error. The Diamond drivers I was first trying to use was 95_2260_136.exe (found specifically for Win98 on http://www.modem-drivers.com/companies/305.htm), and that's when I got the "Cannot read port name from registry" error. I haven't yet been able to try anything from Diamond (still waiting to get the e-mail from them about how to access the drivers).

I've uninstalled, rebooted, and reinstalled these different drivers several times (and used the wmregdel utility, per instructions I found on the Microsoft Support site). Each time the computer reboots, the "New Hardware Wizard" doesn't appear (I have to access it from Control Panel, so apparently it's not detecting the modem). Also, during the Wizard, it forces me to choose a port (either COM2 or the ECP Printer Port LPT1) or else I can't continue. Once the modem is supposedly installed, the modem's Diagnostics settings show two ports (the COM1 Serial Mouse and COM2 HCP PCI Modem), but I'm still not able to communicate with the modem.

Is it possible that the modem is bad (although it worked before installing the new video card)? I don't know how much this may help, but a small tag on the modem says "PCA XP561 PCI HCF Voice", with P/N 23540020-002.

Time for me to hit the sack after working on this all day! Thanks again for responding. I'm so glad you all are willing to help.

[grayboy]

For some reason, I have found that the generic hcf drivers on the Conexant web site dont work for diamond modems.Recommend that you obtain the diamond drivers, uninstall the modem in control panel/system and install the diamond drivers.
The Conexant drivers seem to work for most modems but not for diamond

Graham

[alex zorrilla]

OK, I went ahead and downloaded the most recent drivers from Diamond's, and it turns out they are identical to the ones you got from http://www.modem-drivers.com . That should give us a common starting point.

First, take a look at your Device Manager and look for a group that says "HCFMODEM". Inside that group, there should be a device named "Supra 2XXX PCI Modem Enumerator". Double-click this, go to Update Drivers, and point to the folder with the extracted modem driver files. If you are asked whether you want to save any existing files, tell it "No". After this, it should start detecting the other parts of the modem.

Next, go the the "Modem" section of the Device Manager, double-click your modem, go to Update Drivers, and do the same thing (point at the folder with the drivers, etc.). Let me know if this helps.

--Alex

[kelli]

I didn't have the HCFMODEM listed in my devices, but I saw "PCI Serial Controller" listed with a yellow exclamation point. At first I didn't understand what you meant about "PCI modems have their own COM ports", but after looking up what the "PCI Serial Controller" was, it was indeed the modem. I installed the drivers from www.modem-drivers.com (95_2260_136.exe) with this PCI Serial Controller and it worked! I was able to dial in and connect to the Internet, but then it wouldn't load any web pages. So I uninstalled and reinstalled Dial-Up Networking, and now everything is working perfectly!

Thanks everyone for your all your help...I couldn't have done this without your guidance! :)

[alex zorrilla]

Great!!! Glad it all worked out for you in the end. :)