Windows 95 Troubleshooting Guide Question: Can I still use my 16-bit communications software under Windows 95? Answer: Yes. No additional work is required for your 16-bit communication programs to see the modem under Windows 95. 16-bit applications access the COM Port directly, which Windows 95 natively supports. Note: If Windows 95 was installed over Windows 3.1, and the COM.DRV= line in the Windows SYSTEM.INI file was set to RHSICOM.DRV, you must edit the SYSTEM.INI file and replace COMM.DRV=COMM.DRV with COMM.DRV=RHSICOM.DRV. Windows 95 replaces your current Windows 3.1 COM driver with COMM.DRV during the initial installation. _______________________________________________________________________ Question: How are 32-bit communication programs handled under Windows 95? Answer: 32-bit, or Windows 95 native communication programs do not directly access COM Ports. They access what is called the TAPI interface, which is a combination of a COM Port, a modem, and a set of dialing rules. To properly set this up, you must run the "Modems Control Panel", then "ADD" the appropriate COM Port and modem combination. This was most likely configured when the modem was initially installed. Once this is complete, HyperTerminal, MSN, Dial-Up networking, and any other Windows 95 native communications applications will be able to address the entire TAPI system. The TAPI system then communicates with the modem, via AT commands. _______________________________________________________________________ Problem: I configured my modem to Com4/Irq3, but it doesn't seem to work. Solution: Go into the Windows 95 Control Panel --> SystemPerformance- ->Graphics. Set Hardware Acceleration to none. We have found there to be an addressing conflict with certain graphic accelerator cards. If you configure your Windows 95 graphic driver to basic VGA, and find the modem now works at that setting, then the problem is your graphics card. You may want to try using one of the more commonly used Com Port and IRQ settings such as: Com 1 Irq 4 Com 2 Irq 3 Com 3 Irq 5(if not used by your sound card) ______________________________________________________________________ Problem: When autodetect tries to add a new modem at COM 2, Windows 95 locks up. Solution: Open up Control Panel/System Settings and deselect COM2. This can be accomplished by selecting COM2 under System Settings, then choosing properties. There should be a red 'x' in a box down towards the bottom of the properties screen. Click once on the red 'x' and it should clear. This disables the COM Port in Windows 95. Click OK, then restart the machine. When Windows 95 restarts, it should now find the COM Port. This technique can apply to all available COM Ports. ______________________________________________________________________ Problem: I'm using Windows 95 built in PCMCIA support. HyperTerminal works, but none of my 16-bit communication programs work. Solution: Using a text editor, edit the SYSTEM.INI file in your Windows directory. Under the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file, change the COMM.DRV line back to it's original COMM.DRV. This line should read comm.drv=comm.drv. Ensure that there is a line that states device=*vcd. If your SYSTEM.INI has a line that reads device=*vrdd, place a semicolon in front of it. Your 16-bit applications should now work. _____________________________________________________________________ Problem: My modem will not auto detect under Windows 95. Solution: 1. Select Start/Settings/Control Panel. 2. Select Add New Hardware. 3. Select Modems. 4. Pick the model modem you have (or the closest to it). If your modem is not listed in the Windows 95 modem list, choose the one closest to it. Always check our Sportster file section on our BBS(847-982-5092) of FTP Site(ftp.usr.com) for an available INF file. We try to make them available as soon as possible at the release of a new product. Here are a few examples: Your Model Select Sportster 14.4k Sportster 14.4k Sportster 14.4k Si Sportster 14.4k Sportster 14.4k Vi Sportster 14.4k or download MDMUSRVI.INF. Sportster 28.8k Sportster 28.8k Sportster 28.8k DSVD Sportster 28.8k Sportster 28.8k Vi Sportster 28.8k or download MDMUSRVI.INF. ______________________________________________________________________ Problem: I'm having trouble configuring my Sportster Vi under Windows 95. Solution: We have an INF file available for this modem which provides Windows 95 with the proper identification and installation instructions for the Sportster Vi product line, released to date. The following procedures are required to set this up: 1. Download MDMUSRVI.INF from our BBS(847-982-5092 or FTP Site at ftp.usr.com. 2. Copy MDMUSRVI.INF to the \Windows\Inf directory. This is a hidden directory so you will not be able to see it using a directory listing. This is accomplished by the following steps: a. Click on the MSDOS Icon b. Copy MDMUSRVI.INF to the inf directory: example: copy c:\ql2faxw\inbox\mdmusrvi.inf c:\windows\inf c. Type exit 3. Assuming the modem is correctly installed in the computer, select Start/Settings/Control Panel/Modems. a. INTERNAL MODEM: You will have to select Add New Hardware in the Control Panel, to install support for the new COM Port the modem provides. Do this after the modem has been installed. 4. Click on Add. 5. Click on Next. Windows 95 will now rebuild the database of modem drivers. This takes about 25 seconds on a IBM 486/66. Windows 95 will then query the modems attached externally and/or internally on the system. After the query process is complete, Windows 95 will show that it found a "Sportster Vi ...." modem. 6. Click on Next. 7. Click on Finish. One other thing you need to make sure of, is that you have your modem, if it is an internal, configured to a COM Port and Irq that is not being used by another device in the computer. _______________________________________________________________________ Question: How do I check to see if I have the release version of Windows 95 and not a beta copy? Answer: Click on Start/Settings/Control Pannel/System. Select the General Tab. The version number will be located under the System section of the screen. If it shows a version number of 4.00.950 or 4.00.950a(service pack 1), then you have the release version of Windows 95. You can also check by right clicking on the My Computer icon and selecting Properties. _______________________________________________________________________ Question: Is Windows 95 accurate at determining device conflicts? Answer: Yes. By selecting Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager, you can view and make changes to your device settings. This screen used exclamation icons, etc., to point out devices that are conflicting in the system. _______________________________________________________________________ Question: What happens when you put an internal modem on IRQ 3 or 5. Will it just detect the device or install it? Answer: There are two sides to this question. If another device is using the IRQ you want to use, then the modem, or the other device must be configured to another IRQ. With that out of the way, we can assume there are no IRQ conflicts. After installing the modem, and starting up the computer, Windows 95 will detect and install the modem. If the device is configure for Plug and Play mode, Windows 95 will detect and configure the card automatic. If the device is not Plug and Play, user assistance will be required. If the modem was not detected at all, open the Control Panel and select Add New Hardware. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: How can I stay updated on new product identifications for my modem? Answer: U.S. Robotics will provides modem identification configurations as they become available. For each new product release or revision, the .INF file for that device will have to be updated. This update can be as simple as adding what is called a UNIMODEM Id, or as complex as writing a new .INF file to support advanced features. As a rule, your current .INF file should work just fine. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: Can you reserve an IRQ to prevent Windows 95 from assigning it to a Plug and Play device? Answer: You can reserve an IRQ for hardware in Windows 95, but it must be done manually. If the IRQ is in use, Windows 95 will not let you reserve it. To reserve an IRQ, follow these steps: 1. Select Start/Settings/Control Panel/System. 2. On the Device Manger tab, double-click Computer. 3. Select the Reserve Resources tab and then the Interrupt Request(IRQ) radial button. 4. Click Add. 5. In the Value box, scroll to the IRQ you want to reserve. 6. Click OK until you return to the Control Panel. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: Why won't Hyperterminal send commands to the terminal? Answer: There is a new version of Hyperterminal available on our BBS at (847)982-5092 or FTP Site at ftp.usr.com, which corrects this problem. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: What is Safe Mode and why can't I do anything in it? Answer: Windows 95 can load into Safe Mode in two ways; automatically and by user choice. It will occur automatically if there is something severely wrong with the system. In this case, Windows 95 shuts everything down and loads raw Windows. If you decide to enter Safe Mode manually, press F5 immediately after the "Starting Windows 95" message at bootup. Safe Mode itself does not fix the system problems, but gives you the opportunity to correct problems without affecting anything else. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: Is it normal for Windows 95 to take a long time to boot or do I have a problem? Answer: Windows 95 does boot slowly, even slower in Safe Mode. This is due to several tasks running in the background and is perfectly normal. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: What should I do if my computer automatically boots up in Safe Mode? Answer: Click on Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager. From this screen you should be able to see any hardware conflicts. If the problem occurred right after the installation of a modem, check for conflicts and if none are found, call U.S. Robotics Support. If the problem is not directly related to the modem, contact Microsoft or the manufacturer of the device that you feel is conflicting. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: Does Hyperterminal support Z-Modem? Answer: Yes, it support X/Y/Z-modem, ASCII, and Kermit. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: Will Windows 95 detect my PCMCIA modem? Answer: Yes. We have found that Windows 95 quickly detects and installs our PCMCIA modems. No cardsoft drivers of any type should be loaded in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT. Windows 95 must use it's own drivers. All "card and socket services" exist within the Windows 95 operating system and are native 32-bit drivers. NEVER load Phoenix drivers within Windows 95. It will case many different problems with your system. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: What is the (;) with no phone number about? Answer: Windows 95 uses "TAPI", an intermodem interface which uses what they call staged dialing. It can accept 128 characters, which is more than the modem can handle. Because of this, TAPI uses (;) to break the phone number into manageable parts. This will only work with modems that support this feature, and Windows 95 will ignore the command if the modem does not. ______________________________________________________________________ Question: What happens if I exit Windows 95 without using Shutdown or Restart the computer? Answer: Although this is not recommened, Windows 95 will usually recover from an unexpected termination of the operating system. However, like Windows 3.1, you may find some fragmentation of your drive, temporary files that were not removed, and garbage characters in the program you were using at the time the system closed. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: Where can I find the latest, or new .INF file for my modem? Answer: U.S. Robotics creatse .INF files for all of our modems. Check the Sportster File Section on our BBS at (847)982-5092 or FTP Site at ftp.usr.com, for the latest updates to our .INF files for Windows 95. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: What are the System requirements to run Windows 95? Answer: Microsoft says the minimum requirements are: 486 16mhz or faster with 12 megs of RAM, and a VGA card. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: What can you not Shut Down using the Windows 95 Close Program Task Manager? Answer: The System Tray and its functions; clock, items running in the background at all times, some controls, and the PCMCIA card if installed. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: Is DOS still running with Windows 95? Answer: Windows 95 is it's own operating system with an integrated operating environment. In Windows 95, DOS is more emulated than actual DOS. It uses a new version of DOS known by some as DOS 7.0 or DOS 95. This emulated version of DOS integrates better with Windows 95 than running over DOS 6.22 as Windows 3.1 does. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: Does Windows 95 work well with DOS? Answer: Yes, Windows 95 handles normal application and multi-tasking much better then it's predecessor. The DOS shell still does not run as fluidly as native DOS. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: Can you write directly to the hardware like in DOS? Answer: No, not in Windows 95. However, even though you have limited functionality, this is possible in Safe Mode. _____________________________________________________________________ Question: Will my Sporster Si work in Windows 95. Answer: Yes. Start by manually install the modem as a Standard 14,400 modem off the picklist in Windows 95. Next, load the WinRPI driver off the Quicklink II disk. After loading the driver, edit the Windows SYSTEM.INI file and ensure the COMM.DRV line reads comm.drv=wrpi.drv. When configuring your communication programs, an init string of AT&F+H11&C1&D2S7=90 should work in most cases. This will load the software based compression and error correction.