Modem problem?

[dandscoy]

Recently, while we were away from home and the computer was on, there was a lightening strike near our house. After that our old modem failed to work. The error message dealt with the computer couldn’t get a dial tone from the modem, to turn it off and back on. If that failed, restart the computer. Nothing worked so I replaced the modem.

I still have problems. A few seconds after logging onto the Internet, either the modem stops responding or the computer will spontaneously start to reboot. If the modem simply stops responding all other peripherals (printer, scanner, camera and connected phone) continue to function properly. After I disconnect, if I try to log back on I get: “Error message 630: The computer is not receiving a response from the modem. Check that the modem is plugged in, and if necessary, turn the modem off, and then turn it back on.” Properties under Device Manager report that both the dial up adapter and modem are functioning properly. This is both before and after the modem fails to respond. A simple “restart” fails to bring the modem back, I have to completely shut down, turn the computer off for a few seconds and restart. During startup there is NO message about new hardware or anything like that but the modem will be functioning again. I’ve used Norton utilities while the modem is working and it reports no problems. However, if I check with the Norton Connection Doctor while the modem is not responding, it reports that it "Can not find a physical modem corresponding to an installed one."

In the event the computer spontaneously starts to reboot, it doesn’t complete the cycle but goes into a loop of a partial boot and then spontaneously starts again. I have to flip the power switch off to interrupt it. When I turn the power back on, it will go ahead and reboot with no problems and the modem is functioning again.

Also, I think this is unrelated but every time I start the computer now I get a start menu of 1 Normal, 2 Logged, 3 Safe, etc. How can I eliminate that step in the windows loading process?

I’ve checked everything I can think of with Norton including scanning ALL files with current Norton AV, checked the phone line, replaced the modem, ensured the modem is firmly seated, and reloaded Win 98. Any Ideas?

Modem - Lucent 56K internal PCI V.90 by Phoebe, Lunar Express.
Computer - IBM Aptiva 2137E24
Device Manager reports that the modem is on Port 3, IRQ 11, no conflicts and that the communications port is COM 1, IRQ 4, with no conflicts.
System Information - Microsoft Windows 98 4.10.1998
Upgrade using CD /T:C:\WININST0.400 /SrcDir=F:\WIN98 /IZ /IS /IQ /IT /II /NR /II /C /U:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IE 5 5.50.4134.0600
Normal mode
Authentic AMD-K6tm w/ multimedia extensions
24MB RAM
73% system resources free
Windows-managed swap file on drive D (9472MB free)
Available space on drive C: 329MB of 2010MB (FAT32)
Available space on drive D: 9472MB of 12389MB (FAT32)
Thank you for any assistance you can provide,
Dennis Coy
Dandscoy@fidnet.com

[glc]

That machine just doesn't have the horsepower to run a Winmodem. Take it back and get a 100% hardware based ISA or external serial modem. You are on the ragged edge of usability with only 24 megs ram and running Windows 98 anyway. You also probably did not completely uninstall the old modem from Windows.