ATX computer lockups while using modem

Does the computer lock as soon as you try and use the modem? If so, I would look into a hardware conflict. Sounds as if a IRQ that is being used by another peice of hardware in the system is also wanting to be used by the modem. Go to your Control Panel, to System, click the Device Manager tab, and then click the Properties button. There you will see all of your hardware sorted by IRQ's. Scroll down until you find your modem, and see if under the Setting column if another peice of hardware is using that same one. If it is being shared by another component, remove the other device from the Device Manager and reinstall it. Hope this helps.

The first answer is true but it can also be that the modem or its driver could be bad. Try going the modem makers web site and see if they have diagnostics you can down load to check the modem. You can use hyper terminal to dial a bbs or cell phone to see if is the modem or some other problem with software. Boot to safe mode and start a log to see if it catches the problem.

Your fax program which may be running in the background is probably conflicting with your internet program. Check your start up programs.

Several good answers above, but another consideration comes to mind that I've seen repeatedly. If this is a minimally equipped PC (ie - very low budget, minimum RAM, etc) it may be busy. ATX boards that have everything on the MB often use a Winmodem. This is great for the budget, but because the complex signal processing for the modem is done by the CPU instead of the modem hardware, it eats up system resources. Another common symptom of this problem is that a soft restart doesn't clear a modem problem, while a hard restart does.

If this is the problem, the best solution is to disable the onboard modem and install a separate modem card or boxtop. Any of the above suggestions could also resolve this sort of problem, though, so check all the possibilities. Good luck.

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