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XP Pro PCI Communication Controller?

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Windows XP Pro installation was working great and then it blew my modem out. Re-install modem card generates “New Hardware Found” PCI Simple Communications Controller. Can’t find a driver or any info on what the heck that might be. Modem is unidentified and not found when search as “plug and play!” Hmmmm! Stumped!

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Sounds like you are going to have to open the case and physically identify the modem.

Then, you can download the latest drivers from the modem manufacture.

A decent source for links to modem drivers is http://www.modemhelp.org

One thing you can try, is to remove the device from Device Manager.
Shut down.
Physically remove the modem card.
Start up the system.
Shut down again.
Install the modem.
And see if XP will recognize it now.

Chas

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Thanks, done that FIRST.

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Chas is right.

Umm is this a store bought computer e.g. Dell,HP,Compaq,Gateway,whatnot? or a build your own?

The blew your modem part of your question is a little vague but what’s happening is is that XP can’t identify what type of modem you have therefore doesn’t know what driver to install. If this is a store bought computer you should have a restore CD that should have the drivers you need on it. In XP Pro, open up the control panel, open performance & maintenance, system, click on the hardware tab, click on device manager radio button. Expand modems. You should have a yellow question mark unknown device. Right click that and choose update driver. With the restore disk in the CD Rom, allow the wizard to look for drivers on removable media CD. It should scan your restore disk and find the right driver. If not, Then Chas’s answer, open the box and find out what modem it is, is about your best bet.

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My fault. The problem IS that Windows XP does not recognize ANY modem. It does read the card as “New Hardware” and labels it as a PCI Simple Communications Controller. Modem is a Cirrus/Logic and the driver is in XP but. . . XP WANTS the driver for the Simple Communication Controller!!! I’m still stumped. I’ve done all the obvious and even a few of the not-so-obvious things to no avail.

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Pardon me if I sound ignorant – I haven’t worked on a lot of XP systems yet. But Windows used to let you select a hardware device manually from the Add/Remove Hardware applet. If that option still exists and, as your comment indicates, you know the make/model of your modem, why not take the long way with the wizard and skip the autodetect mode? Tell it what you want to install when it detects something new, then follow the menus to get to your device. If that doesn’t work, check your modem manufacturer’s site for an XP-compatible driver and install it.

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There are no wrong answers. My question really is about Windows XP recognizing the card time and time again as a “Simple PCI Communications Controller”. Simple Technologies has no such thing and therefore no drivers. Yet XP wants one! And XP apparantly recognized something which does not and never has existed!!!

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cirrus makes chips not modems I suggest that you take another look at your card to see if you can determine the real manufacturer. if the card has an fcc id you can determine the manufacturer that way. (http://www.fcc.gov/oet/fccid/help.html will help to figuer out what you need)

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Now this did help a bit. The modem however wasn’t listed because it had a “tested to comply” sticker. Thanks anyway and I bookmarked the site for future use.

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XP does remember hardware.

Sounds like it is time to consider using regedit to get rid of ALL traces of the modem. That way you can start over fresh.

CAUTION: Improper use of regedit can cause Windows to not load. It is good practice to back up the registry before running regedit.

Start by removing the modem from device manager.
Shut down the PC, and physically remove the modem.

Boot up.
Run regedit.

Browse to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet\Enum key.
Locate the sub key(s) for the modem.
Note the terms in the sub keys.
Delete the modem keys.

Now search the registry (Edit, Find) for “Simple Communications Controller”
Then for the terms found in the modem keys.
Delete keys as appropriate.

Exit regedit.
Reboot to assure that the system is okay.

Shut down.
Install the modem.

When you boot back up, Windows should properly install the modem.

1 caveat, I have run across a few motherboards that simply would not work with specific modem chip-sets. Even had modems work under W98 but not work under XP on a given motherboard.

Chas

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Thanks. That did it. Had to do it twice but it worked. For future reference. . . when XP prompts for “Simple PCI Communications Controller” ir means the modem card has a fault!

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