WinXP loses modem on bootup

Hello! I have Windows XP Professional on a system using an Asus A7V133 mobo, 1GB RAM, and an external Zoom v.92 faxmodem.

The problem happens almost every time I boot up. The problem is, when I boot, Windows XP can’t seem to find the modem. I have to wait for the boot to finish, power the modem off then on again, then go into Control Panel->Modems and to have Windows search again for the modem to be recognized on COM1. (I tried COM2, but that did not resolve the problem.) Once recognized, I can dial up to the internet normally.

I installed XP’s SP1, but that did not help.

Could the modem be going bad? Or perhaps it’s the serial port controller on the motherboard?

Or is this a really cool bug in XP? It should recognize the modem on bootup…