Device Manager shows 8 PCI Communication Devices?

[Lersar]

I have a customer's computer on the bench, when she called originally she explained her problem as not being able to install the drivers from a new modem she had purchased. She installed the card herself, and as she explained it over the phone, Windows found the new hardware and the wizard was looking for the drivers. After about ten minutes of trying to talk her through pointing the wizard to the included CD (and trying to use the auto-run/explore to find the installer), we decided it would be best if she just brought it into us.

We hooked it up on the bench when it got here, and sure enough the wizard popped up right away. I tried to point the wizard to the D: drive for the installation disc, and after it thought for a bit it came back as unable to find the driver. I closed the wizard, ready to launch the auto-run, and it popped back up again. I closed it again, it popped back up. This happens eight times. When I open up Device Manager, it lists those eight PCI Simple Communications Devices, all without drivers installed. All show that it is the same bus and device, but lists functions 0 through 7. None of them find drivers from the CD through any method, whether it be pointing to the folder, running the auto-run program, or launching the installed on the disc manually. Of course, unplugging the device removes all 8 instances from the device manager.

The system is running Windows XP Media Center, an HP Pavilion a1530e that I assume is original hardware. It has an AMD Athlon 64 with two PC3200 512MB installed.

The modem is a Hiro 56K Data Fax Modem PCI, model H50003.

Here is what I've tried:

• Another new Hiro H50003
• Two other brands of modems
• Installing the modem in a different PCI slot
• Reinstalling Windows

Each maintains the same symptoms, even after a clean reformat and reinstall.

Any ideas or thoughts?

 

[phaZed]

To me it sounds as if a MOBO or chipset driver is not performing correctly.

 

[OldSchoolPC]

Yeah, look for an update and flash that mobo.

 

[Mr.Mike]

To me it sounds as if a MOBO or chipset driver is not performing correctly.

Please correct me if I'm off base here, but with so many devices showing, couldn't he just disable the PCI devices that don't correspond to the MOBO configuration (number of slots) then try the wizard again?

What about pulling everything from the PCI slots and reboot then reinstall the hardware and drivers from scratch? The "found new hardware" wizard should kick in. If not, and the drivers from the CD will not load, he could always go online and download the drivers from the OEM and try that.

What say you friends?

 

[OldSchoolPC]

Please correct me if I'm off base here, but with so many devices showing, couldn't he just disable the PCI devices that don't correspond to the MOBO configuration (number of slots) then try the wizard again?

What about pulling everything from the PCI slots and reboot then reinstall the hardware and drivers from scratch? The "found new hardware" wizard should kick in. If not, and the drivers from the CD will not load, he could always go online and download the drivers from the OEM and try that.

What say you friends?

Maybe you missed the part where he said this:

Here is what I've tried:

Another new Hiro H50003
Two other brands of modems
Installing the modem in a different PCI slot
Reinstalling Windows

It seems to be a hardware or firmware issue.

 

[Mr.Mike]

Maybe you missed the part where he said this:

It seems to be a hardware or firmware issue.

Ah. I didn't think if all the way through. I would address the firmware issue first then, if that didn't work, replace the MOBO.

 

[Peaceful]

Have you tried running the setup cd first, then shutdown, install modem and restart?

 

[sys-eng]

Have you tried running the setup cd first, then shutdown, install modem and restart?

That is the correct way for most "smart" drivers. Install driver first.


Reinstalling Windows should have rid the system of all the extra PCI devices being shown.

 

[phaZed]

That is the correct way for most "smart" drivers. Install driver first.


Reinstalling Windows should have rid the system of all the extra PCI devices being shown.

It's too bad the OP hasn't updated this thread so we can get some more info.

I don't think this is a problem with the the device he is installing or the drivers for it, but rather a problem with some base system drivers. The reason I have come to this conclusion is because he should not be seeing 8 PCI devices pop up, regardless of what Modem drivers he has or has not installed. I believe that Windows is not enumerating the PCI bus correctly which would imply something is wrong with his chipset or MOBO drivers. This would also explain why the PCI devices will not install. It also makes sense because he had this problem before AND after a Windows reinstall.

We'll just have to wait and see what the OP comes up with.

 

[Lersar]

It's too bad the OP hasn't updated this thread so we can get some more info...

We'll just have to wait and see what the OP comes up with.

I apologize for the lack of update.

I tried flashing the board, with no success.

We have tried installing the driver, then power down and install modem, and restart with both the original modem provided to us by the client and several of our own.

For kicks we also tried installing a fresh copy of Media Center on a new hard drive, still prompts with the same eight devices.

Currently, we have found a pretty old US Robotics modem that is only being discovered as one device in the Manager, but it is still refusing any kind of drivers.

Again, sorry about the absence. I was really hoping to come back after the weekend with a solution.


Edit: The client just called, after explaining where we were at with the computer she decided to wanted to just pay her current balance and take it home with her today.