My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

[dogsdad]

I have been using a certain model of modem in my computer for a few months, though I am on the third one now. I've taken them back to Walmart for exchange due to malfuntions.<br /><br />The first one worked fine at first. But after a while, we started noticing that it would not release the phone line after I disconnected from the net. Okay, no problem, right?<br /><br />So I take it back and exchange it. The next one (same model) works fine for a few weeks and then suddenly one day refuses to dial a number at all. D-E-A-D! So, I take it back for an exchange, and I bring home the third one of the same model.<br /><br />This one works fine, after a fashion. But one evening about a week ago, my wife was one the phone talking to a friend, and the modem starts trying to pick up the line. She unplugs the modem from the phone line, continues her conversation, and all's well. I decided there's a program somewhere that wants to do an update or something of that nature, but I didn't know what it is and didn't investigate due to time constraints. So, I start powering down the computer while I am not on line.<br /><br />I come home from work a couple of nights ago and my wife starts telling me about her phone conversation with a friend. She has this funny look on her face and tells me that my computer is messing with her phone calls again...so she comes in here to turn the computer off. But the computer was ALREADY OFF!<br /><br />(Yeah, I know what you must be thinking---she needs to lay off the sauce, huh? No, not her---the world's most sober person.)<br /><br />So, she has to unplug my modem from the phone jack, even though the computer is powered down!<br /><br />Only thing I can figure is that there's some circuitry in the modem that is powered by the phone line itself in addition to some firmware that is trying to do something. That's believable, but I most certainly never heard of such a thing.<br /><br />Anyone else ever have such an experience? Any definitive explanation?<br /><br />(I'd attach the theme music to The Twilight Zone if I could).<br /><br />

 

[Spidybot]

Re: My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

Your modem is designed to communicate with other modems via a telephone line.<br /><br />This means BOTH making and responding to calls!<br /><br />If you'd been a serving point of some sort others would have to call in on your puter and your modem should respond. Your pc may have a feature called WOM (wake on modem) or equal so that a shut down pc will power up on a signal from the modem.<br /><br />In other words your modem needs to be set up NOT to answer any calls. Then you wife will get her privacy back <br /><br />Option 2: If you switch your pc's mains off at the wall socket, it should be easy to connect the modem at the same place thus killing it when the pc it shut down.<br /><br />Modems that won't hang up may be a Windows 9x/Me problem.

 

[dogsdad]

Re: My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

UU, we did go into the BIOS and play with the modem settings and we disabled all that stuff. I'm running XP, by the way.<br /><br />I guess that my theory has to be correct, now that I think about the wake-on-ring function...the only way for the modem to get any power at all when the computer is turned off is through the phone line, right? Unless that ATX power supply keeps a part of the mother board powered up at all times?? I don't think it does that, but I'm no expert on computers.<br /><br />-dd-<br /><br />PS: I meant to add that my wife was talking to a friend who IS quite adept with computers when these things happened, and she went into the BIOS and changed those settings while on that phone call. The only thing that worked was unplugging the modem from the phone jack!

 

[Spidybot]

Re: My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

The setiings I'm after is not in the BIOS - it's in the modem settings. Depending on your modem driver it may be a matter of entering some sort of init string (AT&F followed by some magic letters and numbers). The goal is to set it's answering or responding properties to OFF.<br /><br />Is your modem ex- or internal? A modern ATX motherboard is not off power as long as a live cord is connected to its power supply. You may see a few LEDs alive even if it seems shut. A modem will have access to power this way.

 

[bomar76]

Re: My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

Also run a GOOD spyware program.<br />The outbound dialing could be a nasty program attempting to place an expensive overseas call.<br />Lots of evil dialer programs out there.

 

[Homerr]

Re: My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

Yep...<br /><br />Could definately be a 'phone-home' program trying to call.<br />Some of them are real nasty and call late at night and jack your phone bill up.<br /><br />Make sure your modeom settings are 'never automatically dial'<br /><br />And keep it behind a firewall like ZoneAlarm.<br />With Zone alarm, you can kill the net with a few clicks. If any programs try to get out, ZA will stop them.<br /><br />H.

 

[Eubie]

Re: My Weirdly Behaving Computer (you may not believe this)

Bomar hit it on the head. You somehow got ahold of some type of internet dialer. I've even see Norton Antivirus setup to get their "regular" updates via modem which was a mistake a user made. <br /><br />Run Spybot Search & Destroy or Adaware 6.0. <br /><br /> Spybot <br /><br /> Adaware