Windows 2000 and Vodacom 3G

[tigertail]

I thought I would let anyone else who still uses Windows 2000, like me, know that if you have problems connecting to the internet, like I did (1. told me I needed to insert the SIM card; 2. automatically shut down my computer; 3. simply disconnected me when I had just been connected and feeling triumphant), it could be because your usb ports are not powerful enough to run the 3G modem.

Through numerous calls to 082 155, we had eventually downloaded the correct version of VML 9.2 - according to one of the call centre telephone answerers. So, I had 2 versions of 9.2. The one that came with the modem was suspect because although the window that pops up says 9.2, the printing on the driver cd says 9.1. So, we concluded that I didn't have the latest version.

So, now what I do, is:
1. I plug the modem into one of my ports at the back of the computer, not one of the two at the front and it seems to make a difference.
2. Also, I only plug in the main cable, not the other shorter cable.
3. and when my computer sees the modem and loads the software, I have to exit all of that because, we think, my computer isn't powerful enough to run the connection directly off the modem, and I select the second version that I downloaded from which to run the internet connection.

It seems to be working today and I am feeling happy about it!

Hope it works for you too.

[Iam3G]

I thought I would let anyone else who still uses Windows 2000, like me, know that if you have problems connecting to the internet, like I did (1. told me I needed to insert the SIM card; 2. automatically shut down my computer; 3. simply disconnected me when I had just been connected and feeling triumphant), it could be because your usb ports are not powerful enough to run the 3G modem.

Through numerous calls to 082 155, we had eventually downloaded the correct version of VML 9.2 - according to one of the call centre telephone answerers. So, I had 2 versions of 9.2. The one that came with the modem was suspect because although the window that pops up says 9.2, the printing on the driver cd says 9.1. So, we concluded that I didn't have the latest version.

So, now what I do, is:
1. I plug the modem into one of my ports at the back of the computer, not one of the two at the front and it seems to make a difference.
2. Also, I only plug in the main cable, not the other shorter cable.
3. and when my computer sees the modem and loads the software, I have to exit all of that because, we think, my computer isn't powerful enough to run the connection directly off the modem, and I select the second version that I downloaded from which to run the internet connection.

It seems to be working today and I am feeling happy about it!

Hope it works for you too.

The only problem i found sofar with Windows 2000 and the E220 is the USB drivers that were out of date, which caused the laptop to BSOD and reboot each time the modem was plugged in. Solution was to install NT Service Pack 4(as Service Pack 3 was installed).

[tigertail]

Service Pack 4 was on my pc already, so that wasn't the solution in this case.

The other thing that could explain why it works is to have the modem plugged into the USB port before booting the machine. It seems like the computer needs to think the modem is part of it when it starts vs plugging the modem in once the computer is up and running - when I do it this way, the computer restarts automatically. And once it has rebooted and I've connected to the internet it continues to work, so it definitely sounds like the computer / Windows 2000 wants to think that the modem and its software are part of the whole system.

Sounds very territorial to me ... but it seems to work.

[ic]

IMO you need to try updating your PC's BIOS to the latest version, and only after you've done that check Windoze Update for any updated USB drivers.

Also, are you 100% sure that your USB ports are USB2 compliant?

[tigertail]

IMO you need to try updating your PC's BIOS to the latest version, and only after you've done that check Windoze Update for any updated USB drivers.

Also, are you 100% sure that your USB ports are USB2 compliant?

How do I know if my USB ports are USB2 compliant? And why would they need to be?