TITLE
    PC Compatibility Card: Using GV modems
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		24564
8/22/98
8/22/98
TOPIC

    I have been having trouble using my Global Village modem on my PC Compatibility card. I have already called Global Village technical support and have been told that this is an unsupported configuration. Are there any workarounds?

DISCUSSION

    ( Note: This article contains information about third party products. This article is provided for informational purposes only and Apple makes no guarantees about the information contained in this article. Furthermore, Apple technical support does not supply support for the use of 3rd party products)

    Apple has heard reports of Global Village modems not working consistently with Apple branded PC Compatibility cards. It has also been reported to Apple that Global Village technical support states that since they have not extensively tested their modems on the PC Compatibility cards, tbey consider this to be an "untested and unsupported configuration". While Apple typically does not have the resources to test and support third party hardware, it appears that a potential workaround has been brought to our attention.

    Global Village ships software with their modems that provide additional functionality to thier modems (such as a status window in the menu bar that appears every time you use the modem, the ability to fax, and so forth). This software is in the form of several system extensions. While much of this software is useful, it is optional (you can still make internet and other data connections without this software installed).

    When the Global Village software is installed, however, this can create a serial port contention between the Global Village software and the PC Compatibility software. When you select the modem port as being a COM port in the PC Setup Control Panel, the PC Setup Control Panel will then try to take over that port. Likewise, when the Global Village software is set to answer incoming faxes and so forth, it too tries to take over that port. Typically, since the Global Village software loads first, it grabs the port first and thus the modem cannot be used on the PC side.

    That being the case, some brief tests have shown that there are three potential workarounds to this issue (again, please note that these suggestions are merely for informational purposes and they more than likely will work. However, Apple does not provide telephone technical support for third party products):
    • Do not install the Global Village software that is shipped with the modem (keep in mind that you will not have faxing capabilities or the menu bar status indicator if you choose this workaround. It is also important to note that you may need to custom install just the modem script for the Global Village modem if you are using older versions of OT/PPP).
    • Install the Global Village software, but when you wish to use the modem on the PC side, disable all Global Village extensions using the Extensions Manager, restart and then proceed to set up the modem port as a COM port in the PC Setup Control Panel. When you want the Global Village software to be re-enabled, tell PC Setup to release the modem port (set the COM port to "None") and then turn the Global Village extensions back on and restart.
    • If you simply need to download PC software off the internet, possibly the easiest solution is to download the software on the Mac side and then set up a shared folder between the platforms and simply drop the downloaded files in there. You will be able to access the files on the PC side (consult your PC Compatibiltiy Card's manual for instructions on how to set up a shared folder)

Document Information
Product Area: Computers
Category: DOS Compatible
Sub Category: PC Compatibility Cards

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