56k winmodem to linmodem.

Hello,

I'm using PCLinuxOS 93a bigdaddy. Until a few days ago I wasn’t able to
connect to the Internet. But just days ago I was able to get my win
modem to connect. It is now an ‘official’ linmodem.

I thought that this information would be useful to someone, so here it is.

I have a very cheap modem, I don't even recall what I paid for it quite
a while back (years) , but it wasn't much more than $20. The sticker on
the back identifies it as...

Modem blaster DI3635-1/5655
FCC ID GX5USA-27261-PT-E

I know about the issue with Linux and win modems, so I knew I was going
to be having problems, actually for a while there, I was using windows
to connect to the net and using Linux for other things, mainly to learn
Linux. I’m a Linux noob. The more I used Linux the more I realized that
if I could get my sound card and my modem to work, I could actually stop
going back to windows.

So, after a lot of trolling the net. I finally get to a site where I got
a link to download a particular file, which I was to run under Linux.
The link to the file...

http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/scanModem.gz

After I run it under Linux (by then I’d become quite adept at
transferring files back and forth), I got these text files, one of which
had identified my modem as “ESS Technology ES2898 Modem”. Please note:
Under windows this modem was identified as a “Digicomsys...” something
or another (I cannot recall and its now a hassle to reboot into windows
[Oh the joy]). Turns out that the modem board (I guess, the right term)
was made by Digicomsys, but the actual chip was made by ESS. I was
running win98, which needed drivers, winXP identified and used it as a
USRobotics something or another.

That same file instructed me to download a file...

http://tx.technion.ac.il/~raindel/ess_2.6-v0.2.tar.gz

Which I was to untar, then move into the created folder, which was named
“ess_2.6-v0.2”. Then type the following command as root.

../setup

That was it. Modem was operational. I could get Linux on the net.

I did have a slight problem. After every reboot, the modem would
disappear. So I had to run ./setup after every reboot. So I kept reading
and then I stumbled across another file which instructed me to find a
file named “/etc/modules or /etc/modprobe.conf” and add the lines
"linmodem", "esscom_hw", and "esscom". Which I did.

Now my modem works like a charm and it also survives reboots

Please note, all the instructions came from someone else, I just read
their text files and did as instructed, I haven’t got a clue as to what
the commands do.

On Fri, 03 Nov 2006, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.linux.networking, in
article <mfP2h.1774$(E-Mail Removed). net>, Syed Karim
wrote:

>I thought that this information would be useful to someone, so here it is.

I'll make a note of it - but not that many people are using modems anymore.

>I have a very cheap modem, I don't even recall what I paid for it quite
>a while back (years) , but it wasn't much more than $20.

Winmodems are cheap - there's very little hardware there. I'm seen them
advertised as low as US$9.99 with a manufacturers mail in coupon good for
a US$9.99 rebate. Effectively, you only pay any sales tax, and $0.39 for
a stamp.

>The sticker on the back identifies it as...
>
>Modem blaster DI3635-1/5655
>FCC ID GX5USA-27261-PT-E

The key is that FCC-ID. Looking at Rob Clark's old winmodem web page
(there is link in the Modem-HOWTO), I find:

GX5 . Digicom Systems . . .
WM GX5USA-27261-PT-E ES56-PI Creative ModemBlaster DI3635-1; DI5655;
DI5657, Creative DS1820/DS1821 (ESS ES56T-PI) chipset
(PCI\VEN_125D&DEV_2898&SUBSYS_1030148D) - - PCI Greg Moody

>So, after a lot of trolling the net. I finally get to a site where I got
>a link to download a particular file, which I was to run under Linux.
>The link to the file...
>
>http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/packages/scanModem.gz

It's working for you, and that's the important part.

>I got these text files, one of which had identified my modem as ?ESS
>Technology ES2898 Modem?. Please note: Under windows this modem was
>identified as a ?Digicomsys...? something or another (I cannot recall and
>its now a hassle to reboot into windows [Oh the joy]). Turns out that the
>modem board (I guess, the right term) was made by Digicomsys, but the
>actual chip was made by ESS.

Interesting conflict - Digicom Systems is GX5 as noted above, but the
PCI id's list (http://pciids.sourceforge.net/pci.ids) says that the PCI
vendor 125D is ESS Technology, and device 2898 is a ES2989 modem, further
sub-divided to

2898 ES2898 Modem
125d 0424 ES56-PI Data Fax Modem
125d 0425 ES56T-PI Data Fax Modem
125d 0426 ES56V-PI Data Fax Modem
125d 0427 VW-PI Data Fax Modem
125d 0428 ES56ST-PI Data Fax Modem
125d 0429 ES56SV-PI Data Fax Modem
147a c001 ES56-PI Data Fax Modem
14fe 0428 ES56-PI Data Fax Modem
14fe 0429 ES56-PI Data Fax Modem

Googling for ESS Technology, I find

Because ESS Technology does not supply the end-user product, ESS
Technology cannot be responsible for the performance of the Driver
software in any system.

ESS Technology is in Fremont,CA .us. Creative Labs (a subsidiary of Digicom)
is about 5 miles further South in Milpitas, and seems to be more marketing
than manufacturing (but I could be wrong).

>Which I was to untar, then move into the created folder, which was named
>?ess_2.6-v0.2?. Then type the following command as root.
>
>./setup
>
>That was it. Modem was operational. I could get Linux on the net.

The 'setup' file is probably a script (try 'file setup' in that directory).
You may or may not have lucked out. Normally, binary drivers are kernel
specific - and _may_ only work with some distributions/releases.

>I stumbled across another file which instructed me to find a file named
>?/etc/modules or /etc/modprobe.conf? and add the lines "linmodem",
>"esscom_hw", and "esscom". Which I did.
>
>Now my modem works like a charm and it also survives reboots

That's telling the kernel to look for and load as needed a kernel module.

>Please note, all the instructions came from someone else, I just read
>their text files and did as instructed, I haven?t got a clue as to what
>the commands do.

The 'setup' command probably looks at your kernel, and based on what is
found, tells the kernel to load a specific module included in that directory
(probably also moving the module into a location where the kernel can find
it). If that's a script, the Advanced Bash Scripting Guide (below) helps.
Adding the line to the modules configuration file tells the kernel that it
will need this specific module for some purpose. I;'m not sure which of the
other books from the LDP would explain it better - start with 'The Linux
Kernel', 'The Linux Kernel Module Programming Guide' and 'The Linux System
Administrators' Guide' - all from http://tldp.org/guides.html.

Old guy