manivannan

Hi Raghu and Dacodecz, Raghu, during my first recompilation attempt, I had followed the instructions in redhat.com pages you sent me the links to. But, by mistake, I wrote linuxformscratch.com instead of redhat.com. I set those two modules to be built into the kernel as Dacodecz said. But I forgot to include the PL2303 module and compiled the kernel and followed the installation procedure. I was able to boot into this new kernel (its name was linux-2.4.20Custom) but then I realised that I had not included the pl2303 module. So I had to recompile the kernel again. This time I incuded the PL2303 module and compiled the kernel in the same name. But the final installation step failed (make install) saying that mkinitrd failed. The error message from mkinitrd was: "All of your loopback devices are in use". I tried a bit of debugging and found that the value of the variable modName was "ext3" when this error was reported. I thought including the module ext3fs was the problem and tried to recompile the kernel (now in a different name "linux-2.4.20_PLX", thinking that name could be a reason for conflict too) without including ext3fs. Again the same "make install" step failed with the same error message. Now I am running windows so I am not able to post the mkinitrd script or the kernel .config file. If you feel you need any of those to find what the problem is I will boot into linux and post the required files. mani

Hi Dacodecz, I will consider installing a new flavour of linux after seeing how far this recompile adventure gets. mani

Hi Raghu, I tried to recompile the kernel. I put the pl2303.c file as you said and did exactly what the instructions at LinuxFromScratch.com said; But when I tried to boot the customized kernel, I got this error: "Kernel Panic VFS: can not load root fs; Please append a valid "root=" option". The grub.conf file has the same set of options for both the kernels except the initrd image. The size of the initrd image for the new kernel is 88 KB. (For the old kernel, it is 152 KB.) The size difference is because I probably did not select many of the modules in the customized kernel. I am still able to boot into the old kernel. is it possible to fix this ? mani

Hi Dacodecz, I forgot to mention this in my previous post. The last command I tried is ATDT#744. To this command, I did not get any text on the terminal; but the phone displayed "Modem data" as usual. Btw, which number should we dial to connect using RConnect #777 or #744 ? After issuing this command ATDT#744 I tried to capture the text coming from the modem in a file using the "Capture Text" option under "Transfer" menu in HyperTerminal. But I only got a blank file. mani

Hi Dacodecz, I tried the HyperTerminal experiment you suggested. I connected to the COM port to which the modem had been connected and issued the commands. The modem's responses have been posted in the attached file "Dacodecz_Response.txt". I guess my cable is working fine then. What do you say ? mani Dacodecz_Response.txt

Hi Dacodecz, Do you mean that all these linux distributions have the drivers for both PL 2303 and PL 2303 H/X and they can support both ? mani

Hi Raghu, Before deciding that my cable is faulty I want to try this one thing: recompiling the kernel as you have suggested. (I do not have a serial port in my laptop. That's why I have to struggle with this USB cable.) Unfortunately there is no simple test to check if the cable is faulty. (PC Sync doesn't work with this cable; It always says "the phone is locked or restricted"; even when the phone is not locked. But I am not sure if this is enough evidence to say that the cable is faulty.) I want to try this rebuilding the kernel also because I am learning a bit more about linux by doing all these experiments. In fact I have installed linux just to learn more about it. Thanks for your guidance. mani

Thanks Raghu and Dacodecz. Dacodecz, I am using Red Hat 9. Linux Kernel Version 2.4.20. I will post the /var/log/messages file soon. Raghu, I forgot to try your suggestion completely. I just visited that site. There is no detailed instruction for Red Hat users. They only provide a driver for red hat users (to be used at one's own risk!). What should I do with that driver ? Where should I put it and is there any instruction to install it ?

Thanks Dacodecz and Vishal. I tried the modem initialization strings suggested by both of you. Vishal's string didn't work. The dialer reported a hardware failure and quit. Dacodecz' string led to the same old "Modem data" problem. I have copied the modem-log immediately after trying the string suggested by Dacodecz here: 02-03-2005 14:33:37.510 - File: C:\WINDOWS\System32\tapisrv.dll, Version 5.1.2600 02-03-2005 14:33:37.510 - File: C:\WINDOWS\System32\unimdmat.dll, Version 5.1.2600 02-03-2005 14:33:37.510 - File: C:\WINDOWS\System32\drivers\modem.sys, Version 5.1.2600 02-03-2005 14:33:37.510 - File: C:\WINDOWS\System32\mdminst.dll, Version 5.1.2600 02-03-2005 14:33:37.510 - Modem inf path: mdmgen.inf 02-03-2005 14:33:37.510 - Matching hardware ID: mdmgen336 02-03-2005 14:33:37.840 - Initializing modem. 02-03-2005 14:33:37.840 - CTS is low while initializing modem. 02-03-2005 14:33:38.000 - Recv: AT<cr> 02-03-2005 14:33:38.000 - Recv: <cr><lf>OK<cr><lf> 02-03-2005 14:33:38.010 - Send: ATE0V1<cr> 02-03-2005 14:33:38.010 - Command Echo 02-03-2005 14:33:38.010 - Interpreted response: OK 02-03-2005 14:33:38.020 - Recv: <cr><lf>OK<cr><lf> 02-03-2005 14:33:38.020 - Sending user initialization commands. 02-03-2005 14:33:38.481 - Recv: <cr><lf>OK<cr><lf> 02-03-2005 14:33:38.481 - Session Statistics: 02-03-2005 14:33:38.481 - Reads: 13 bytes 02-03-2005 14:33:38.481 - Writes: 27 bytes I do not see anything wrong in this log. But the dialer reports the error (code 777) "modem or other hardware in the remote computer is out of order" and quits. Please see if you can help.

Hi Dacedecz, I changed the baud rate and tried again. It didn't work. /var/log/messages had something like this: the modem did not respond to some ATZ (or something) command. Do you think there is some problem with the cable ?

I am using a third party USB cable with 5130 (OS is Windows XP). When I try to synchronize my contacts, PC Sync says "Phone is locked or restricted" even when the phone is not locked (The key-guard is not enabled either). Has anyone ese faced this problem before ? Please provide a solution.

No, I have not enabled any lock.

Thanks Dacedecz for the quick response. Let me try changing the script as you have said. I am using LG RD 5130.

Thanks Dacodecz. Can anyone using 5130 and USB cable with Windows XP please provide details of the extra modem-initialization commands ? (Go to Control Panel -> Phones & Modems; Select the Modems tab; Locate the Reliance Phone modem and click on Properties. Select the Advanced tab and copy the text from the box "Extra Initialization Commands". Please let me know if this box is empty.

Thanks Raghu and Dacedecz. I could locate pl2303 in dmesg. It has been connected to the port ttyUSB0 as Dacodecz suggested. Hi Dacodecz, I tried RConnect's command line program. But I could not install it. In the step of detecting COM and USB ports (after selecting phone make and model) it said that there is no COM port in my computer; It didn't even bother to say anything about the USB ports! But I do have two USB ports in my computer and I have connected the phone to one of them. How do we make rcmdline recognize the USB ports ? I also tried your script to connect. (I ran it as: script <phone-number> <phone-number>) It didn't work. I got these lines in the /var/log/messages file about the attempt. Jan 31 16:30:42 localhost pppd[9423]: pppd 2.4.1 started by root, uid 0 Jan 31 16:30:43 localhost chat[9424]: send (at+cta=30^M) Jan 31 16:30:44 localhost chat[9424]: expect (OK) Jan 31 16:31:29 localhost chat[9424]: alarm Jan 31 16:31:29 localhost chat[9424]: Failed Jan 31 16:31:29 localhost pppd[9423]: Connect script failed Jan 31 16:31:30 localhost pppd[9423]: Exit. Please help. Thanks, mani

Thanks Raghu. I found that RedHat Linux loads Prolific 2303 automatically as you said. But I am not able to set up a dial-up connection using that. First of all, how to find port number to which my phone is connected ? In windows, it is COM5. I found the corresponding device listing only for the COM1-to-COM4 range (/dev/ttyS0 to /dev/ttyS3). What does COM5 translate to in linux device terminology ? Or doesnt Linux support more than 4 COM ports ? If someone who is using RConnect on linux can provide me guidance it will be very helpful. mani

As a continuation of my previous posting... I got my cable changed by the seller. Now I got a USB cable from a company called Enter Multimedia. The RConnect dialer installation failed at the same step as above (Phone was not added as a modem). But I installed a standard 33,600 bit modem to the same port in which the phone is connected. When I tried to dial (744) the phone displays "Modem data" but dialing does not succeed. The dialer says that the modem or the remote computer is out of order. How to fix this problem ? Can anyone please help ?

There are many postings related to problems with third party USB cables (whereas all the serial cables seem to be working fine irrespective of their origin). Many people also ask if they should buy the USB cable from Reliance or from some third party. This poll is to collect all the experience data in one place and provide guidance to others. In any case, please mention your Handset, (USB) Cable-make (Prolific etc.), Cable-price, Cable-vendor and Operating system. Whatever details you can provide. Please go through all the options before selecting one. Options: Option 1: Yes, the cable works. I am using RConnect dialer. The installation was absolutely painless. Cable works for both RConnect and Data Sync (including contacts etc and multimedia - wallpapers, ringtones etc.) Option 2: Yes, same as above. But had to tweak something before the installation worked. (Provide details) Option 3: Yes, the cable works. But could not use RConnect dialer software. Installed the modem separately and using the dialer bundled in my OS or some other dialer. Option 4: Yes, the cable works. But the driver provided by the cable-vendor did not work. I had to use the driver from some other source. Option 5: Yes and No. Everything was working. But after I changed something (this could be installing a patch) it stopped working. Can not reinstall the modem. Option 6: No, it didn't work. Installed the modem but can not connect. Data sync works (partially or completely). Option 7: No, it didn't work. Modem instalation failed. Data sync works (partially or completely). Option 8: No, nothing works. No RConnect, No Data sync either. If your answer is none of the above please select the option that is the closest to your experience and provide details.

Hi Deepu, can you please select an option and cast your vote too ? Thanks, mani

My handset: LG RD 5130 Cable-make: Prolific Cable-price: Rs 450 Cable-vendor: Nisha Online (INDcables), bought via Baazee.com OS: Windows XP with Service Pack 1 Option 7: Data sync works partially - can sync contacts etc. but not the multimedia stuff.

Hi KS, Did you buy the cable from Nisha@IndCables.com via Baazee ? I did the same mistake. My handset is LG 5130, OS is same as yours (Xp) and the problem is also same as yours!! The USB cable worked for LG Sync but not for RConnect. I tried to install the modem alone (without using the RConnect installer); it didn't work either. I could not point to the ser2pl.sys as the driver for any standard modem. WinXP didn't like it ("This location does not contain information about your hardware"). Succeeded in installing the modem using lgusbmodem.sys (I don't really remember the origin of this driver - it is either included in the RConnect installer or I downloaded it from LG site); The LG CDMA modem was added to the list of modems ("Phones and Modems"); But I could not connect using this modem. The dialing phase failed and reported some error. I understand that this USB cable has a chip from Prolific at its heart; This chip is called RS232 if I remember correctly and it is merely a serial-to-USB port converter and should be able to connect any device that has a serial port (like our LG handset) to a USB port in the computer. I did a web-search and found that many people are successfully using the same Prolific cable/chip for connecting their devices (not just phones) to the computer. But somehow it does not work for our purpose. Before reading your post (that you tried the cable with other OS like Win98, Win2k) I was thinking that WinXP is the problem (like Vishal said in his posting). After reading your post, I feel that the driver provided with the cable by INDcables must be the faulty part. As the next step, I want to try the device driver for Prolific chip from some other source. But I have not tried this yet because I have (stupidly) sent my cable to INDcables asking for a replacement. I am yet to receive the new cable. Please try this approach and let me know the result. mani

I would advise you to go for the original cable. Read others experiences with third-party cables in this forum! Especially the third-party USB cables are very bad. Either their driver is incompatible with RConnect or RConnect deliberately rejects third-party cables/drivers. The third-party serial cables seem to be doing well. At least better than the USB ones. By the way, what is this "privileged customer coupons" thing ? Who gets it ?

I have not faced this dormancy problem yet (since I haven't installed RConnect successfully yet!). But I strongly feel that pinging some server is not an ethical solution to this dormancy problem (which is caused due to net inactivity I understand from your discussion). Many users pinging a server puts a heavy load on it and affects the purpose of that server. Especially the ones like mail.yahoo.com and messenger.yahoo.com should not be used for such activities since they are doing us a lot of good for free. Even if you don't care for ethics you should refrain from doing such things because sooner or later you will face legal action. No server will sit and watch its resources being exploited to keep someone's net connection up and running.

Has anyone successfully installed RConnect with the same handset/cable/OS combination as above ? Do the third-party USB cables work at all ?

Hi Ganesh, I have the same problem with LG 5130 and a third party USB cable. OS is WinXP with SP1. Can I use some driver from the site (ftdicip.com) you have mentioned and install RConnect succesfully ? If yes, please tell me which driver I should use. Thanks in advance. mani