Mobile Broadband - No Device - not fixed for K3805z

[John Birchall]

Maybe you can help, the level 2 technical team hung up on me after 30 mintues on hold ('we cannot deal with your call owing to an emergency' i.e. it was 8pm, which Vodafone later told me is their going home time 🙂 )

To the point: Just got a USB stick modem K3805z. Installed automatically on Windows 7 64 bit on Dell Inspiron 1545. However, I get a No Device message in VMCLite, and a Windows error message saying Drivers did not install properly.

I have now fixed the driver problem manually but still have a problem. After several re-installs I eventually managed to disable the USB mass storage mode manually, in Device Manager, and had to load the correct drivers manually in Device Manager, as the automatic install loads the wrong drivers off the stick. It took ages!

The Device Manager now shows driver issues as Ok, but there is still a problem. The modem is shown is missing: in Windows Networking > VMCLite> Connect >Properties>General it says 'Modem Removed - Huwai Mobile Connect (Com 7)' - which may refer to my previous modem (or is this new modem also Huwai?). It should not refer to the old modem as I uninstalled the old version of VMC lite, deleted all drivers for the old Huwai modum, ran Registry Mechanic, and rebooted. I do not understand the Com 7, which is not shown in Device manager, where the new modem is shown as connected to Com 3 and Com 4.

Looking at the VMCLite window (version 9.4.8.21929) I am still getting No Device.

Once the driver issue was sorted, it was possible to connect because the Vodafone network is shown in Windows Networking. To do this it is necessary to enter the APN, user name and password. It is connected now, using this manual entry of APN via Windows Networking interface. But VMCLite still shows No Device.

This demanding installation is exteremely time-consuming, and not for the non-technical. It has blown apart my theory that working with modern versions of Windows is easier than getting software working on Linux.

Question 1: Is there any version of the Vodafone software which will (a) install the correct drivers for this modem on Windows 7 automatically?

Question 2: can you explain the No Device message, or suggest some work-around or alternative software which will not run into this problem of finding No Device? Don't tell me to download Mobile Connect (unless you are sure!) because this modem IS NOT LISTED as compatible hardware in the READ ME pdf for Mobile Conenct 9.4.6.20529. The last thing I want is another few hours having to strip out non-compatible software, reload the software from the stick, and re-install all drivers manually!

Question 3: could it be that the problem is that VMCLite is still looking for the old modem which I was using on this laptop until today? It seems unlikely given I have uninstalled the old version of VMCLite, deleted all the old drivers, and I assume Registry Mechanic has removed references to the old modem in the registry - though I cannot be sure. But if it could be this, how do I deal with it?

I am travelling tomorrow so unless you reply first thing, I may not pick up your reply until the weekend, and will be able to try any fix for nearly three weeks. But when I am back it in the country it would be nice to be able to (as the misleading slogan on the box says) "Plug and Go."

Thanks

John

[Retired-Jon_V]

The Device Manager now shows driver issues as Ok, but there is still a problem. The modem is shown is missing: in Windows Networking > VMCLite> Connect >Properties>General it says 'Modem Removed - Huwai Mobile Connect (Com 7)' - which may refer to my previous modem (or is this new modem also Huwai?). It should not refer to the old modem as I uninstalled the old version of VMC lite, deleted all drivers for the old Huwai modum, ran Registry Mechanic, and rebooted. I do not understand the Com 7, which is not shown in Device manager, where the new modem is shown as connected to Com 3 and Com 4.

Hi John,

Thanks for being so thorough in the information you've provided - it makes our job a lot easier

The phantom modem you're seeing is one of Windows little oddities. Even though you've deleted the drivers, unplugged it, and removed any references from the Registry, Windows still keeps a track of any and all devices that have been plugged into it. You'll find this old modem entry is still present under Control Panel > Phone and Modem Options > Modems Tab.

Delete all of the modems from this list, and also delete the manual Dial-up connection that you've been using to get connected while you've been having this issue, then reboot.

The next time you plug in the modem, now that the duplicate entries have gone, it should be able to pick it up and assign it correctly - and when you press Connect for the first time, this will prompt the software to write a new DUN connection into windows, this time with all the correct settings and modem references present, which should hopefully resolve the issue

Failing that, and dispite your mis-givings, my understanding is that the full versions of Vodafone Mobile Connect downloadable from here, do in fact contain drivers for all of our current devices, so I would still recommend this as the next step. The fact that you can get a connection using the dial-up method proves the modem is not faulty, and the drivers are working, which only leaves a problem specific to the VMC Software itself, so it's a pretty safe bet that this could resolve that. You may need to change the APN settings under Manage Connections if using a Pay-as-you-Go SIM card, but this is easy enough to do, and we can advise you more closely on that if it comes to it

Let me know how you get on.

Jon

eForum Team

[John Birchall]

Hi Jon

Thanks for your response. You say:

The phantom modem you're seeing is one of Windows little oddities. Even though you've deleted the drivers, unplugged it, and removed any references from the Registry, Windows still keeps a track of any and all devices that have been plugged into it. You'll find this old modem entry is still present under Control Panel > Phone and Modem Options > Modems Tab.

I am not near the computer until I return to UK. However I am sure I deleted the old modem in Control Panel.
The only modem left in Control Panel>Modemsw was E72: I have an E72 phone. Are you able to tell me where in the registry to check for the key which identifies this modem? Obviously I edit Windows registry at my own risk.


John

[Retired-George]

Hi John,

As we're not Windows Certified, I'm afraid we're unable to provide any information in regards to the Windows Registry. That's not to say that one of our helpful forum users can't though .

George
eForum Team

[John Birchall]

Let's hope.

If not, I will search the registry for any key which looks like a candidate for deletion.

Roll on the day when open source makes Microsoft irrelevant...