"Gateway and HP may have sold "tens of thousands" of machines affected by the modem freeze...."
February Glitch Halts Modems on Some
Notebooks
Modems shut down on some HP, Gateway models, but
downloadable driver fix is available.
Matt Hamblen, Computerworld
Thursday, February 22, 2001
Human error is being blamed for a software driver problem that
caused modems to freeze up on some late-model laptops at the
stroke of midnight February 21.
The problem with modems on laptops with Windows operating
systems has set teams of developers scurrying to provide online
fixes to users at several companies, including Hewlett-Packard,
Gateway, and ESS Technology, which wrote the problematic
software.
ESS officials and one industry analyst put the number of affected
machines worldwide in the tens of thousands.
Since the error is located in an algorithm inside the time-based
software coding for Windows modem drivers, users must reset the
date on their notebooks to February 20 or earlier to reactivate their
modems, ESS officials say.
ESS refuses to name which companies use the troublesome modem
driver but acknowledges that there are several worldwide. It has
posted a generic fix for four operating systems: Windows 98 Special
Edition, Windows 2000, Windows Me, and Windows NT.
HP Pavilion, Omnibook Hit
According to an HP spokesperson, affected models include the
Pavilion n5000 and the Omnibook XE3, both of which hit the market
last November. The affected Gateway model is the Solo 3350, which
went on sale last September, a Gateway spokesperson says.
Neither HP nor Gateway initially posted explanations about the
problem or any online fixes specific to their machines. Officials at
both companies say the only solution so far is to turn back the date
on each computer's clock.
Gateway and HP may have sold "tens of thousands" of machines
affected by the modem freeze, notes IDC analyst Alan Promisel. He
says the problem could hit Gateway harder because it is having
greater financial problems and recently announced layoffs.
"For Gateway, an announcement such as this does little to rebuild
confidence in its product lines," Promisel says.
Fixes in Progress
When the software problem was discovered early Wednesday
morning, teams at ESS went to work to create the generic
replacement driver that has already been posted, says Bill Wong,
the company's director of marketing.
"We're over the hump with the fix, but that's only in a sense
because it was an easy problem to fix," says Skip Effler, senior vice
president of worldwide sales at ESS. "But the logistics of working
with our customers are the issue. We will make all...efforts possible
to get the drivers" customized for each customer.
HP officials say they're working to find a solution that allows laptop
users to use their modems with their computers set to the correct
date. ESS says any software fix is required to meet the Windows
Hardware Qualifying Laboratory standard. That way, it won't
adversely affect other laptop functions.
Wong says the error was introduced months ago when an ESS
worker updated the modems from older Windows operating systems
to newer ones. The particular code in which the error occurred is
designed to prevent users from harassing others on a network with
repeated calls and is required in some European countries and in
Japan, Wong says.
"There was a problem with the constant value for time, and it's
fixed," he says.
The problem is a first for ESS, Wong adds. "We've definitely learned
already that customer service is a number-one priority and that with
software, something like this could happen to any company," he
says.
Story copyright 2001 Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved.
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