Member Avatar for konfused

i was trying to connect to the internet then it said "error 797: a connection to the remote computer could not be established because the modem is missing or busy" the internet was working earlier, could you all help me out please? thanks

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Brief addition to the thread building on and : error 797 means the OS cannot open the modem device. The replies already point to driver/virtual-adapter issues; the checklist below adds practical diagnostics and safe next steps that were not shown earlier.

  • Physical/line first: confirm modem power and front-panel LEDs, verify a real dial tone at the wall (remove any DSL filters or disconnect other tel devices such as fax or answering machine), and swap the phone cable or jack. External modems and surge strips sometimes hide simple wiring faults.
  • Services and logs: inspect Event Viewer (System/Application) for Ras/Telephony/PlugPlay errors around the failure time. Also verify Remote Access Connection Manager and Telephony services are running; stopped services often explain “missing or busy” symptoms.
  • Port and resource issues: an internal or USB modem can be claimed by another driver or app (Bluetooth, infrared, virtualization tools). Check Device Manager for Ports/Modems and for any resource conflicts; temporarily disable other serial/USB-serial devices to see if the modem becomes available.
  • Hardware responsiveness: use a serial terminal program (HyperTerminal or equivalent) to open the modem’s COM/USB port and send an AT command — a responding OK proves the modem itself is talking and narrows the problem to the RAS/dial-up stack.
  • Repair/reinstall safely: if the device is unresponsive, remove the modem from Device Manager and reinstall the manufacturer’s driver (download the driver before uninstalling). Create a System Restore point and back up the registry before any manual edits or advanced repairs.

If the problem is intermittent, testing the modem on a different PC or trying a simple external USB modem will quickly distinguish hardware versus OS/driver faults. When seeking further help, include Event Viewer timestamps, whether the modem is internal/USB/external, and the Windows build.

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Member Avatar for pcpalct

A pretty reputable support site claims:

797 - The modem could not be found.

This error occurs only in Windows 2000 and XP. The error can occur if the modem is no longer visible to the system, and may be a problem related to the modem driver, or system conflicts that cause the modem to work only some of the time.

In some cases, rebooting the machine may "solve" the problem.

If the modem is an external and is not powered on when the system is booted this error may occur: shut-down, power on the modem & re-boot the system.

If the error persists, check to see if there is an updated driver for your modem.

Member Avatar for fangnyang

Win XP requires that you must have the following virtual hardwares installed in your system in order to connect to the internet using adsl or modems:
(1) WAN miniport(IP)
(2) WAN miniport(PPTP)
(3) WAN miniport(L2TP)

usually they were installed automatcially along with the dirver for the NIC the system detected for the first time. But viruses or inappropriate operations may make them disappear. So first, please make sure that all the above 3 virtual hardwares are there:

go to the device manager and click "view" and click "show hidden devices".

If any of them is missing, you may need to uninstall the rest and reinstall them again:

run regedit ( don't forget to save your registry.
)and locate and clik the item HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-
BFC1-08002BE10318}. For each subitem, check if the "DriverDesc" in the data column has the value " WAN miniport(IP) or
WAN miniport(PPTP) or WAN miniport(L2TP). If it has, delete the whole subitem ( eg., 007, which is machine-dependent).

Goto the device manager again, and uninstall the 3 virtual hardwares if any. Now reinstall them again:
click control panel–>add hardware–>next–>select "Yes, I have already connected
hardware(next)–>add a new hardware device(at the bottom)–>select install the hardware that
i manually select from a list–>network
adapters–>select microsoft from left and select WAN miniport(IP) from right;
... do the similar for PPTP and L2TP.

Restart the machine. Hopefully everything is okay now.

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