Overview

This article serves as a reference for troubleshooting modems that could not initialize.

Information

There are a lot of reasons why a modem could not initialize. Some reasons are mentioned below:

• The modem is switched off.
• The cable is defective.
• The power supply is not the original type intended for the modem (for external modems only).
• The modem is not a fax modem.
• The initialization string entered in the fax server configuration is incorrect and the modem is returning an error.
• The modem will not accept some of the basic commands GFI FaxMaker needs that the modem supports and is returning an error. It must support all the commands listed in the Advanced Modem Configuration dialog in the GFI FaxMaker fax server configuration.
• You chose to use voice (DTMF or Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency detection) and the modem does not support voice or the voice initialization string is not supported by the modem.
• When the modem sends or receives some faxes for a while it can go uninitialized because of some bad settings for the modem in the Advanced Modem Configuration.
• The modem overheated due to long operation and it could not handle commands until it cooled down. This is a sign that the modem needs replacement or that it is a very cheap modem that cannot handle 24-hour faxing.
• Windows re-assigned a different COM port.