09-05-2003, 08:20 PM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 544
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Using a Red-E Smartphone as a USB Modem
Microsoft Smartphone 2002 has the ability to work as an IR or USB modem. Which means you can access the internet on your Laptop or PC using the phone as a modem. The IR modem connectivity is easy and doesn�t require you to install any special drivers on your laptop. Just align the IR ports and create a new Dial up Connection on your laptop using IR, and you are soon cruising the information highway on the go. But IR port is not the best way to access the internet, because the IR ports have to be aligned perfectly for it to work seamlessly!
This is where USB modem comes in. Hook up the Phone to the Laptop via USB cable. And create a Dial-up Connection, but not so fast, you will need USB Modem driver to be installed on your laptop before the laptop can talk to the phone. Unlike the IR Port, USB Modem driver is not available with Windows install. What makes it tough is that USB modem drivers are model specific. So the SPV 100 (HTC Tanager) driver will not work for a phone based on different platform, like Everlink Red-E (SC1100 � the Microsoft Developer Kit phone) or the Mitac Mio. If you try to install Red-E USB modem using available HTC Modem driver, Windows Hardware Installation Wizard will fail to identify it.
This article describes the steps required to make minor modifications to the HTC USB driver so that it works for Red-E phones (and can be used for other phone platforms, like for Mitac Mio also).
Before I get started, I would like to thank Arne Hess for writing an excellent article on his PPCW.net site: �HOW TO: Setting Up a GPRS Connection for Win XP and USB using Smartphone 2002.� The article describes the steps required to install the driver on the laptop and also to configure the phone and laptop for USB Modem based internet access.
I will be directing you to Arne�s article/site for the steps that are common across Smartphones. And this article will be focused on Driver customization only.
So let�s get started.- Download the HTC driver from PPCW.net and store it at any location on your Laptop.
- Rename the downloaded filename from USBMDM-5.INF to REDEUSBM.INF (the name doesn�t matter, as long as you don�t change the .INF extension)
- Open the REDEUSBM.INF in a text editor. Notepad.exe should have worked here, but this ASCII encoded file for some reason doesn�t open up properly in Notepad. Use the following editors to open the file: Visual Studio, eVC, eVB, the DOS Edit command or any known ASCII text editor.
- Follow the instructions in this article and on PPCW.net site
General Note:
Lines marked in RED color are existing lines in the INF file. And they should not be touched.
Lines marked in GREEN color are new lines in the INF file, added by us to support Red-E phone.- Once you open the file in a text editor. You will see the following lines at the top of the file.
; Windows Powered Smartphone Modem Link (USB Modem) Setup Template File
; Copyright (c) 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation
; Manufacturer: Microsoft;
; =================================================
;
[Version]
LayoutFile=layout.inf
Signature=$CHICAGO$
Class=Modem
Provider=%MS1%
CLASSGUID={4D36E96D-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
DriverVer=10/29/1999,5.00.2167.1
- Scroll down till you see the following lines.
[Manufacturer]
%HTC%=HTC
- INSERT a new line after the above lines and type in the following text.
%REDE%=REDE
- The manufacturer section will now look something like this.
[Manufacturer]
%HTC%=HTC
%REDE%=REDE
- We just declared a new Manufacturer entry. Now we define it in the file. Scroll down till you see the following line.
[HTC]
%USB\VID_0BB4&PID_00CF.DeviceDesc% = Modem1, USB\VID_0BB4&PID_00CF
- COPY the two lines and PASTE it below the lines.
- Now modify the newly copy-pasted lines, so that it looks like the following.
[REDE]
%REDEUSBMODEM% = Modem1, USB\VID_1219&PID_1A02
- Add another line to the [REDE] section. Red-E has two series of Smartphones, using two different Device IDs.
%REDEUSBMODEM% = Modem1, USB\VID_045E&PID_0079
- And now your file will contain the following lines.
[HTC]
%USB\VID_0BB4&PID_00CF.DeviceDesc% = Modem1, USB\VID_0BB4&PID_00CF
[REDE]
%REDEUSBMODEM% = Modem1, USB\VID_1219&PID_1A02
%REDEUSBMODEM% = Modem1, USB\VID_045E&PID_0079
- NOTE: The string VID_0BB4&PID_00CF has been replaced by VID_1219&PID_1A02 and VID_045E&PID_0079 in the RED-E section. This is the string known as Device ID, and is unique for each hardware model series. Surprisingly RED-E has two Device IDs for its Smartphones VID_045E&PID_0079 and VID_1219&PID_1A02.
- Now scroll down the file and locate the section with the heading [Strings]. It looks like the following:
[Strings]
MS1 = "Microsoft"
USBFilterString ="USB Modem Driver"
USR = "Microsoft"
HTC = "HTC"
USB\VID_0BB4&PID_00CF.DeviceDesc = "HTC USB Modem"
- Add two new lines to this section, so that it looks like the following:
[Strings]
MS1 = "Microsoft"
USBFilterString ="USB Modem Driver"
USR = "Microsoft"
HTC = "HTC"
REDE = "Red-E"
USB\VID_0BB4&PID_00CF.DeviceDesc = "HTC USB Modem"
REDEUSBMODEM = "Red-E USB Modem"
- Save the file. Exit the editor
- That�s it! We are now ready to install the driver.
- It's time to go back to [urlhttp://www.ppcw.net/index.php?itemid=1369&catid=4]PPCW.net How-To article[/url], and configure the phone and laptop using this driver (instead of the HTC driver).
- BEFORE you connect the phone to the PC for the first time, DISABLE ActiveSync on the PC. Remember to follow the instructions in the PPCW.net How-To article.
- BEFORE you connect the phone to the PC for the first time, on your phone:
Programs Menu -> Accessories -> Modem Link -> Select USB.
And then Click on Menu->Activate.
- Just remember when the article instructs you to download the driver and install, use this driver instead.
- When you install using this new driver. Windows will identify the device as �Red-E USB Modem� instead of �HTC USB Modem� as shown in Arne�s How-To article. Other than that there is no difference.
This customized driver has been tested on Windows XP, but should be compatible with Windows 9X and Windows 2000 also.
Following are the screen shots that you will see during Driver Installation. Some of them are a little different from the ones on PPCW.net. The difference is only in the name of the device. As mentioned earlier, Windows will identify the device as �Red-E USB Modem� instead of �HTC USB Modem.�
NOTE: Please refer to Arne�s How-To article for the details, the screen shots are for reference only.
The first time the Smartphone is connected to your laptop via USB.
The Windows Found New Hardware Wizard.
Select Install from a list or specific location.
Specify the path to the newly created Red-E USB driver.
This is snapshot of Windows Device Manager with Red-E USB Driver.
Control Panel > Phone and Modem Options with Red-E USB Modem
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