Resolving Rank 1 ID Matches

Following are INF entries which illustrate how to resolve a common situation: two modems share the same ID string: 

[ControlFlags]
ExcludeFromSelect=PCMCIA\MEGAHERTZ-CC3144-4ADE
 
[Models]
%Modem3% = Modem3, PCMCIA\MEGAHERTZ-CC3144-4ADE"
%Modem2% = Modem2, MDMROCK_Modem2, PCMCIA\MEGAHERTZ-CC3144-4ADE
%Modem1% = Modem1, MDMROCK_Modem1, PCMCIA\MEGAHERTZ-CC3144-4ADE

In the preceding example two modems share the same ID. This can happen with any ID type but is most commonly seen with Unimodem legacy ID strings. Here is a workaround for this example:

  1. Make both modems rank 1 per the preceding (double comma entries).
  2. Create a new Rank 0 entry for a combined ID, in this case modem3.
  3. Note that the new entry is rank zero (one comma).
  4. Create a special control flag section with the ExcludeFromSelect syntax as shown in the preceding. This will hide the rank 0 modem from visibility in any GUI or control panel displays but allow installation
  5. Create installation sections as needed for Modem3.
  6. Create or modify a string section for Modem3 with a generic model name, perhaps "28.8 Data Fax modem."
  7. Create an [AddReg] section in your INF file for modem 3 which uses the LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR of commands which BOTH modems can use assuming automatic installation would happen of EITHER modem. If few commands can be shared (which is unlikely) it may be necessary to have this rank 0 modem entry simply be a generic modem entry in MDMGEN.INF which can usually be safely shared by both modems because it uses very few initialization commands.

The purpose of the ExcludefromSelect entry in the [ControlFlags] section is to prevent a user from being able to select the "generic combination" entry manually from a pick list. The preceding scheme allows both automatic installation of conflicting modems sharing identical modem ID strings, but also allows for manual installation of modems by name.

A variant of this situation: two modems are found to share the same ID. However one is external and one is internal modem. Which icon profile should be used for the rank 0 entry? In this case use external.