USB modem only detected as mass storage device

angelah100

I have a laptop running 32bit Vista. 2 weeks ago purchased a Huawei EC168 modem from Alltel. Installed and ran great, but decided to swap for UM175 so I could purchase the MBR1000. Installed UM175 on laptop (while waiting for router delivery) and noticed it was much slower than the EC168. Decided to swap out again, but this time the EC168 will not install on laptop - it will only be detected as a mass storage device. Spent 3+ hrs on phone with Alltel and they gave up. They also said that this 'mass storage device" problem has happened before but they don't have a solution.

Tried to restore laptop to a point before installing the UM175 but that failed for some reason, so not an option. Besides trying another EC168 (which is in the mail to me), any suggestions on what else to try?

steve_52 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 20 Sep 2008 Posts: 20

I had this problem when going from a Huawei EC 228 to a UM175. The UM175 was detected as a CD drive because autoplay did not kick in. Did they have you remove all traces of the UM175? Does the 168 come with a Quiklink CD or is the software on the device? Alltel calls these things plug n play, but really they just have the Quiklink software on them already. If it is on the device, can you access it (since the computer thinks it's a storage device, you ought to be able to do this in My Computer) and copy the Windows QL folder to your desktop? If that will work, do it, then unplug the modem, remove all traces of Quiklink, as well as both modems in device manager--be sure to check USB devices, drives, etc, reboot, install Quiklink from the folder on the desktop, then, when it asks you to, plug in the modem and let Windows detect it, and finish the install.

The UM175 is a funny device, it installs itself in a number of places and seems kinda finicky/intrusive. I've had a hard time installing mine on every computer I've tried it on. It is probably interfering with the 168. An Alltel tech told me they don't like 'em much.