HELP PLEASE, winXP modem / PCI simple comm controller

[liquidmonkey]

so i'm at my dads place out in the country and a thunderstorm knocks out his modem. yes, its a crappy 56k modem but whatever.
we buy a new modem and try to connect but get 'new hardware found, PCI simple communication controller' and winXP wants us to install this driver.
sure enough its in the DEVICE MANAGER but has a big question mark on it.

now everything worked before the thunderstorm so i'm not sure how it killed the PCI simple comm controller

i have the drivers for the US Robotics model 3039 modem and tried to install them but that was a no go. the PC went into a constant reboot cycle and had to do a system restore.

how can i get the PCI simple comm controller to work so that i can then install the modem drivers????
PLEASE HELP cause i've been stuck on this all afternoon

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Sounds silly, but try shutting it down, removing the modem, and then reinstalling the modem making sure it's fully seated. Reboot and see if it recognizes it.

 

[liquidmonkey]

crisis OVER.
ended up restarting and THEN the drivers were installed no problem

never thought i'd be happy to have dial up back, hahaha!