[SOLVED, updated] Dialup pppconfig / wvdial error messages

[jaderiver]

To any knowledgeable dialup people out there:

For days, I have trying to connect to the Net using dialup w/ Maya Mate. Have had success with pppconfig on older systems, but no success now. When configuring either pppconfig or wvdial, keep getting messages like:

"Failed to create file '/root/.local/share/recently-used./xbel.L2UZGW: No such file or directory."
"Failed to store in file '/root/.local/share/recently-used./xbel.L2UZGW: No such file or directory."
"Attempting to set the permissions of '/root/.local/share/recently-used./xbel.L2UZGW: No such file or directory."
etc
etc

What steps to take to create the file?

Also, while trying to connect, terminal says "Can't get terminal parameters: Input/output error"
What is causing this error? How to rectify?


Thank you so much for time and attention.
jaderiver
---
ASUS U56E eNotebook
Zoom #3095 USB modem
dual booting w/ WIN 7

[jaderiver]

Three days ago I got online! After changing, resetting, trying different settings for various Mint/Gnome files, my pppconfig access to dialup started to work using pon/poff method in the terminal. Unfortunately, I cannot pinpoint the exact changes which made everything good to go because in my blurry states of frustration , sometimes I remembered to reboot after adjustments and sometimes not.

The following adjustments were likely key to solving the connection/error message issues:

1) My Zoom USB modem is external. During "sudo pppconfig" setup, the port options were
"/dev/ttySn" where n = 0-3. There was no option for /dev/modem as in previous pppconfig setups. So, I manually typed in during configuration and configured NM (Network Manager) to match. No go. Then, I used command "dmesg" in the terminal to determine which port my modem was interfacing with. First, "dmesg" without modem attached. Then, "dmesg" with modem attached, to compare results. USB port info was at end of list. Port indicated was ttyACM0. (That's a zero at the end.) Reconfigured pppconfig w/this new info- note that ISPConnect setting or "Ack string" must be /d/c/ and not (") as suggested in pppconfig protocol. Went into NM to reconfigure as well, although not sure if the last step required.

Other steps which may or may not have influenced successful connection:

2) Going into /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf file and disabling dnmasq by commenting out (putting # in front of line). Then, sudo restart network-manager. But! Since reenabling dnmasq again, pon/poff method still works.

3) Took suggestion from oobetimer in this post:

viewtopic.php?f=157&t=103085&start=0&hilit=mint+10+dialup+modem+connects+but+does+not+load+sites

and created /etc/resolv.conf file using google codes -

8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4
domain google.com

4) Went into NM to add, then removed, my ISP IP numbers from "local host" setting.

So!... am online through Maya Mate as I write this post.

(Have since downloaded GParted Gnome PPP/WVDial. The latter cannot "find the modem" and cannot "resolve local host name" but I'll write separate post and continue browsing forums for what is going wrong there. Also, will seek help w/separate post on why my WiFi, at local hotspot, won't enable browser to work although Mint Maya OS indicates a connection.)

Thank you for wading through this post. Hope my experience helps another ill-supported dialupper out there.

Best to all,
jaderiver

(Helpful Mint forum posts for dialup:
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=39255&p=228638&hilit=usb+dialup+modem#p228638
viewtopic.php?f=49&t=105883&p=604378&hilit=uninstall+mint#p604378)

[jaderiver]

Started over this morning, as I did a reinstall of Mint Maya, just to clean up all the experimentation w/ Mate from last week. Reconfigured pppconfig successfully without dealing w/ dnmasq (see above). So, if you are using dialup with Maya Mate, go into terminal and complete "sudo pppconfig" process. Then, create /etc/resolv.conf file as described in previous post. Now, your modem will connect, but the browser will still not surf. So, the final step is to go into Administration>>Network>> and configure properties of the dialup connection. Be sure to add nameserver codes (e.g. 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4) to DNS tab setting.

Also, before reinstalling Maya Mate, had installed wvdial and Gnome PPP, which began working, but strangely. For example, the Internet>>Gnome PPP device could not find the modem. Yet, I could connect at the terminal with "sudo gnome-ppp" and "sudo wvdial". Not sure if I will bother w/ wvdial & Gnome PPP again... just happy to be online and get some real work done.