Error of Convert.ChangeType in conversion from “string” to “GSMModemTypeConstants”

Question

comboBox2.DataSource = Enum.GetValues(typeof(GSMModemTypeConstants));
GSMModemTypeConstants s_type = (GSMModemTypeConstants)Convert.ChangeType(
    comboBox2.Text, typeof(GSMModemTypeConstants));

In the first line the user select the type of his modem from a comboBox which gets the list of the modems available from the Enum GSMModemTypeConstants. In the second line I want to pass the selected modem type to s_type which will later be used by the method that actually sends the SMS.

When I manually set the s_type everything works perfect for example:

GSMModemTypeConstants s_type = GSMModemTypeConstants.gsmModemSonyEricsson;
// OR
GSMModemTypeConstants s_type = GSMModemTypeConstants.gsmModemNokia;

But when I try to retrieve the choice from the comboBox and set the s_type like I do in the second line the conversion gives me an error which I can't understand.

Am I handling the Convert.ChangeType method wrong? If it's not my fault then is there any other way to convert a type from string to something else, other than Convert.ChangeType ?

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Solution I still don't have the required reputation to answer it below, so here is the code...

GSMModemTypeConstants s_type = (GSMModemTypeConstants)System.Enum.Parse(
    typeof(GSMModemTypeConstants), comboBox2.Text);`

Answer 1

If comboBox2.Text has a number (integer) then you should first convert that value to int and then cast it to GSMModemTypeConstants , eg:

int modemType = int.Parse(comboBox2.Text));
GSMModemTypeConstants s_type = (GSMModemTypeConstants)modemType;

Or, convert comboBox2.SelectedItem to your enum.