Re: Change COM port
From: Mike Hall (mike.hall.mail_at_sympatico.ca)
Date: 01/14/05
- Next message: Mike Hall: "Re: toolbar"
- Previous message: not to bright: "Re: How do you speed up the bootand shut down in xp ?"
- In reply to: billurie_at_nospam.org: "Re: Change COM port"
- Next in thread: not to bright: "Re: Change COM port"
- Reply: not to bright: "Re: Change COM port"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 12:22:31 -0500
With all respect, Bill, you shouldn't need a manual to sort this.. it is
easy enough to uninstall COM 1 and then let Windows find it and set the
appropriate drivers..you might also want to remove all traces of the fax
software and physically remove your modem so that you can reboot the system
'clean'.. reinstalling the modem and fax software should then be a breeze
unless you have, at some point, forced other hardware to use COM 1 or any
other port..
XP is the result of quantum leaps forward since those heady days of DOS 2.11
and '1200' modems.. there should be little need if any to tinker/tweak the
system.. while it is useful to know the history of COM ports and IRQ's, it
is certainly not obligatory..
It also has to be stated that applying Win 3/3.1/3.11/9x/ME rules to XP can
only land the user in more hot water than can be reasonably sustained.. this
applies to all home users who 'apparently' enjoyed tinkering and tweaking
with DOS and DOS based Windows.. one of the reasons for the myth about
Windows requiring re-installation to get rid of the crap comes from amateur
tinkerers and tweakers essentially sending their systems to hell with so
called 'performance tweaks'.. you still see it in the newsgroups now.. the
'tweak kings' come out of the woodwork every now and again with some crap
that just might recover 6k of wasted memory and other similar things..
I would also like to state that some third party software is written very
badly, often utilising memory addresses that should not be used, in an
attempt to get their programs to run at a decent speed.. for the most part,
they get away with it, but if you then add into the equation 'Mr Tinkerer'
who has gone into system BIOS and made BIOS and Video memory cacheable or
whatever, now you have a major problem..
.. and while I have the podium, I would also add that people who disable
services and stuff, that again with all respect, they have loaded to appear
in Start-up, in a sorry attempt to get more speed from their system that
doesn't have enough memory or hard drive space (well, it was ok then, so why
not now, they bleat) to run Win 9x, let alone XP, deserve all they get when
trying at some point in the future to load hardware or software that
requires the items that have been disabled..
How I have survived so long in IT support is a mystery.. you have to been in
receipt of the patience of ten, be able to bite your tongue without spilling
blood, smile when you could cry, look straight-faced when you feel like
laughing.. anyway.. I am ok.. I have a fresh cup of coffee and a huge amount
of cigarettes.. all is well and the sun is shining.. :)
-- Mike Hall MVP - Windows Shell/user <billurie@nospam.org> wrote in message news:ufmeOAl%23EHA.2180@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl... > Mike, other readers and of course I, do appreciate the complete > historical account of the COM ports. I remember the days going > back to DOS 6.22, when in connecting up a modem, it had to > be set, and sometimes jumpered, for appropriate COM port. > > I interpret your advice to be saying that COM3 is assigned to the modem, > and the FAX software should find it automatically. Unfortunately, > HotFax does not come with a manual and their on-board Help doesn't > provide a way to solve the problem. I'm waiting for help from them > now. > > It isn't impossible that some sort of anti-virus or firewall is > really what the problem is, but I've tried it with everything that > I can turn off, disabled, to no avail. So I'm on hold for now. > Thanks for your help. > WBL > > Mike Hall wrote: >> Bill >> >> Traditionally, COM 1 was indeed the 'mouse' port.. serial mice worked >> better on COM 1 than COM 2, sometimes because COM 2 was of the 25 pin D >> type (not always though.. it is not unusual to see two 9 pin >> connections), and mice were 9 pin.. also, external modems of the day >> (they still are) were fitted with 25 pin D type connectors.. other >> devices could also be connected to COM 2, serial printers etc.. Direct >> Cable Connection also brought about a use for the 25 pin serial port >> known as COM 2.. but that was then and this is now.. serial port >> connections for most home users are a thing of the past, at least the >> physical ports found on the back of most computers.. they are there >> mainly for compatibility with older devices.. >> >> The mouse that you have connected is a PS2 mouse, so called because it is >> connected to the (IBM) PS2 port (IRQ 12) allocated for mouse use.. there >> is absolutely no physical connection to COM 1.. >> >> Internal modem installation programs select COM 3 for obvious reasons.. >> it is generally the first free COM port after the two physical ports on >> the backplate.. even if there is only one COM port there, the >> installation will attempt to use COM 3.. if COM 3 is in use, it will >> select the next up.. >> >> So your modem is sitting on COM 3, and the Fax/Voice software should >> either automatically find the modem, or you should be able to tell the >> software which modem is in use.. most software of this type scans the COM >> ports looking for a valid modem, finds it on COM 3, and then finalizes >> set up.. it should work.. >> >> The fact that COM 1 seems to have a problem could be down to two things >> at least.. the first is that there is a physical problem with it >> (unlikely), or that the operator has attempted to force settings to make >> a device use COM 1.. what you might try doing is removing COM 1 from the >> configuration, rebooting to let XP sort the problem for you.. >> >> Even if COM 1 has a problem, the modem and Fax software should work ok.. >> >> Re a table of IRQ allocations, I really can't see this of being any help >> to you, especially as XP and modern systems are quite capable of sorting >> all of these things without the any user interference.. >> >> IRQ 0 Timer channel 0 (May mean "no interrupt".) >> IRQ 1 Keyboard >> IRQ 2 Cascade for controller 2 >> IRQ 3 Serial port 2 >> IRQ 4 Serial port 1 >> IRQ 5 Parallel port 2, Sound card >> IRQ 6 Floppy diskette >> IRQ 7 Parallel port 1 >> IRQ 8 Real-time clock >> IRQ 9 Redirected to IRQ2 >> IRQ 10 not assigned >> IRQ 11 not assigned >> IRQ 12 not assigned >> IRQ 13 Math coprocessor >> IRQ 14 Hard disk controller 1 >> IRQ 15 Hard disk controller 2 >> >> >>
- Next message: Mike Hall: "Re: toolbar"
- Previous message: not to bright: "Re: How do you speed up the bootand shut down in xp ?"
- In reply to: billurie_at_nospam.org: "Re: Change COM port"
- Next in thread: not to bright: "Re: Change COM port"
- Reply: not to bright: "Re: Change COM port"
- Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ]
Relevant Pages
|
