Re: Change COM port
From: not to bright (please_at_helpme.net)
Date: 01/14/05
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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2005 12:39:28 -0600
LOL That was very exciting to read and I applauded you guy's and the work
you do.
"Mike Hall" <mike.hall.mail@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:u3THh2l%23EHA.3472@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...
> 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
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
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