COM1 issue with T42 ***PLEASE HELP***

[Chinese Buffet]

Hello Everyone,

I have issue with COM1 on a T42. This is the quick story of what has happend:

I have a T42 and a docking station. Attached to this docking station via serial connection is a Palm Pilot. I'm running Windows XP and I deleted COM1 under Ports (COM & LPT) in Device Manager thinking that it would redetect and readd COM1 upon restart of Windows XP. After restart, COM1 did not come back and I get a yellow exclaimation mark beside a port that cannot be detected in Ports (COM & LPT). When I try to install it automatically with Windows Wizard and auto detect it gives me the message that installation is "Access Denied". These are the steps I have tried so far...

- Tried installing with normal user account. I get "Access Denied".
- Tried installing under local administrator. I get "Access Denied".
- Checked BIOS and IRQ 4 (COM1) is enabled.
- Tried removing the laptop from docking station. Restart. COM1 is still undetectable.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

CB

[jdhurst]

Hello Everyone,
<snip>
- Tried removing the laptop from docking station. Restart. COM1 is still undetectable.
<snip>
CB

At that point, I think there is reason to believe COM1 on your motherboard is defective. Out of a dock, and on a cold restart, I have not seen a laptop fail to recognize working hardware.

Assuming XP, you can try downloading and installing SP2 to see if its massive re-write fixes the problem.
... JD Hurst

[Chinese Buffet]

Thanks for your quick response. The other thing I did not mention is that I already have Windows XP SP2 installed with all the latest updates. Still no go. Any other ideas other than a dead mobo?

Thanks,

CB

[GomJabbar]

I can't give exact instructions just now because I am not logged on as Administrator.

You need to log on as Administrator. Go to Device Manager and choose to Update Driver with the yellow . Choose to manually install the driver and select from a list. Find the COM driver and install.

If your COM port is bad, then either you get a new motherboard, or get a PCMCIA or USB serial port adapter.

EDIT: My COM1 port is using the following resources: I/O Range 03F8-03FF, IRQ 04. If you have another device currently using those resources, you may get a conflict.