Help changing a USB > Serial device's COM port

[Shy Ted]

Seeing as this is my first post on here, I thought I'd make it a meaty one and it's had me stumped for quite some time. I have a device which runs via serial cable to my machine and interfaces with a DOS based program.

I've recently upgraded my machine to a system running XP and as such have bought a USB > Serial adapter in order to continue using this device. I have had no problems installing drivers for this device and it's in full working order, along with the necessary software installing fine and operating as normal.

The problem lies with the COM Port settings. On installation of the USB>R232 device, it defaults it's COM port allocation to COM8. Now for a DOS program to recognise it, it needs to be on COM1, COM2 or COM3. I've tried as hard as I can to alter the settings to one of these COM ports, but it's beyond my ability. I've come on here as a last ditch effort to try and get some help.

Anyone that can help me out on this one will have my eternal gratitude.




Thanks in advance.

 

[Electronic Punk]

Guess you have checked everything possible in device manager ?

 

[Shy Ted]

Everything Patrick.

 

[Electronic Punk]

OMG - it's that stalker from Ibiza!!

*runs*

Whats the name of the device? Cos its sounds like the app itself is choosing com port 8

And why don't you have a serial port anyway ?

 

[Mainframeguy]

A lateral thought...

of course for a modest outlay you could surely simply upgrade your machine to incorporate a serial port by using something like this

I would have thought a USB to serial converter is not the ideal solution - you may want to keep your USB bandwidth for other things - but of course we do not know what this device is and if it will use much bandwidth.

Anyway - that's my thinking, rather than trying to force something in - wlthough I can see it would be frustrating having got as far as you have already.

 

[Shy Ted]

A couple of things I maybe should have mentioned in the original post.

It's a laptop, so I kinda have to use the USB device.
Just using the hardware install wizard in WinXp assigns the COM port number not the program.

I think the ticket is to buy a cruddy old laptop with which to use this device and keep it role specific.

 

[Lonman]

Once you're in device manager is your converter showing up right under the 'Ports (COM & LPT)' tree? Is this where you've tried to go into the COM8 properties> Port Settings tab> Advanced button, and tried to change the port number?