Com 1

I can not get com 1 to work with my Palm. My Palm cradle works on my Gateway and on my IBM portable, just not on the new Dell. I can't see anything on com 1 but it is always busy. What could it be? The message indicates it is a telephony device but the modem is on com 3.

Does Dell's integrated serial port just not work with Palms? I've read the knowledge base, tried the hyperterminal suggestions and so on. It doesn't work.