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15389
January 28th, 2004 12:00
Latitude L400 Serial port (COM1) problems
Hi All,
I've got a problem using COM1 on my L400's port replicator . To be honest I can't say what the problem is exactly except that the COM port doesn't "fully" work . When I connect , for example , an external smartcard reader that I have I can connect to the reader and do various funcions but not them all . If I connect the reader , using the same cable to my Dimension desktop everything works fine . It's like there's something missing or badly configured .
It's not that big an issue but I was just wondering if anyone else had experenced problems using COM1 .
Paul
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lmroberts
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November 9th, 2011 09:00
Sounds familiar! Iam using usb to serial cable adaptor and a dos based program to talk to a PLC on my Dell Latitude and some how the com1 port became very slugish. I use the same cable and driver on my desktop and everything is fine speeds are fine. I have uninstalled the driver and reinstalled and still have the same result. Very slow not sure how to fix it. I'm sorry i can't help you with your problem but mabey someone will help us!
ieee488
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November 9th, 2011 10:00
Have you tried it without the port replicator?
speedstep
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November 9th, 2011 11:00
The L400 will not have USB 2.0 ports and may not be providing sufficient power to the serial ports.
ieee488
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November 9th, 2011 13:00
I just realized that I was anwering the first question and not yours.
USB to serial cable adaptors are always problematic. And the USB port on the L400 is USB 1.1 as SpeedStep says.
I would suggest buying a PCMCIA/PC Card to serial port adapter. Look for ones with good reviews on Newegg.
lmroberts
3 Posts
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November 10th, 2011 06:00
It really is't the Usb to serial cable that is fauly it works but the communication is as though it's set for 300 baud and not 9600 as the port is set for. I wonder if I were to uninstall the whole port completely and restart would the system then recognize and reinstall it? Thanks for the reply
ieee488
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November 10th, 2011 07:00
USB has only VCC, GND, Data+, and Data-.
Com ports has 9 lines
Your converter device has to use software to make the communication happen by making 2 lines work for 7 lines.
You can try to continue to bang your head against the wall or you can buy a product that works.
lmroberts
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November 10th, 2011 09:00
I know what you are saying.but Ithink the driver is corrupted. I have unistalled the whole port system and reinstalled and the same problem exists. It has worked at one time and I used a sopposedly newer rev of software and it corrupted I think the driver for the port driver. I guess my next approch is to aquire a new driver.