Are mouse/keyboard on COM1? (vjp2)

[Guest Vasos Panagiotopoulos]

On a 1995 GW2K p5-75, I had the modem on COM4 for ten years, I never

really used the other comm ports. I somehow had the impression the ps/

2 were COM1. (Doesn't make total sence, I know) I think I only could

find the COM2 connection, that's why I thought this.

 

Ok, why now? Because I realised the reason W98 (dual boot with win3.11/

DOS6.22) never saw the SCM Smart Card

I was able to use from DOS was becaus eof IRQ. I played with IRQ and I

lost the com4 modem. Restart to pure DOS and the modem is fine. But

I've also never been able to connect a Palm pilot to COM2, nor a

camera. No, wait, I did once connect another (horrible) camera to

Win98 but I hadn't told Win98 about the PCMCIA reader yet and as best

I recall I used this port. I will try to run Kermit (term emulator) on

COM2 in a few hours to se eif it talks to the Palm Pilot.

 

Any other suggestions?

[Guest Tim Slattery]

Re: Are mouse/keyboard on COM1? (vjp2)

 

Vasos Panagiotopoulos <vasjpan2@gmail.com> wrote:

>On a 1995 GW2K p5-75, I had the modem on COM4 for ten years, I never

>really used the other comm ports. I somehow had the impression the ps/

>2 were COM1. (Doesn't make total sence, I know) I think I only could

>find the COM2 connection, that's why I thought this.

>

>Ok, why now? Because I realised the reason W98 (dual boot with win3.11/

>DOS6.22) never saw the SCM Smart Card

>I was able to use from DOS was becaus eof IRQ. I played with IRQ and I

>lost the com4 modem. Restart to pure DOS and the modem is fine. But

>I've also never been able to connect a Palm pilot to COM2, nor a

>camera.

 

It's been a long time, but I remember that you cannot use COM2 and

COM4 at the same time. (The same holds for COM1 and COM3). The reason

is that COM2 and COM4 both use IRQ4, and COM1 and COM3 both use IRQ3.

So if your modem is on COM4 you are not going to be able to put

anything else on COM2.

 

Thank God for USB!!

 

--

Tim Slattery

MS MVP(Shell/User)

Slattery_T@bls.gov

http://members.cox.net/slatteryt

[Guest MEB]

Re: Are mouse/keyboard on COM1? (vjp2)

 

 

 

"Tim Slattery" <Slattery_T@bls.gov> wrote in message

news:8ikrj3l8copep28o1ce7bl4d99otfko7ia@4ax.com...

| Vasos Panagiotopoulos <vasjpan2@gmail.com> wrote:

|

| >On a 1995 GW2K p5-75, I had the modem on COM4 for ten years, I never

| >really used the other comm ports. I somehow had the impression the ps/

| >2 were COM1. (Doesn't make total sence, I know) I think I only could

| >find the COM2 connection, that's why I thought this.

| >

| >Ok, why now? Because I realised the reason W98 (dual boot with win3.11/

| >DOS6.22) never saw the SCM Smart Card

| >I was able to use from DOS was becaus eof IRQ. I played with IRQ and I

| >lost the com4 modem. Restart to pure DOS and the modem is fine. But

| >I've also never been able to connect a Palm pilot to COM2, nor a

| >camera.

|

| It's been a long time, but I remember that you cannot use COM2 and

| COM4 at the same time. (The same holds for COM1 and COM3). The reason

| is that COM2 and COM4 both use IRQ4, and COM1 and COM3 both use IRQ3.

| So if your modem is on COM4 you are not going to be able to put

| anything else on COM2.

|

| Thank God for USB!!

|

| --

| Tim Slattery

| MS MVP(Shell/User)

| Slattery_T@bls.gov

| http://members.cox.net/slatteryt

 

Tim is correct as far as the statement goes, however, even in DOS there

were ways to allow sharing of IRQs or changing of Irqs/ports, though

generally via a TSR or an environment modification program. Some more

successful than others. Comsetr, Comsw, Dosports, Fix16550, are some of the

programs that come to mind.

If the BIOS was capable of reassigning ports, addresses and Irqs, then that

was the preferred method.

 

The PS2 IRQ and address is nowhere near those generally used for COM Ports,

and is also generally reserved for that usage whether actually used or not.

 

Potentially, you may have lost your modem usage in 9X because the software

for the modem needs to be reset to the proper Port, IRQ, and address. Often,

when using older programs, that may have required uninstalling then

re-installing the software and/or driver, OR, if possible via the Control

Panel > Device Manager > Modem > Settings > Resources > and changing from

there; AND Control Panel > Ports > Com [whatever] > Resources > reset to the

proper IRQ and address, though it also seemed that if you wished the Com

Port change to "stick" in the registry, it was best to just remove the ports

and let Windows re-install them properly.

One more aspect, was that some of those older programs would install

themselves [actually their settings] in the Win.ini and/or System.ini files,

which would need changed either manually, or via the software itself.

 

Another aspect, particularly when using USR/3Com modems, was that these

generally take control of a Port but reassign that port within the software

and registry. To correct them, DID require uninstalling, using the proper

cleanup tool [from USR/3Com], and re-installing.

Several other modems also required this same

de-installation/re-installation to work properly.

After this re-installation, one would need to re-detect the modems in such

programs as fax programs, and other like communications progs.

 

One of the supposed enhancements in 98SE verses plain 98 and in particular

95, was the purported ability to better handle Irqs and addressing. However,

when using older modems and software, one still needed to separate the Ports

[not shared] if one expected to have relatively stable usage.

 

--

MEB

http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com

________

[Guest Franc Zabkar]

Re: Are mouse/keyboard on COM1? (vjp2)

 

On Fri, 16 Nov 2007 12:29:04 -0500, Tim Slattery <Slattery_T@bls.gov>

put finger to keyboard and composed:

>Vasos Panagiotopoulos <vasjpan2@gmail.com> wrote:

>

>>On a 1995 GW2K p5-75, I had the modem on COM4 for ten years, I never

>>really used the other comm ports. I somehow had the impression the ps/

>>2 were COM1. (Doesn't make total sence, I know) I think I only could

>>find the COM2 connection, that's why I thought this.

>>

>>Ok, why now? Because I realised the reason W98 (dual boot with win3.11/

>>DOS6.22) never saw the SCM Smart Card

>>I was able to use from DOS was becaus eof IRQ. I played with IRQ and I

>>lost the com4 modem. Restart to pure DOS and the modem is fine. But

>>I've also never been able to connect a Palm pilot to COM2, nor a

>>camera.

>

>It's been a long time, but I remember that you cannot use COM2 and

>COM4 at the same time. (The same holds for COM1 and COM3). The reason

>is that COM2 and COM4 both use IRQ4, and COM1 and COM3 both use IRQ3.

>So if your modem is on COM4 you are not going to be able to put

>anything else on COM2.

>

>Thank God for USB!!

 

I have an internal hardware modem on COM2/IRQ9 and a motherboard

serial port on COM4/IRQ3. Both COM ports are "real", not "virtual", ie

they both show up in Device Manager under Ports (COM & LPT) and both

can be accessed in real DOS mode.

 

- Franc Zabkar

--

Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

[Guest Vasos Panagiotopoulos]

Re: Are mouse/keyboard on COM1? (vjp2)

 

Thanks to all. If I recall when I got the SCM PCMCIA reader I used

some sort of utility to

comment on and off the relevant parts of autoexec and config. I am

suspecting I need to just live with

DOS access to pCMCIA and disable it from Win98 entirely. I've bene

trying to use this COM2

port for Palm Pilot for several years and at least the mystery seems

solved.

(I have to actually do it to be sure,tho). Many thanks.

[Guest vjp2.at@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com]

Re: Are mouse/keyboard on COM1? (vjp2)

 

Well, one problem was it was COM1 not COM2 and I may not even have a COM2.

 

I used a treminal emulator (Kermit) to look at each port and the one

responding to the Pilot was COM1. THen I ran the Pilot software form

Win3 fine. But My modem access in W98 died. I then went back and

reinstalled my SCM/PCMCIA by windows defaults, and setting "Basic

Configuration 0" on SCM, PCMCIA ***AND*** Modem settings, and I got my

modem back. But I'm getting my NetZero install is "corrupted:. I seem

to recall the last time windows told me something was corrupted, it

was really some thing else wa slocked out or set wrong. But i don't recall.

 

 

- = -

Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vjp2/vasos.htm

---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---

[Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards]

[urb sprawl confounds terror] [Remorse begets zeal] [Windows is for Bimbos]