Windows Xp, Serial Ports and Older software

[Foolup]

I have a portable device that stores information that can later be
transferred to my PC through a serial cable

I just upgraded to Windows XP home from Windows 98 and now the software
cannot connect with the device.

The software is kind of old but it is the latest version available. I think
it communicates directly with the serial port (not through a device driver)
because when it was running under Windows 98 it would work even if the
computer was in safe mode or if the serial port was disabled in device
manager. Like a DOS program does

I think Windows XP is stopping it from doing this

I have checked all through device manager and there are no conflicts
anywhere and both com ports are working correctly


Any ideas on how to get it working again would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

 

[Jim Macklin]

But a new device, XP does not support the direct hardware
calls you need. A new device is probably cheaper than
finding a programmer to write you a custom driver for your
device.

BTW, what is the device?


| I have a portable device that stores information that can
later be
| transferred to my PC through a serial cable
|
| I just upgraded to Windows XP home from Windows 98 and now
the software
| cannot connect with the device.
|
| The software is kind of old but it is the latest version
available. I think
| it communicates directly with the serial port (not through
a device driver)
| because when it was running under Windows 98 it would work
even if the
| computer was in safe mode or if the serial port was
disabled in device
| manager. Like a DOS program does
|
| I think Windows XP is stopping it from doing this
|
| I have checked all through device manager and there are no
conflicts
| anywhere and both com ports are working correctly
|
|
| Any ideas on how to get it working again would be greatly
appreciated
|
| Thanks
|
|

 

[Foolup]

I have 2 of the devices and one is only a couple months old, it is the
software that supports it that is outdated

The device is called a Beamer and i think its made by a company called
Advanced data research, it is used for collecting information on site for
pest control.

 

[Jim Macklin]

http://www.adrsoft.com/Aviation/Aviation_downloads.htm

http://www.adrsoft.com/Corporate/Corporate_about_us.htm

If this is the company, they do have NT drivers listed. XP
is a version of NT.


| I have 2 of the devices and one is only a couple months
old, it is the
| software that supports it that is outdated
|
| The device is called a Beamer and i think its made by a
company called
| Advanced data research, it is used for collecting
information on site for
| pest control.
|
|
| "Jim Macklin" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
| | > But a new device, XP does not support the direct
hardware
| > calls you need. A new device is probably cheaper than
| > finding a programmer to write you a custom driver for
your
| > device.
| >
| > BTW, what is the device?
| >
| >
| > | > | I have a portable device that stores information that
can
| > later be
| > | transferred to my PC through a serial cable
| > |
| > | I just upgraded to Windows XP home from Windows 98 and
now
| > the software
| > | cannot connect with the device.
| > |
| > | The software is kind of old but it is the latest
version
| > available. I think
| > | it communicates directly with the serial port (not
through
| > a device driver)
| > | because when it was running under Windows 98 it would
work
| > even if the
| > | computer was in safe mode or if the serial port was
| > disabled in device
| > | manager. Like a DOS program does
| > |
| > | I think Windows XP is stopping it from doing this
| > |
| > | I have checked all through device manager and there
are no
| > conflicts
| > | anywhere and both com ports are working correctly
| > |
| > |
| > | Any ideas on how to get it working again would be
greatly
| > appreciated
| > |
| > | Thanks
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|

 

[Foolup]

I've already been right through that website, they dont offer any support
for the device I have.

I dont think a device driver would do much anyway, because the software is
designed to communicate directly with the hardware, not through a driver, so
even if i had one installed i think it would be ignored.

Thanks for your help anyway!

 

[John]

I've already been right through that website, they dont offer any support
for the device I have.

I dont think a device driver would do much anyway, because the software is
designed to communicate directly with the hardware, not through a driver, so
even if i had one installed i think it would be ignored.

Thanks for your help anyway!

Have you configured the program to run in Windows 98 compatibility
mode? Does your user ID have administrator privileges?

 

[Si Ballenger]

I have a portable device that stores information that can later be
transferred to my PC through a serial cable

I just upgraded to Windows XP home from Windows 98 and now the software
cannot connect with the device.

The software is kind of old but it is the latest version available. I think
it communicates directly with the serial port (not through a device driver)
because when it was running under Windows 98 it would work even if the
computer was in safe mode or if the serial port was disabled in device
manager. Like a DOS program does

I think Windows XP is stopping it from doing this

I have checked all through device manager and there are no conflicts
anywhere and both com ports are working correctly


Any ideas on how to get it working again would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

You might try a program called Userport to get user level access
to the hardware. I use it to get access to the parallel port pins
on my XP pro box for a webcam video switcher I made (bottom
link). Check the below link to the userport site and down load
userport.zip. The readme file has the info. Clever piece of
software.

http://www.embeddedtronics.com/design&ideas.html
http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/ppswitcher.htm