device manager does not show com ports

[Jack]

Greetings
I am using XP Pro on a Toshiba laptop. During the course
of a stormy installation of Palm software (not yet
accomplished) I found that my device manager does not
display any com ports. Therefore, can't "manage" them.
Is there somewhere I can read about port management? I
have done the STFW thing till my feet are swelled. Is
there a way to force a given device to use a given port?
So far I can't find a source in the program to manage
ports at all. The Palm issue has merely brought this up
since the usb serial adaptor wants to use com 3 (how can
I change this?) and with it installed my modem could not
use the port. Thanks. Jack

 

[Malke]

Greetings
I am using XP Pro on a Toshiba laptop. During the course
of a stormy installation of Palm software (not yet
accomplished) I found that my device manager does not
display any com ports. Therefore, can't "manage" them.
Is there somewhere I can read about port management? I
have done the STFW thing till my feet are swelled. Is
there a way to force a given device to use a given port?
So far I can't find a source in the program to manage
ports at all. The Palm issue has merely brought this up
since the usb serial adaptor wants to use com 3 (how can
I change this?) and with it installed my modem could not
use the port. Thanks. Jack

Are the com ports enabled in the BIOS? Usually forcing a device to use a
particular com port depends on the device (some older USR modems had a
jumper, for instance).

Malke