No com ports

[Jeff1608]

I have a Dell E310, Pentium 4, 2.8Ghz. When I open the device manager I have
no ports file. It just gives me a other devices with a yellow question mark.
When I open that up it has a ethernet control w/question mark. I'm not using
a network, it's just a stand alone computer.
I think I lost the ports file after updating to SP3.
Anyone know whats going on?
Thanks Jeff

 

[David B.]

Does the unit even have a com or printer port on the back?

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was 8/21/2008 9:24 AM, and on a whim, Jeff1608 pounded
out on the keyboard:

I have a Dell E310, Pentium 4, 2.8Ghz. When I open the device manager I have
no ports file. It just gives me a other devices with a yellow question mark.
When I open that up it has a ethernet control w/question mark. I'm not using
a network, it's just a stand alone computer.
I think I lost the ports file after updating to SP3.
Anyone know whats going on?
Thanks Jeff

Hi Jeff,

Don't know what's going on, but if you go to the Dell site and enter
your service tag number of your E310, you'll be taken to a page for
drivers. Problem is, sometimes there's more than one driver. Download
the drivers for the network card and any others that may be missing.
You can burn them to a CD or copy them to a flash drive from the
computer you sent this on to install on your E310.

If you have your original CD's that came with it, there is a driver disc
that will have what you need also, although they may not be the latest
versions, at least they'll work.

--
Terry R.

***Reply Note***
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[Jeff1608]

Hi David,
Dave the computer has no printer ports, all usb ports.
The problem I have is that it took out my modem. When I try to use it it
tells me the com port is busy. So something is getting in the way. I can't
tell what because the com file is missing.
I notice in the device manager that I have no network adapters file either.
I wonder if that might be causing the problem?
Thanks Jeff

 

[David B.]

If you have no physical com or lpt ports device manager won't list them, it
isn't going to list something that's not there.
Software modems use a virtual com port, that virtual port will not be listed
in device manager.
Terry advised you how to install the network driver, but it is not likely
that it's related to your problem.
What took out your modem? Is it listed in device manager?

 

[Jeff1608]

"David B." wrote:
Hi Dave,
The modem is listed in device manager.
When I try to get on the internet it tells me that the com port is being
used and to disable whatever is on com 3.
Plug and play keeps wanting to install a ethernet controller and even though
I have the original XP disk it can't find the file it needs. I might do a
search and see if I can find the file.
I think all this happened after I installed SP3.
Thanks Jeff

 

[Plato]

I have a Dell E310, Pentium 4, 2.8Ghz. When I open the device manager I have
no ports file. It just gives me a other devices with a yellow question mark.
When I open that up it has a ethernet control w/question mark. I'm not using
a network, it's just a stand alone computer.
I think I lost the ports file after updating to SP3.
Anyone know whats going on?

Did you actually have com ports in the back of your PC?

 

[David B.]

Read the thread, we've already established that he does not.

 

[David B.]

Make sure you don't have Skype or any fax software running, it is possible
that the modem has gone bad.

 

[Jeff1608]

Hi David,
Just wanted to let you know I got the modem working. The driver must have
been deleted or messed up when I installed Sp3 patch. It still has a yellow
question mark on the ethernet controller folder in the device manager window.
I don't have a wireless or wired netwok. But it's working so I'll keep my
fingers crossed.
Thanks for all your help.
Jeff