Serial start at boot

[Alan]

Can someone please tell me how to make the serial port
(com1) start at boot? I need it to communicate to a smart
card reader after I log on.
In windows NT you are able to go to control panel-devices
and alter the settings there.
Is there a facility in Windows 2000 to enable the serial
port to start at boot?

 

[JeffO]

First your BIOS must allow the port to turn on.
Every PC brand is different. At boot time, before Windows
has started, you usually see something like "F1 to enter
Setup". Sometimes it's F2 or the Del key, or a combination
of up to 3 keys. If your monitor is slow to turn on, you
might miss this entirely. So to buy some time, hitting the
pause key will usually pause the boot process and allow
you to see the black&white boot screen.
In the BIOS (again all brands are different), try to find
the COM ports by following the directions. There's always
directions on how to navigate and alter things.
If the BIOS says COM1 is enabled, then the operating
system (Windows) can use it.

In Windows 2000, you go to Control Panel, System, Hardware
(tab), Device Manager, Ports (COM & LPT).
You should see "Communications Port (COM1)"
If you right-click COM1 and go to Properties, the
opening "General" page should say "Use this device
(enable)"
If not, then you should be able to enable it.