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USB to Serial...



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 26th 04, 02:01 AM
Jonathan
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Default USB to Serial...

I bought an Inspiron XPS, and a USB to Serial adapter so I can connect to
the console port of Cisco Routers and switches (my job)...

The thingy connects and is detected and XP installs drivers, but does NOT
install a com port...

I have tried installing a COM port manually, but to no effect (I get a
'device cannot start' message in Device Manager)...

Now the device is showing up as an HID device... How do I convince XP that
it is supposed to be a COM port?



Jonathan


  #2  
Old June 26th 04, 02:34 AM
Tom Scales
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Default

This really isn't a Dell question. I'd ask the vendor for the USB to Serial
adapter. I have a couple and they work fine.

Tom
"Jonathan" wrote in message
.. .
I bought an Inspiron XPS, and a USB to Serial adapter so I can connect to
the console port of Cisco Routers and switches (my job)...

The thingy connects and is detected and XP installs drivers, but does NOT
install a com port...

I have tried installing a COM port manually, but to no effect (I get a
'device cannot start' message in Device Manager)...

Now the device is showing up as an HID device... How do I convince XP that
it is supposed to be a COM port?



Jonathan




  #3  
Old June 26th 04, 06:04 AM
Jonathan
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Tom Scales" wrote in message
...
This really isn't a Dell question. I'd ask the vendor for the USB to

Serial
adapter. I have a couple and they work fine.


Well, it is a Dell Inspiron XPS...



Jonathan

Tom
"Jonathan" wrote in message
.. .
I bought an Inspiron XPS, and a USB to Serial adapter so I can connect

to
the console port of Cisco Routers and switches (my job)...

The thingy connects and is detected and XP installs drivers, but does

NOT
install a com port...

I have tried installing a COM port manually, but to no effect (I get a
'device cannot start' message in Device Manager)...

Now the device is showing up as an HID device... How do I convince XP

that
it is supposed to be a COM port?



Jonathan






  #4  
Old June 26th 04, 11:23 AM
Hank Arnold
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Default

It's problem with the vendor who provided the adapter. They are responsible
to provide a driver that assigns a COM port to the device, not Dell. You
wouldn't Dell to provide a printer driver for an OEM printer.....

Tom is right. Get back to the vendor who sold you the adapter. If they don't
have a driver, then you will need to get a different adapter. We bought one
several moths ago and it came with a driver disk.

--
Regards,
Hank Arnold

"Jonathan" wrote in message
.. .


Well, it is a Dell Inspiron XPS...



  #5  
Old June 26th 04, 03:48 PM
Jonathan
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Hank Arnold" wrote in message
t...
It's problem with the vendor who provided the adapter. They are

responsible
to provide a driver that assigns a COM port to the device, not Dell. You
wouldn't Dell to provide a printer driver for an OEM printer.....

Tom is right. Get back to the vendor who sold you the adapter. If they

don't
have a driver, then you will need to get a different adapter. We bought

one
several moths ago and it came with a driver disk.


Interesting, when I called Dell, they were very helpful (but were unable to
fix the problem), and at no point did they say this wasn't Dell's problem...

They recommended another solution, a PCMCIA Card with serial ports (he said
XP would recognize it as a COM port...)

Then again, I have a major account support agreement, and I think they
didn't want me to send the laptop back...

BTW, anyone who complains about Dell support needs to get the three-year
onsite warranty... You don't talk to India (when I called the support
number, the Indian girl I spoke to, said that she couldn't help me and
transferred me to a guy in Texas...)...

The difference between support was like night and day...



Jonathan


  #6  
Old June 26th 04, 04:01 PM
Notan
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Posts: n/a
Default

Jonathan wrote:

snip

BTW, anyone who complains about Dell support needs to get the three-year
onsite warranty... You don't talk to India (when I called the support
number, the Indian girl I spoke to, said that she couldn't help me and
transferred me to a guy in Texas...)...


Before Dell sends someone out for repairs, they still have you do some
troubleshooting over the phone.

The only way (that I know) to guarantee that you'll be speaking to U.S.
based support is to purchase their Gold Tech Support option.

Notan
  #7  
Old June 26th 04, 04:12 PM
Dick
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Posts: n/a
Default

When I needed a serial port for my HP 5000 series Pavilion laptop for
a particular device, I started researching this on the Internet. I
found that many people are having problems similar to yours as well as
not working with their particular application. In my case, the device
manufacturer had actually done testing for compatible USB to serial
converters. They only certified two. One was the Belkin F5U103.

Looking the at Belkin, I could see that it was roughly twice as
expensive as most others (around $70). It has not only a DB9, but
also a mini din 8 connector. I was able to find a new one on Ebay for
$15 and it has handled everything I have connected to it. You do have
to download the XP drivers from the Belkin site if you are using that
OS.

Dick


On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 01:01:10 GMT, "Jonathan"
wrote:

I bought an Inspiron XPS, and a USB to Serial adapter so I can connect to
the console port of Cisco Routers and switches (my job)...

The thingy connects and is detected and XP installs drivers, but does NOT
install a com port...

I have tried installing a COM port manually, but to no effect (I get a
'device cannot start' message in Device Manager)...

Now the device is showing up as an HID device... How do I convince XP that
it is supposed to be a COM port?



Jonathan


  #8  
Old June 26th 04, 04:42 PM
Hank Arnold
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Didn't say that they wouldn't try to help, just that it wasn't their
problem. How much was the card? I bought a short (6 inches) cable that
plugged into the USB port and had a serial connector on the other end for
about $15.

--
Regards,
Hank Arnold

"Jonathan" wrote in message
.. .

Interesting, when I called Dell, they were very helpful (but were unable

to
fix the problem), and at no point did they say this wasn't Dell's

problem...


  #9  
Old June 26th 04, 06:00 PM
Jonathan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Hank Arnold" wrote in message
t...
Didn't say that they wouldn't try to help, just that it wasn't their
problem. How much was the card? I bought a short (6 inches) cable that
plugged into the USB port and had a serial connector on the other end for
about $15.


The one I got was $2 on EBay (plus $4 for shipping)... and it appears it is
just a gender changer from USB to Serial, which is the problem...



Jonathan


  #10  
Old June 27th 04, 03:43 AM
Clint
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The last time I phoned Dell for support, it was because my MS keyboard
(which worked fine on my old Dell, and on some of the other new Dells in our
office) wouldn't work with my Dimension 2350. I had to boot up with a
different keyboard (like the crappy one that was shipped with the unit), and
then I could plug in my ergonomic MS keyboard. When I phoned Dell (to
India), the only response I got was "It wasn't the keyboard that shipped
with the computer, so they couldn't help me." I tried talking to their
manager, got the same response. Tried multiple times, different times,
trying to get someone reasonable. I even threatened to send it back, and
they didn't care. What a pain in the @ss! We buy through the Small
Business line all the time. Not the major accounts.

Guess I'm a sucker for punishment, though, cause my Inspiron 9100 is on the
way. *sigh*. To tell you the truth, I'd forgotten about that last incident
until this thread, or I probably wouldn't have bought the laptop from
Dell... Thanks a bunch for reminding me about that!

Clint

"Jonathan" wrote in message
.. .

"Hank Arnold" wrote in message
t...
It's problem with the vendor who provided the adapter. They are

responsible
to provide a driver that assigns a COM port to the device, not Dell. You
wouldn't Dell to provide a printer driver for an OEM printer.....

Tom is right. Get back to the vendor who sold you the adapter. If they

don't
have a driver, then you will need to get a different adapter. We bought

one
several moths ago and it came with a driver disk.


Interesting, when I called Dell, they were very helpful (but were unable

to
fix the problem), and at no point did they say this wasn't Dell's

problem...

They recommended another solution, a PCMCIA Card with serial ports (he

said
XP would recognize it as a COM port...)

Then again, I have a major account support agreement, and I think they
didn't want me to send the laptop back...

BTW, anyone who complains about Dell support needs to get the three-year
onsite warranty... You don't talk to India (when I called the support
number, the Indian girl I spoke to, said that she couldn't help me and
transferred me to a guy in Texas...)...

The difference between support was like night and day...



Jonathan




 




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