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#11
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"WSZsr" wrote in message ... The system never shipped with XP so those "idiots" at Dell shouldn't help you anyway. Call Microsoft for support. It was there with 2000 as well and there was no indication that this was an OS problem. I've been doing a little research and just in case someone is interested in what caused the problem here's what I've found. The system reports both ports as being on the Intel 82801AA interface controller (so much for virtual) which is part of the Intel 82810e chipset. According to Intel this chipset supports dual serial ports which are controlled by the system's BIOS but, and this is the important part, unless the BIOS specifically disables the port it will default to the com2 settings. From the errata sheets which were not exactly clear it may be that there was some misinformation about this in the original specification. So while the problem may be a result of either mistaken documentation or a mistake in the BIOS design it is ultimately a hardware/BIOS issue which can only be addressed by Dell. The system is using the latest BIOS (A13) so I don't believe there is much I can do to resolve this without Dell. Given that this showed up with both a clean 2K and XP install I find it difficult to believe that I'm the first to notice it. While Dell may or may not have a fix for it I suspect that at some point in the next week or two the issue will be escalated to someone who has seen this before. At least that's my hope. |
#12
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RC wrote in message m... "Christopher Muto" wrote in message ... my new years resolution is to not reply in a helpful way to people that come out swinging with complaints. it is easier to catch bees with honey than vinegar. happy new year. Like I'm the only one who's had a problem with Dell's overseas support. They used to have the best support, I recommended them to everyone (customers and family). Now I just say that normally they are great PCs, but if you have to call support be ready for a long process. Fortunately their server support is better. My guess is you just don't know the answer. My guess is you don't either, or you wouldn't be here. |
#13
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On Wed, 31 Dec 2003 19:56:07 -0500, RC wrote:
Well I tried Dell support, what a bunch of idiots, I'd swear they just cut and paste a few irrelevant paragraphs and pronounce the problem solved. Maybe someone here has seen this. I've got a Dimension L1000R, it wasn't in use so I can't say if what I'm seeing is new or was always there. I did a clean install of XP and it detected all the hardware fine but two serial ports were detected (there is only one on this system). The specs and the bios say the same thing, one serial port. XP shows a com1 and a com2 with the traditional IRQs and I/Os, and that they are both working. Event logs are clean. Normally I'd just ignore it and move on, but in this case I need at least 2 serial ports and added an additional card. The card also works fine providing com3 and com4. Again, I wish I could just leave it at that but I have a couple application specific communication programs that require com1 and com2, and com2 isn't "really" there. I can't set one of the expansion ports to the com2 addresses because they are "in use" by the phantom com2. Even if I disable the phantom port, it still reports the resources as in use. XP absolutely sees this as a physical com port. Has anyone seen this phantom port? Or am I just lucky? After a couple emails Dell just says "I wish to inform you that the second port is the virtual port." to which I replied "What virtual port?..." Thanks in advance RC I don't know the answer to your question, but I recommend posting in: alt.windows-xp . Some of the regulars there are extremely knowledgeable and may be able to either advise you or provide links to solve your enquiry. Good luck. Buck. -- Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/ |
#14
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RC wrote:
"WSZsr" wrote in message ... The system never shipped with XP so those "idiots" at Dell shouldn't help you anyway. Call Microsoft for support. It was there with 2000 as well and there was no indication that this was an OS problem. Hmmm, can you disable the 2nd COM port in the BIOS? |
#15
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"S.Lewis" wrote in message ... My guess is you don't either, or you wouldn't be here. Absolutely correct. I never claimed otherwise. |
#16
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"Gus" wrote in message et... Hmmm, can you disable the 2nd COM port in the BIOS? The BIOS only shows one com port. I think this is the root of the problem, the chipset is designed to support 2 com ports but the BIOS only deals with one. The chipset is a standard Intel 82810e, but the BIOS is Dell specific (although based on a more or less standard). According to Intel's documentation, unless the BIOS specifically disables the port, it will default to enabled. I've done some eeprom (which is all the BIOS chip is) bit level modifications before but that was on radio equipment. I'm not sure I'm ready to do it on this, but in theory I could use Intel's documentation to identify the enable/disable bit and just change that one. You know, as I write this I was just thinking that maybe the BIOS is corrupted even though it appears to working OK. A little later today I'll flash it and see if it clears the erroneously enabled com port. Thanks for the suggestion. |
#17
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Thanks Gus it was your post that got me think in the right direction. I
flash the same BIOS in again and the phantom com port is gone. One flipped bit is all it took. I guess I should consider myself lucky that the corrupt BIOS only affected the com port and not something critical. |
#18
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RC wrote in message m... Thanks Gus it was your post that got me think in the right direction. I flash the same BIOS in again and the phantom com port is gone. One flipped bit is all it took. I guess I should consider myself lucky that the corrupt BIOS only affected the com port and not something critical. This resolution is helpful to know. What BIOS version did you use. ? Stew |
#19
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This resolution is helpful to know. What BIOS version did you use. ? Stew What, no snide remarks this time ;-) It was the A14 BIOS but I don't believe it was an inherent BIOS problem. More likely it was just a flipped bit (corruption) and it just happened to be the one associated with disabling the second com port. Just another reminder to never forget your basics. On a somewhat comical note, Dell support got back to me with the below. Now remember I've corrected the problem and the phantom port is no longer there. "I would like to inform you that physically there is only one serial port on the computer but internally the system can assign(share) it to two devices as Com 1 and Com 2 , so that is perfectly normal." Anyone who knows PCs can tell this doesn't make any sense. How could you share it with two devices? There's only one port. And it is by no means normal. I offered to share the solution with them, just have a manager give me a call. No call so far. |
#20
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RC wrote in message m... This resolution is helpful to know. What BIOS version did you use. ? Stew What, no snide remarks this time ;-) Nope. I'm here to learn as well as help. That resolution does hint at some sort of CMOS corruption that is now apparently resolved. It's enough to wonder why it ditzed initially.(?) Temporary power/environment glitch....or intermittent failure of some sort. Head scratcher. Hopefully, never to return. Stew |
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