COM ports and Device Manager

Hi again all,
My friends having problems getting his modem to work. (He runs Win XP) Its an external modem that plugs in VIA a COM port. The modem refuses to dial so we checked the device manager. Under the COM tab it seems that there are no installed ports. How can this be? When his printer is attached it works fine and the port shows up on the device manager. Any suggestions on what to do would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
J_reez

 

Is the COM port enabled in the system BIOS?

 

yes, all ports enabled...the printer works in the same port. could it be iRQ conflict?

 

Do you know the difference between a serial port and a parallel port? On the computer case, a serial port has the pins (either 9 or 25 pins) pointing out. A parallel port has 25 holes, but the same type of connector.

You need to provide more information.

Are com ports enabled in BIOS?
What kind of modem?
From what I said above is this printer you speak of is a serial printer or parallel?

 

Make sure you have the correct chipset drivers for that motherboard. If you don't have the correct chipset drivers, the COM port will not function in windows.

These days most people have the 9-pin type connector, which is smaller than a paralell port.

 

Agree with Hax, are you using a serial printer? Parallel printers are rare enough now, most using USB. Serial printers are even rarer. Baz

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