Tech Outpost

[PC_confused Super Phishing Phryer]

 Is anyone out there old enough, that might remember the old Dell Optiplex GX280, and give me some advice on how to troubleshoot the 9 pin serial port?  I have a device that works from the serial port and works when I plug it into a borrowed Dell Dimension 2350 PC but I can't get it to work with that GX280 PC.  Device Manager shows only COM1 and LPT1 and both are showing they are working properly?

[huwyngr Norton Fighter · Accepted solution]

Pentium 4 ... that's recent!

Here's a link to a rather nice interactive manual for that PC

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx280/en/ug/smtindex.htm 

and there's a section on troubleshooting including serial port ... check BIOS settings.

<<  Check the option setting  — See the device's documentation for the recommended settings. Then enter system setup and ensure that the Serial Port #1 setting (or the Serial Port #2 settings if you have an optional serial port adapter installed) or the LPT Port Mode setting matches the recommended settings. >>

And there's also a link to Dell Diagnostics.

From looking through the manual it looks like the I/O is a removable board with a lot of internal cable connectors so it could be worth checking that nothing is loose or corroded there.

BTW Did that serial port ever work?

[PC_confused Super Phishing Phryer]

huwyngr thank you for that link and reply.  There is a lot of information in there that I hope will help me solve that serial port problem.  I really don't know if it has ever worked because I haven't needed it.  Most everything I'm currently using are the USB drivers.  The old nine pin serial port is almost going the way of the old as the 5 1/4 inch drives.  I'll read through that link and get back to you.

[PC_confused Super Phishing Phryer]

huwyngr - Your link gave me the clue that helped me solve my serial problem.  I again thank you for the posts. After reading your link, I was given a hint that led me to discover that I already had some PC to PC communictation using the serial port. Even though the PC's were not connected, the port was showing it was still in use. After I deleted that communication setup, the serial port started working again.  Thanks again for you clue..

[huwyngr Norton Fighter]

Wow! You made my day! <g>

I'm glad you resolved the problem because USB/Serial converters are notoriously unreliable and should be avoided like the plague. Much better on a desktop anyway to put a PCI type plug in serial board and get the real thing, and may be even cheaper than a converter.