Can't use the COM port! Help me!

[fabiobol]

I built a "new" computer: Pentium-MMX 200 MHz, 256 MB DIMM SDRAM, 4 GB (1st HD), 6 GB (2nd HD), CD-ROM 52x, Motherboard Soltek REV-MVP3, video card Nvidia RIVA TNT2, audio Ess1868. What do you think about this computer, for dos games? But I have to use an USB-mouse because there isn't the PS/2 port and the com 1 and 2 don't work! I tried also by using the bios, but the serial-mouse doesn't work! The mouse works very wel on another PC.

[486 player]

IRQ/DMA conflict, no driver, Widows doesn't support COM ?

DOS machine: Forget it.

[dosraider]

I built a "new" computer: Pentium-MMX 200 MHz, 256 MB DIMM SDRAM, 4 GB (1st HD), 6 GB (2nd HD), CD-ROM 52x, Motherboard Soltek REV-MVP3, video card Nvidia RIVA TNT2, audio Ess1868.

My personal , and i mean personal opinion: complete overkill , even quake don't ask for such sys specs.
And your cdrom is to fast , dosgames who needs the cd in the drive are better with a slower (4-8x), lesser spin up/down time.
If you want the use for the 256MB mem you will need freedos or msdos7.

That all said , if you reconsider you may always throw that pc to me....

[fabiobol]

IRQ/DMA conflict, no driver, Widows doesn't support COM ?

DOS machine: Forget it.

Yeah, Windows supports com ports: If I go to the system properties, and peripherals setup, the COM 1 and 2 are correctly installed. But the serial-mouse doesn't work. I have 2 types of COM- ports, one of them "normal" and another bigger, that was used with the older mice. I tried also to connect the same port to the "com1" and the "com2" connectors on the motherboard, but the result was always the same.

[Identity Crisis]

Perhaps the serial port ribbons might be faulty. Try replacing them if you can.

Or if you're sort of a stuntman, clear your CMOS with a program like CMOSPWD, and allow the BIOS to reset to factory defaults, that might do it.

[Wally]

Bios could also need updating... But as Identity Crisis was saying its risky

[fabiobol]

I tried also to change the external port, but it doesn't work at all. I'm sure that the electric-energy arrives at the external-port (where i connect the mouse, of course) and I don't know why the device is not found! If I run cmoswpd, could I risk to damage my motherboard? Isn't more simple to use the "Clear CMOS" jumper on the MB?

[Identity Crisis]

With CMOSPWD, you don't need to go through the trouble of opening the computer case. It's just a matter of typing a DOS command, reboot, and presto! Your computer is reset to factory defaults. No damage at all!

Of course, in the 0.00000000001% chance that CMOSPWD damages your motherboard, no liability is assumed at all.

[fabiobol]

I didn't use CMOSWPD, but i opened the case and I set "Clear Cmos" at least 10 times... but the result, unfortunately, was ALWAYS the same: the com ports are correctly installed also on Windows XP, but the serial-mouse isn't detected at all! Next September I will buy some new serial ports and I will see if and how the serial mouse will work... At home I have 5 external serial-ports, but no one of them works... I had this problem also with another MB, for Pentium II!