hey guys,

I just got a new notebook computer with only usb connections to it and I am using a usb to serial adapter. I can't upload programming from my tsu2000. It doesn't recognize that it is connected to my notebook. How can I change my com port setting on my pronto edit so that I can download and upload? I 've looked under help but I have had no luck. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Wil

Hmmm. Notebook computer. New. That can mean so many things. When I was a kid, we got a new car. Of course, it was two years old, but it was new to us.

When you ask a question, it is good to identify the products you are using. For instance, if you had mentioned the brand name of the adaptor you are using, I could tell you if it is the ONE that everybody says always works with ProntoEdit, or not...but I don't happen to remember the brand name offhand. And some of them will not work with the software.

Similarly, perhaps your computer is the same as someone else's and they know of some quirk. Or you are running Millennium, or 98...it matters. Okay, so it's new, and it's running OS10...wait, did you say it was a PC? or not?

That being said, I have asked my son, who works with computer hardware, about this sort of thing in the past. He says that when you plug in a USB-Serial adaptor, the computer should recognize new hardware and will tell the computer that there is a serial port on it, or a new serial port on it, depending on the computer and the software (what do you have?).

It has been a long time, but I saw an earlier version of ProntoEdit working on a computer with more than one serial port. The program automatically chose COM1, but you could change it to COM2. My present computer has only one COM port, and no window appears in ProntoEdit to allow me to choose anything else. Why would it? There are no other choices.

So it seems that if your computer has an adaptor connected to it that will actually create a COM port, the software will find it. This makes me suspect the adaptor.

Thanks for the reply Ernie. I 'm looking for an option with the prontoedit software to be able to manually select a com port. That's why I didn't give any further info. Here's the info that you requested. Toshiba notebook P35-s6292. windows XP. USB to serial adapter is model GUC232A. I can't remember the brand. I bought it at Best Buy a couple months ago. I 've used the adapter to download to the universal remote mx-800 and mx-850 so I know its not defective. Any ideas?

Option to select COM port is NOT available. It starts @ COM1 and moves up. Also, not just the model of the adapter, but the OS you are using is equally as important.

Certain Windows OSes have issues with gaps in COM ports. For example, COM1, COM3 (missing COM2).

Another thing you did not tell us is what COM ports you currently have on your Laptop from the Device Manager in Windows. We need to know this information. The 2nd thing is, you did not tell us what COM port your adapter was using. Most of these adapters can be configured to use COM1, COM2, ... COMXXX. How is yours configured? There should be a program or a Control Panel Applet that will let you configure this. The setting may also be in the Device Manager.

The FAQ talks about these issues and attempts to provide enough basic information to get to the point of isolating and moving forward to a solution. Ernie can attest that this is NOT always an easy thing to fix.

However, if you are not really that PC-saavy, you may want to get a friend who is to help you work this out or post back here with all the steps you've done so far.

Lyndel

I can use com port 4,5,6

For PE to work, select Com Port 4 on your converter and ensure that COM1 to COM3 are present. PE searches COM ports in sequence. If you want it to find COM4, COM1 to COM3 MUST be present.

If not, you have no luck of working. I'd return your adapter and get a Keyspan as mentioned in the FAQ.

KEYSPAN! THAT was the brand!

One unfortunate thing about the information needed to solve a problem is that, if you do not know how to solve the problem, you are not in a good position to say to the person whom you are asking, "you don't need to know that." It cracks me up that you supplied all this info in your later posts about model and such, but Lyndel asked you about which COM ports you HAVE, information that it would never have occurred to me to ask. And why? Because I don't know how to solve the problem!

Lyndel was nicer than I would have been, but I started to go off on a rant that can basically be reduced to the following:

GIVE US THE INFORMATION NEEDED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION.

Sorry. I shouted. Rant OFF.

By the way, Lyndel, it really did turn out that both RC5200s are defective even though the jacks felt nice and snug. One is in for repair, to become a loaner for the second one.

My computer says "hi."

You could also try using Tonto as a replacement for Pronto Edit. It's much more flexible about communications. You can download it here: [Link: giantlaser.com].

and in use by something else

also make sure there is no PDA SW running on your PC at the time

Thanks for all the great responses guys. Don't worry about the ranting Ernie. I'm going to see if I can find a keyspan adapter.

Wil