Re: [amsat-bb] IC-PCR1000 Buyer Beware

["Bill Jones" <wejones@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> > If you leave any active device connected to a serial port while booting
> > Windows NT or Windows 2000 the operating system may think the serial
> > data appearing on this port represents an active mouse and disable the
> > port! 
> 
> So another obvious solution would be to make sure the radio is off
> while you're  booting up.  I don't recall seeing this problem with NT,
> but Win 98 also checks the serial ports during bootup.  More of the
> Plug-n-Pray nonsense.

    I've also seen Win 98 produce a similar problem.  I used to keep 
a couple serial devices  ( such as a PK232, and/or a couple other 
things, depending upon the position of a switch) connected to the 
serial port when I was booting up, but I found that often I would see 
an error message flash up, and when it finally booted up, I found 
the port wouldn't work.  However if I left the serial devices off, or 
disconnected, they would work fine if turned on after bootup.   
Although on another computer I have, I routinely have functioning 
serial devices on during bootup all the time, and have no problems.  
I never bothered to try to figure out what was causing the problem, 
since I had a workaround, but there must be something different 
about the bootup sequence in the two computers. I think both 
computers have the PS/2 / bus  type mice, although I'm not sure.... 
perhaps the type of mouse connected might be the key.  Actually, 
on the computer I have no problems with, I have a touch pad, and 
the mouse isn't detected until the first time I use it.
    I also have a friend who could not get one of those computer 
receivers (not sure if it was the PC1000 or one of the other ones)  
to work on his Win98 computer, and he actually sent it back.  He 
also is having trouble getting another serial device to work, 
because it de-activates his port somehow,  even though I have the 
same device, and it works fine on my Win98 machines.
   So apparently not all Win98 machines are the same.  


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 *Bill Jones  N3JLQ  Sweden Maine                                *
 * wejones@megalink.net                                          *
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