What connected to RS-232

[phwashington@comcast.net]

We are trying to run a program and everytime we start it up it says
that something is connected to the RS-232 port and that it can't use
it.
This has worked fine for 8 years , but someone started screwing around
with it yesterday and now whenever we try and start up the program it
indicates that the RS-232 program is already in use.
I'm not completely sure of the logistics of what happened, but was
told that someone deleted the directory in Program Files for the
program and then re-installed it.
So I'm trying to figure out where in the registry or how I can trace
back and figure out what is connecting to the RS-232 port.

 

[Jeff Richards]

What is the exact message - word for word?

What is the program you are trying to run, and what is it trying to use the
RS232 port for?

The system would not normally be aware of what is connected to the RS232
port. A device such as a printer or modem, which the system _will_ know
about, may use the RS232 port for its communication, and you could look at
each of those devices to see which ones are involved.

But your problem is more likely to be that some program is opening the port
for its own use and therefore it is not available to your program. You
need to look at what programs are starting and running before your program
starts, rather than any devices that are actually connected to the port.

--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
<phwashington@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1183752140.012193.22920@g13g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> We are trying to run a program and everytime we start it up it says
> that something is connected to the RS-232 port and that it can't use
> it.
> This has worked fine for 8 years , but someone started screwing around
> with it yesterday and now whenever we try and start up the program it
> indicates that the RS-232 program is already in use.
> I'm not completely sure of the logistics of what happened, but was
> told that someone deleted the directory in Program Files for the
> program and then re-installed it.
> So I'm trying to figure out where in the registry or how I can trace
> back and figure out what is connecting to the RS-232 port.
>

 

[phwashington@comcast.net]

On Jul 7, 12:00 am, "Jeff Richards" <JRicha...@msn.com.au> wrote:
> What is the exact message - word for word?
>
> What is the program you are trying to run, and what is it trying to use the
> RS232 port for?
>
> The system would not normally be aware of what is connected to the RS232
> port. A device such as a printer or modem, which the system _will_ know
> about, may use the RS232 port for its communication, and you could look at
> each of those devices to see which ones are involved.
>
> But your problem is more likely to be that some program is opening the port
> for its own use and therefore it is not available to your program. You
> need to look at what programs are starting and running before your program
> starts, rather than any devices that are actually connected to the port.
>
> --
> Jeff Richards
> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)<phwashing...@comcast.net> wrote in message
>
> news:1183752140.012193.22920@g13g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>
> > We are trying to run a program and everytime we start it up it says
> > that something is connected to the RS-232 port and that it can't use
> > it.
> > This has worked fine for 8 years , but someone started screwing around
> > with it yesterday and now whenever we try and start up the program it
> > indicates that the RS-232 program is already in use.
> > I'm not completely sure of the logistics of what happened, but was
> > told that someone deleted the directory in Program Files for the
> > program and then re-installed it.
> > So I'm trying to figure out where in the registry or how I can trace
> > back and figure out what is connecting to the RS-232 port.

Okay let me rephrase the question. How do I find out which programs
are using an RS-232 port?

 

[Jeff Richards]

What are the programs that are opening and running at startup, before your
program starts? It will be one of those that is using the port.

Are you sure that the problem is something else using the port? For
instance (depending on exactly what that message is) it could be a hardware
problem with the port or with the cabling of the device connected to the
port, or it could be that your program is trying to access the wrong port,
or it could be that the port is not correctly configured in device manager.

The exact wording of the message you are getting would provide a good
indication of where to start looking.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
<phwashington@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1184011823.558158.146360@r34g2000hsd.googlegroups.com...
> On Jul 7, 12:00 am, "Jeff Richards" <JRicha...@msn.com.au> wrote:
>> What is the exact message - word for word?
>>
>> What is the program you are trying to run, and what is it trying to use
>> the
>> RS232 port for?
>>
>> The system would not normally be aware of what is connected to the RS232
>> port. A device such as a printer or modem, which the system _will_ know
>> about, may use the RS232 port for its communication, and you could look
>> at
>> each of those devices to see which ones are involved.
>>
>> But your problem is more likely to be that some program is opening the
>> port
>> for its own use and therefore it is not available to your program. You
>> need to look at what programs are starting and running before your
>> program
>> starts, rather than any devices that are actually connected to the port.
>>
>> --
>> Jeff Richards
>> MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)<phwashing...@comcast.net> wrote in message
>>
>> news:1183752140.012193.22920@g13g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>>
>> > We are trying to run a program and everytime we start it up it says
>> > that something is connected to the RS-232 port and that it can't use
>> > it.
>> > This has worked fine for 8 years , but someone started screwing around
>> > with it yesterday and now whenever we try and start up the program it
>> > indicates that the RS-232 program is already in use.
>> > I'm not completely sure of the logistics of what happened, but was
>> > told that someone deleted the directory in Program Files for the
>> > program and then re-installed it.
>> > So I'm trying to figure out where in the registry or how I can trace
>> > back and figure out what is connecting to the RS-232 port.
>
> Okay let me rephrase the question. How do I find out which programs
> are using an RS-232 port?
>