IROCNParts

New Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
8
Hey guys, ive spent about 2 hrs trying to fix this issue

Ive recently formatted a computer we use at a tanning salon and installed windows 7.
Was running vista xp before

Basically the device we use to control the beds is a serial port connected piece of hardware called a t-max manager

WORKED GREAT on vista, using a serial cable under com2
Installed windows 7, and it automatically assigned the serial port a com1

No problem, at first in the software I tried changing the setting to com1 and restarting, no go
so I changed the com in the device managers settings of windows to com2 and then the software back to com2 - result - no go
so I tried com3 ! still no go

I double checked all the settings, downloaded the manuals for the t-max, made sure all the settings were correct in device manager ie baud rate, bit parity bla bla bla everythings setup right but it still refuses to connect to the "t-max manager"

Im almost ready to go back to vista, unless anyone else has any ideas?

Also we cannot use a usb to serial connector because for some reason it caused the software to freeze, found this out about 2 years ago after 3 days of trying to figure it out

Im thinking maybe the driver for the serial port is not current? It does show its working correctly...
Is there a way to test the port ?
Any ideas?
thanks!
 
Solution
check the manufacturers website for an update to the software your using to connect to the tmax, failing that i'd say the device isn't win7 compatable you could also try using the compatibility mode

1: right clck the programe icon
2: left click on properties
3: left click on the compatability tab
4: left click the tick box titled: Run this program in compatability mode for
5: select an OS from the drop down menu box
6: left click apply then ok
7: now start the program and see how it goes
The computer has An
Asus P5VD2-VM SE mainboard
2gigs of ram
dual core 2.0ghz processor
and windows 7 64bit

Went on the asus website they dont have a newer driver for the serial port (big surprise) lol
tried deleting the port and it came back and still the same problems
 
check the manufacturers website for an update to the software your using to connect to the tmax, failing that i'd say the device isn't win7 compatable you could also try using the compatibility mode

1: right clck the programe icon
2: left click on properties
3: left click on the compatability tab
4: left click the tick box titled: Run this program in compatability mode for
5: select an OS from the drop down menu box
6: left click apply then ok
7: now start the program and see how it goes
 
Solution
You know its funny... the software came with a program called "toolbox" which only worked in compatibility mode, but now that I think about it, being an idiot, I didnt try running the actual program in compatibility mode... that might work.. I hope

Is there a way to test com port 1 or 2 just to see if data is being transferred through the serial cable? The t-max usually isnt operational by pushing the buttons located on it when its connected to a computer... but it is now.. so its almost as if its getting NO communication through the cable
 
as most mother board manufacturers are trying to get away from legacy hardware and OS's are not supporting serial connectios like they used to you may find that you'll need to upgrade the tmax unit to one that conects via USB.

have you talked to the guys that sold it to you they may know of a way to get it running i used to have a cable and programe for testing serial ports but that was many years ago and back in the days of DOS
 


ya the tmax usb/serial cable thing is a problem
its not very cost effective to get a new controller
and I miss dos 6.22 and qbasic
 
I spent 8 hours yesterday battling a similar problem with windows XP and a USB to serial port adapter. I am still trying to find a solution which is how I ran across this post. I was trying to keep alive in a sense the USB to serial port while programming a PLC and monitoring online. It would communicate for a short time then come to a stop. What I found was that the Dual Core processor is some how causing the communications to stop. If I go into the CMOS on startup and turn off the dual core and back to single it works flawlessly. Here is the USB to serial port adapter I bought which is an ATEN UC232A product. I am guessing that the dual core or multicore is affecting you to. Anyone know how to somehow turn this off for the device instead of disabling it for the whole computer. IROCNParts I would try disabling in CMOS once and let me know if that worked for you to.