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Adding
a Serial Port Card
An
additional serial port card contains one or two additional
ports and sockets. These cards are available from computer
stores at prices from $10 to $50+. You will have to use
a diagnostic program like Microsoft Diagnostics or Control
Panel to determine what COM ports and IRQ values are available.
Most
computers have built-in COM1 and COM2. If you install a
new serial card, you will probably be configuring its ports
to be COM3 and COM4. However, to avoid a conflict, determine
which COM ports are currently installed in your computer.
Then be sure that the new serial card is not configured
to add a COM port that is already installed.
For
example:
- if
your computer has COM1 and COM4 and an internal modem
on COM2, then configure the first port on the serial card
to be COM3 and disable the second port.
- If
your computer has COM1 and COM2 and an internal modem
on COM3, then disable the first port on the serial card
and configure the second port to be COM4.
Assign
a unique IRQ value (less than 16) to the COM port on this
board if possible.
Return
to Managing COM Ports
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