Configure SIO/DIO/QIO COM Ports in Windows Vista/XP/2000
Important:
1) You must be signed into Windows as an Administrator in order to change settings in Hi-Speed COM Tools. If you are not an Administrator, any changes you make will not be saved.
2) Do not make changes in Hi-Speed COM Tools when the target serial card isn't in the PC card slot of your computer.
3) Always use the Windows "safely remove hardware" feature before removing a serial card
Using the Hi-Speed COM Tools
The Socket® Hi-Speed COM Tools were installed when you installed the software driver for your Socket Serial I/O Card. Use the Hi-Speed COM Tools whenever you want to identify or change the COM Port assigned to your card; or if you want to override the settings for baud rate or flow control. If, for example, your software expects COM1 and your serial I/O card is assigned to COM5, the Hi-Speed COM Tools allow you to make this change. This version of the Hi-Speed COM Tools works with Microsoft Windows® Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 operating systems.
Open Hi-Speed COM Tools
There are two ways to open the main window for Hi-Speed COM Tools. Look for a serial connector icon in Windows Control panel, or a similar icon in your system tray (part of the Windows Task Bar, usually at the lower right side of your screen). There is a an option in the Hi-Speed COM Tools main window to “Always show icon on the taskbar”, uncheck this option box if you don’t want to see the Hi-Speed COM Tools icon in the system tray.
The main window is divided into three sections. At the top are buttons for EXIT, REFRESH, HELP, APPLY, and ADVANCED OPTIONS.
In the middle is the status display and COM port assignment control, and at the bottom is the check box to display (or not) the Hi-Speed COM Tools icon in the system tray.
View or Change COM Port Assignments
If Hi-Speed COM Tools has been open for a while, or if you have removed or inserted a serial I/O card since Hi-Speed COM Tools was opened, please click the Refresh button to make sure the fields in the Card Status group are updated.
The following settings are available:
• Card Type: Make sure the currently inserted serial I/O card is displayed. If necessary use the drop down control to select the current card. Any high-speed Socket cards previously installed on your computer will appear as choices in the drop-down menu.
• Ports: Reports the number of ports detected for the selected card. You can’t edit this field.
• Status: Reports the availability status of the port(s). You can’t edit this field.
• Assigned COM Port(s): Shows the COM port(s) assigned to the selected card. To change the port assignment, use the drop-down menu to select another port. Ports already in use will be labeled as {in use}. After making any changes to this field click APPLY. If you try to apply a COM port that is in use, you will see a warning that asks if you really want to continue (it might not be a good idea).
• Card detection status: The field at the bottom reports how many available Socket COM ports your computer detects. If no card is inserted, a NO SOCKET CARD DETECTED message will appear. You can’t edit this field.
Remember: To update the Card Status report, click REFRESH. After making any changes, click APPLY.
Note: When changing COM port assignments, the application currently using the COM port to be reassigned must be shut down before reassignment of the COM port.
Advanced Options
Click the ADVANCED OPTIONS menu button to open a window with additional settings. This is where you can override the settings for baud rate or flow control.
Baud Rate Mapping
If you have legacy software that only supports a low baud rate, but your peripheral device can support a higher baud rate, you can take advantage of the higher speed of your Socket Serial I/O card by mapping the old rate to a new higher rate. Before using this feature identify the maximum baud rate that your Serial, Dual, or Quad I/O Card can handle. Current revisions of the card can handle baud rates, up to 921 Kbps, whereas earlier versions could only support up to 115 Kbps. Check the Revision Level (Rev) of your card and refer the to User's Guide to determine the maximum baud rate of your card.
To use Baud Rate Mapping you must open the Advanced Options window by selecting the Advanced Options menu button.
For example, suppose you want to connect to a serial peripheral at a baud rate of 230,400 bps and you are using older Windows application software that only supports speeds up to 1200 kbps.
• In the Baud Rate Selection area select 1200 kbps in the FROM column, and 230,400 kbps in the TO column
• Click the Enable checkbox to activate Baud Mapping
• Click the APPLY button so your changes take effect
NOTES:
• After mapping a baud rate option to communicate at a new speed, the original speed will no longer be available unless you map baud rates again or disable the mapping by unchecking the Enable checkbox
• Make sure the new baud rate does not exceed the maximum baud rate for your card (see user's guide for chart)
• The new baud rate will not apply until you click the APPLY button
• Uncheck the Enable checkbox, exit the Advanced Options window, and select Apply to restore the application baud rates
• If you modify settings when a serial I/O port is open, then the new settings will not take effect until you close and re-open the serial port.
Override Input Signals
If your application software has signal requirements not supported by your serial peripheral device you may want to force the DCD, CTS, and DSR signals to be either ON or OFF. You can use the checkbox and radio buttons in this control group to override signal states so that your software sees the signals you specify. You can also override the reported max baud rate using the drop down control.
Override Output Signals
If your serial peripheral device has signal requirements not supported by your application software then you may want to force the DTR and RTS signals to be either ON or OFF. You can use the checkbox and radio buttons in this control group to override signal states so that your peripheral device sees the signals you specify.