Re: problem hooking laptop to serial port

[Laura Conrad <lconrad world std com>]

James Ervin <james kites org> writes:

> Well, If you have looked and you are sure that you can not enable the other
> port in the BIOS (which may very well be) then just run one device at a
> time on the port, or get a serial port expansion board (cheap for two more
> ports).

The one device at a time solution is fine for transferring files.
However, it looks like my modem won't work when inittab is spawning
the getty, so in order to use the terminal I have to change my
system.  One of the things I was hoping to use the terminal for was
finding out what's happening when my X freezes and locks up both the
mouse and the keyboard.

  I have an expansion board in one of my boxes and have four serial
> ports and to printer ports.  Nice for hanging things off of the box.  They
> are sometimes called IO cards and run about $15.00.  There are other
> options, but don't give up on the bios, perhaps call the bios mnfgr.

Short term, the expansion board sounds like the right answer -- I
hadn't realized they were that cheap.  It would be virtuous to call
the bios and the place that put the computer together to see what they 
were thinking when they did this, but I don't know whether I'm that
virtuous.  The next thing on my list to be virtuous about is debugging 
my sendmail problem.  (Why I can send mail to everybody except other
accounts at my isp, many of which exist because I recommended my isp
to my friends...)

-- 
Laura (lconrad world std com, http://www.world.std.com/~lconrad/ )
(617) 661-8097	 
233 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139