Microsoft Windows 2000
Server Administrator's Companion

by Sharon Crawford & Charlie Russel
copyright (c) 2000 by Microsoft Corporation
all rights reserved


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How to Fix COM Port Issue

If Windows insists on assigning your modem to the wrong COM port:

  1. Click the System icon in Control Panel.
  2. Select the Hardware tab.
  3. Click the Device Manager button.
  4. Expand Ports (COM & LPT) (and Modems, if you've got one)
  5. Double-click on the offending Serial port (the one that's using the address you want your modem or other device to be on)
  6. On the Port Settings tab, click Advanced.
  7. At the bottom of this page, there is a drop-down list of COM ports. This list also tells you which ports are currently in use.
  8. Change the address to a non-conflicting address, click OK, then close the properties sheet.
  9. Repeat steps 5-8 for the modem or other device, selecting the COM port you wanted the device to be on.
  10. If desired, go back into the settings for the serial port and change it to the COM address the modem was using before.
You won't even have to reboot.