ze5385us notebook and F4811B port replicator - serial port problem

[William Leonard]

I have two ze5385us Pavilion notebook computers and two F4811B docking stations (port replicators). The notebooks don't have a serial port, but the docking stations do. However, I cannot get the notebooks to recognize that there is a serial port. I.e., in Computer Management/Device Manager, under Ports (COM & LPT), there is no COM port. I've tried all combinations of notebook with port replicator, so I don't think the hardware is defective.

I have a device and software that only works with an RS-232 port, but the software will not communicate with the device because it doesn't see any COM ports to use. (It's pretty simple software -- you have to tell it which COM port to use.)

I've tried the "active chat" HP support, with no luck. I have also e-mailed HP support, and so far they have not helped. I am hoping that someone on this forum may be able to give me a clue.

The notebooks came with Windows XP Home edition, but I upgraded them to XP Professional. Not sure if that is relevant or not.

The USB ports and Ethernet port on the replicator works fine, so I think in general the replicator is connected okay. But no serial port ever shows up.

I have seen other postings in the HP forums that indicate other notebooks that do not have a built-in serial port work okay with a port replicator, so I would expect these to also. Is there something I need to do to make XP aware of the COM port?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[aaron jaynes]

I'm have the same problem with a ze5200 laptop. I was wondering if you had resolved this issue. What can you suggest I do to resolve my problem

[William Leonard]

Well, I finally gave up and returned the port replicator. To get the serial port, I bought a USB serial port adapter at Best Buy, which works just fine.
BTW, before sending this back, I called HP Technical Support. The person who answered my call was extremely polite, but her instructions nearly rendered my laptop unusable. I hate to say this about anyone, but she was less than useless. That's why I finally gave up and returned it. I figured if HP couldn't train their own people to know what to do with their hardware, I was unlikely to get any help.