Trouble Setting up COM port for Serial Bluetooth,

[derekr]

Here's the situation: I had no trouble at all in setting up bluetooth ActiveSync between my HP hx2495 Pocket PC and my home PC. Works just great on COM5.

My office machine is identical (hardware) and also has XP Pro (SP2). The bluetooth dongle on each is a Zoom, again with identical (as far as I can tell) set-up. The problem is that no matter what I did to the office machine, the COM port setting for Bluetooth Serial was constrained to COM16 or COM17. All the places that looked as if they would allow the port to be changed in fact did not.

When I looked at the Hardware Device Manager these ports (16 & 17) are assigned to Bluetooth Serial, and I just can't seem to find a way to switch it down to COM 5 where the PPC is set. In addition I have searched the registry. The shows up in the Device Manager, and in the registry under
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\SERIALCOM
but changes I make there will not take.


Since then I have un-installed/re-installed the Bluetooth Software from the Zoom CD. It seems that every time I un-install/re-install, the assigned COM port for Serial Bluetooth gets raised - with no way of resetting it (that I can find). I am now at COM33.

It's as if the system has a "next available" stored somewhere for COM port assignment, and that this is not being reset on an un-install, so the assigned port is incremented each time a new serial port is assigned.

The bluetooth connection is working for non-serial port connection.

Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Derek

[underwurlde]

This is a HUGE problem in Windows: It relates to something called 'Ghosted' or hidden ports!
(read this: http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;315539)

Basically, to avert this God awful BUG.....
First off, do yourself a HUGE favour & do this on your PC (REGARDLESS, DO IT!!!)
Right-click My Computer.
Click Properties.
Click the Advanced (tab).
Click the Environment Variables (tab).
Set the variables in the System Variables box. Click New: Variable name: devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices, Variable Value: 1
Reset PC.

GOOD!

Now to delete those nasty COM ports (now that we can SEE THEM!!!)...

Right Click 'My Computer' -> Properties, Hardware Tab -> Device Manager.

View -> Show Hidden Devices

You can now expand the 'Ports(COM & LPT)' tree and see all those extra nasty COM ports: Right click & select 'uninstall' to remove each individually.

Et Viola!!!!

Andy