Comtrol RocketPort Serial Hub Si Driver Installation for Windows 98 - Manual (Page 33)

Troubleshooting 33
Troubleshooting and Using Comtrol Tools
The first subsection discusses troubleshooting. The following subsections discuss the following utilities that
are shipped with Comtrol drivers for Microsoft operating systems:
• Test Terminal (WCOM32.EXE)
• Port Monitor (PORTMON.EXE)
• Device Advisor
Troubleshooting
If you are having trouble with a RocketPort Serial Hub Si, try the following.
Note: Most customer problems reported to Comtrol Technical Support are eventually traced to cabling or
network problems.
1. Verify that the unit is powered on. Turn the unit’s power switch off and on, while watching the LED
diagnostics. See the
Hardware Installation documentation for information about the LEDs and running
the diagnostics program.
Note: If the Port 1 LED is flashing, this indicates that the driver has not downloaded to the unit. If you
believe that the server’s configuration is correct, then there is probably a network problem.
2. Verify that the port polarity is correct, see the Hardware Installation documentation.
3. Verify that you are using the correct types of cables in the correct places and that all cables are connected
securely.
4. Reboot the server.
5. If you are using a 10/100mb NIC card, try locking the card to 10mb/s.
6. Verify that the Ethernet hub and any other network devices between the server and unit are powered up
and operating.
Note: To isolate the unit from the network, use a “crossover” ethernet cable to connect the unit directly to
the server.
7. Verify which servers are having problems controlling the device.
8. Verify that the network (MAC) address in the driver matches the address on the RocketPort Serial Hub Si
(See
Changing Configuration Parameters .)
9. Verify that the network IP address is what the RocketPort Serial Hub Si acquired from the DHCP server
or was manually entered. If IP addressing is being used, the server should be able to ping the RocketPort
Serial Hub Si.
10. Verify that you are addressing the port correctly. In many applications, device names above COM9 require
the prefix \\.\ in order to be recognized. For example, to reference COM20, use \\.\COM20 as the file or
port name.
11. Use the Test Terminal program (wcom32.exe) to troubleshoot communications on a port-by-port basis.
(See Using Test Terminal .)
12. Use the Port Monitor program (portmon.exe) to check for errors, modem control, and status signals. In
addition, it provides you with raw byte input and output counts. (See Using Port Monitor .)
13. Use the Device Advisor to help identify the problem. (See Using the Device Advisor .)
14. If you have a spare RocketPort Serial Hub Si, try “hot-swapping” RocketPort Serial Hub Si units. If this
corrects the problem, the RocketPort Serial Hub Si you have removed from service may be defective or in
need of repair.
15. Remove and reinstall the driver.
16. If you are unable to resolve the problem, see Technical Support for information on contacting Comtrol.