1S1P Native PCI Express Parallel Serial Combo Card with 16950 UART

Serial cards derive power from the PCI or PCI Express slot on the motherboard. When you power serial devices from the serial card ports, the power provided by the slot may not be enough to power all of the devices and you should connect additional sources of power from the power supply. When you troubleshoot issues, you should connect an additional source of power.

Some signs that you are experiencing power-related issues include certain devices not working correctly, not all of the devices working at the same time, and certain devices not working at all.

Before you install the device, make sure that your operating system is current (for example, the most recent service pack is installed).

1. Download the latest drivers from the StarTech.com website at http://www.startech.com/Support. The part number and product ID are on the product packaging.

Note: Windows usually saves the files to the Downloads folder that is associated with your user account (for example, C:\Users\your_name\Downloads).

2. After the download is complete, right-click the zip folder that you downloaded, click Extract All, and complete the instructions.
3. Press the Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter to open Device Manager.
4. Right-click PCI Serial Port, which will have a “!” or “?” next to it to indicate a driver issue.
5. Click Update Driver > Click Browse my computer for driver software.
6. Select the Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer option.
7. On the Select your device’s type from the list below screen, click Show All Devices > Next.

Note: The Select your device’s type from the list below screen does not appear on all systems. If you do not see this screen, skip this step.

8. Select the Have Disk option.
9. Browse to the Windows > Serial Port Driver folder.
10. Click the oxserleg file.  Click OK > Next.
11. Repeat steps 4 to 8, except in step 4 right-click PCI Parallel Port.
12. Browse to the Windows folder, select the folder for your operating system, and open the 32-bit or the 64-bit folder, depending on your system type.

Note: To view your system type, click Start. Right-click Computer, and then click Properties.

13. Click the OxMf or OxPCIeMf file. Click OK > Next.

To confirm that Windows detects your expansion card, complete the following:

1. Press the Windows key+R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter.
2. In Device Manager, under the appropriate heading, confirm that your expansion card is listed and that there isn't an exclamation mark next to it.  For example, a USB controller card would be under Universal Serial Bus controllers.

Your expansion card is listed according to the name of the chipset. To determine the name of the chipset of your expansion card, navigate to www.StarTech.com and look on the Technical Specifications tab for your product.

To check whether or not an RS-232 serial port is working, perform an RS-232 loopback test by doing the following:

1. If your serial port is not female, convert it by taking a female/female cable or gender changer and plugging it into the serial port.
2. Take a metal paperclip or wire and cross pins 2 and 3. If you look closely at the female end, the pins should be numbered.
3. Open a telnet session on the COM port number of the device that you are testing. To find out the COM port number, refer to the following FAQ: https://www.startech.com/faq/com-port-listing-windows.

Note: To open a telnet session on the COM port, you need a telnet client like PuTTY or Hyper Terminal. Windows XP comes with Hyper Terminal.

4. When the session is open, anything you type into it you should see. The loopback test fails when you cannot see what you are typing.

If the loopback test fails, make sure that the serial cable or gender changer that you are using works and that the adapter is in the correct port. 

You can check multiple ports at the same time by opening multiple sessions, putting the loopback adapter on one port, and trying to type into each session.  When you can see what you are typing, you know that the COM port is working and you can see which port number the physical serial port is. Close the window for the port that you just tested to speed up the testing of the remaining serial ports.

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When you troubleshoot issues with a serial or parallel hybrid device, there are some quick tests that you can complete to rule out potential problems. You can test to make sure that the following components are working correctly and are not the source of the issue:

• Serial or parallel cables

• Serial or parallel ports

• Serial or parallel devices

To test your setup components, try the following:

• Use the serial or parallel cable, serial or parallel port, and serial or parallel device in another setup to see if the problem is with the components or the setup.

• Use a different serial or parallel cable, serial or parallel port, and serial or parallel device in your setup to see if the problem persists. Ideally, you should test a component that you know works in another setup.

When you test your cables, it is recommended that you do the following:

• Test each cable individually.

• Use short cables when you are testing.

When you test the serial or parallel ports and serial or parallel device, it is recommended that you do the following:

• Press the Windows key + R, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter to open Device Manager. Check to see if your device is listed under Ports (COM & LPT).

• Make sure that the COM or LPT port number is the correct number for the serial or parallel device and that the software being used to connect the computer to the serial or parallel device uses the correct COM or LPT port number. 

• If you do not see the COM or LPT port number in Device Manager see this FAQ for PCI/PCIe expansion cards: https://www.startech.com/support/faqs/technical-support?topic=expansion-cards#pci-pcie-cannot-boot-os-or-detect-windows
  or this FAQ for USB devices: https://www.startech.com/support/faqs/technical-support?topic=expansion-cards#usb-cannot-detect-windows

• If the device is listed with an error, follow the instructions on the website to reinstall the drivers.

Note: Some serial devices work only if the COM or LPT port number is between a certain range. For example, COM1 to COM4 for serial and LPT1 and LPT2 for parallel.

• Perform a serial loopback test.  See this FAQ on how to perform a RS-232 serial loopback test: http://www.startech.com/faq/serial_loopback_test_rs232_windows

Note: There is not an equivalent loopback test that can be performed for parallel devices.