Serial port on laptop HELP!!!!!

[raw191]

I just got a new-in-January Toshiba Satellite P105 Laptop computer. I was really hoping to plug in my cutter, Master xy-540p into it with the serial cable. Only to discover, it doesn't have a serial port on it. I got one of those usb port to serial port addapters, but it now prints, but the scale is all messed up. What else can I do? Anybody else run a cutter from a laptop? I really hope I can get this working. Thanks felllas.

Ross

 

[iSign]

some of those usb port to serial port adapters are for PDA's, but not good for much else. Look for a higher quality one. I think "high speed" is the distinction I recall from similar discussions where a solution has been mentioned in the past.

 

[thomchar]

HP has a docking station for some of there laptops that has a serial port on it. I don't know if Toshiba has anything like that.

 

[raw191]

What speed would be considered "high speed"? I got one that will do 1 meg per second. It was like $20 at radio shack.

Ross

 

[salvauser]

I got this from another forum and have not tried it myself......


"the USB to Serial adaptor from www.keyspan.com is the best there is.
High Speed USB Serial Adapter
USA-19HS
It is used on PC and Mac and never misses a single move, plus it works with DrPicza forever.
I have tried other devices and this is worth every penny."


Good Luck.

 

[Replicator]

I had a similar problem with a USB to Serial Adapter . . .

Fixed once I got a RadioShack brand cable instead of the expensive one

I was trying to use !

 

[raw191]

so the cable that came with the printer wouldn't work ? What's the difference I wonder. I'd sure like to get this thing fixed.

 

[Jason Davie]

On my toshiba M105 I use Belkins USB to Serial Adapter for PDA's.. It runs both a Roland and a Vinyl Express plotter with no problems

 

[cdiesel]

We also run the Belkin adapter from OfficeMax or Staples.. Can't remember which one. Works fine on the Vinyl Express cutters. Every once-in-awhile we have to unplug and plug it back in, but no biggie.

 

[signage]

His problem isn't getting his cutter to work it is getting his serial dongle to work. I am not aware of a way to get a serial dongle to work on a usb to serial adapter.

 

[raw191]

No. It's the cutter. I'm still struggling. Haven't gotten a chance to go to staples yet. Hope that will solve the problem.

 

[Tony Teveris]

The "scaling" problem has NOTHING to do with the cable. Either your cutter device setup is wrong or the software you are using is incorrectly setup.

If the scaling is the only problem then your cable is fine.

 

[raw191]

At first I thought that's what it was, now it's just plain screwed up. It prints fine from my desktop.

rw

 

[stip]

I had problems when I first started using my laptop also. My problem went on for months until I finally found a tech support guy that told me to shut the firewall off on my computer. It worked fine after that. Might give it a try.

 

[raw191]

Problem is solved. Computer guy came and found out I was running Vista. He got a driver to fix it from Microsoft and presto! it works! Thanks for the helpful hints.

rw

 

[OldPaint]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh......

 

[raw191]

Sorry. I guess there are still those of us out there that don't know everything like others on here do.

 

[RaceDayVinyls]

whoever decided computers dont need serial ports any more is abso-friggen-lutely retarded. when the manufacturers were having the meeting to toss around ideas about lowering cost, they should have looked at phasing the floppy drive out of more models. its been about 5 years since i used a floppy disk, yet my new computer has a floppy drive...

wont it be nice when CD's and DVD's are phased out and everything is on memory sticks/cards?