Gateway RQ5 Docking Station - Serial Port (RS232) doesn't work

I got a docking station for my Gateway M465e because the power input
doesn't function (I purchased it used betting that I could fix it). And
I figure the easy fix would be getting a docking station. And then get
power through it. A gamble I guess, but it worked. <grin>

I really don't think the docking station has its own charging circuit or
anything. And if this is correct, it should be either the jack is bad or
a run somewhere on the motherboard to get that to work again, you think?

I also don't like to leave batteries in my laptops. Only when they are
in use or charging. Sadly, the trigger to lock the laptop in the docking
station presses on the battery. Without it, no lock. So I cut a piece of
wood in my work shop the same size and shape of the battery. And slid it
in and that works wonderfully. ;-)

Oddly enough, I can't get the serial port of the docking station to work
with my Palm IIIc. I tried with Windows XP Pro and Windows 7 RC and no
go. The Device Manager shows all is well. Used a serial to USB adapter
and it works that way. Although it would be nice if the serial port
worked too. I don't see any drivers you need to make it work. There
isn't any, is there? I have no idea if the parallel port works, but
everything else does.

Also supposedly you can remove the laptop from the docking port while it
is running. Yes that works, although the release gives a huge kick. My
event log shows bad sectors on the hard drive whenever I do that. So I
don't think that is a good idea to do.

I was also surprised to learn that if you remove power from the docking
station, the laptop battery powers both. As the docking station requires
a lot more power than just the laptop alone (120 watts vs 65 watts). And
I didn't see a big drain on the battery in this state. Interesting, no?

--
Bill
Gateway MX6124 ('06 era) 2 of 3 - Windows XP SP3

Have you tried to slow down the RS232 (COM) port speed?

In news:,
TJ typed on Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:57:25 +0100:
> Have you tried to slow down the RS232 (COM) port speed?

Yeah... er... maybe. I'll double check that again.

Usually it is set to 115k2. Changed the Palm, HotSync, and COM to all
9600. I also tried my other Palm IIIxe, which only likes real serial
ports (not the RS232 to USB adapter). No go there either. I'll try spare
cables next I guess. Many thanks!

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows XP SP3

BillW50 wrote:
> I got a docking station for my Gateway M465e because the power input
> doesn't function (I purchased it used betting that I could fix it). And
> I figure the easy fix would be getting a docking station. And then get
> power through it. A gamble I guess, but it worked. <grin>
>
> I really don't think the docking station has its own charging circuit or
> anything. And if this is correct, it should be either the jack is bad or
> a run somewhere on the motherboard to get that to work again, you think?
>
> I also don't like to leave batteries in my laptops. Only when they are
> in use or charging. Sadly, the trigger to lock the laptop in the docking
> station presses on the battery. Without it, no lock. So I cut a piece of
> wood in my work shop the same size and shape of the battery. And slid it
> in and that works wonderfully. ;-)
>
> Oddly enough, I can't get the serial port of the docking station to work
> with my Palm IIIc. I tried with Windows XP Pro and Windows 7 RC and no
> go. The Device Manager shows all is well. Used a serial to USB adapter
> and it works that way. Although it would be nice if the serial port
> worked too. I don't see any drivers you need to make it work. There
> isn't any, is there? I have no idea if the parallel port works, but
> everything else does.
>
> Also supposedly you can remove the laptop from the docking port while it
> is running. Yes that works, although the release gives a huge kick. My
> event log shows bad sectors on the hard drive whenever I do that. So I
> don't think that is a good idea to do.
>
> I was also surprised to learn that if you remove power from the docking
> station, the laptop battery powers both. As the docking station requires
> a lot more power than just the laptop alone (120 watts vs 65 watts). And
> I didn't see a big drain on the battery in this state. Interesting, no?
>
The port might be disabled in the bios??
Or in a non-standard bios state?
That is certainly possible for the parallel port,
I am not sure about your serial port.

BillW50 wrote:

> Oddly enough, I can't get the serial port of the docking station to work
> with my Palm IIIc. I tried with Windows XP Pro and Windows 7 RC and no
> go. The Device Manager shows all is well. Used a serial to USB adapter
> and it works that way. Although it would be nice if the serial port
> worked too. I don't see any drivers you need to make it work. There
> isn't any, is there? I have no idea if the parallel port works, but
> everything else does.
>
Bill,

assuming the COM port is enabled in the BIOS the next thing I would try
is a loopback test on the port.

Make yourself a loopback adapter with a D9F connector and use
hyperterminal or something to send and receive data.

Nick

In news:4b4aac40$0$14132$,
Sjouke Burry typed on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:42:39 +0100:
> The port might be disabled in the bios??
> Or in a non-standard bios state?
> That is certainly possible for the parallel port,
> I am not sure about your serial port.

Thanks Sjouke! I was in there before and everything looked good. And I
just fired it up again and double checked. There are three settings:
Off, On, and Auto. The latter lets the BIOS and OS adjust the settings.
Basically Plug and Play. The On setting allows you manual control of the
serial port. It is currently set to auto.

The serial and parallel ports are there on or off of the docking
station. Although there is no serial or parallel ports on the laptop
itself. There are two ways of doing this. One that the ports are real
and are wired to the docking port. Or they do it through the USB.
Although drivers should be required for the latter, I would think. I
would think the former since the BIOS knows about it even without the
docking station.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows XP SP3

In news:hif7d6$96g$,
nick typed on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:00:22 +0000 (UTC):
> Bill,
>
> assuming the COM port is enabled in the BIOS the next thing I would
> try is a loopback test on the port.
>
> Make yourself a loopback adapter with a D9F connector and use
> hyperterminal or something to send and receive data.

Hi Nick! Yes that is on my todo list, but it isn't that pressing. As I
can live without a real serial port maybe indefinitely. Although the
part that would be pressing is whether the laptop or the docking station
is at fault. If the latter, I can exchange it. Although I only have so
much time I guess to do that.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Windows XP SP3

BillW50 wrote:
> In news:4b4aac40$0$14132$,
> Sjouke Burry typed on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:42:39 +0100:
>> The port might be disabled in the bios??
>> Or in a non-standard bios state?
>> That is certainly possible for the parallel port,
>> I am not sure about your serial port.
>
> Thanks Sjouke! I was in there before and everything looked good. And I
> just fired it up again and double checked. There are three settings:
> Off, On, and Auto. The latter lets the BIOS and OS adjust the settings.
> Basically Plug and Play. The On setting allows you manual control of the
> serial port. It is currently set to auto.
>
> The serial and parallel ports are there on or off of the docking
> station. Although there is no serial or parallel ports on the laptop
> itself. There are two ways of doing this. One that the ports are real
> and are wired to the docking port. Or they do it through the USB.
> Although drivers should be required for the latter, I would think. I
> would think the former since the BIOS knows about it even without the
> docking station.
>
I dont know much about docking stations, but I expect the
laptop bios in the auto mode to disable them when outside the
docking station.
If you are not using shutdown, but sleep instead, I would expect
the laptop not to enable the ports, when you plug it back in.

Personally I would use the "On" setting in the bios, and the "standard"
option when available, but I dont know your bios well enough.

BillW50 wrote:
> In news:4b4aac40$0$14132$,
> Sjouke Burry typed on Mon, 11 Jan 2010 05:42:39 +0100:
>> The port might be disabled in the bios??
>> Or in a non-standard bios state?
>> That is certainly possible for the parallel port,
>> I am not sure about your serial port.
>
> Thanks Sjouke! I was in there before and everything looked good. And I
> just fired it up again and double checked. There are three settings:
> Off, On, and Auto. The latter lets the BIOS and OS adjust the settings.
> Basically Plug and Play. The On setting allows you manual control of the
> serial port. It is currently set to auto.
>
> The serial and parallel ports are there on or off of the docking
> station. Although there is no serial or parallel ports on the laptop
> itself. There are two ways of doing this. One that the ports are real
> and are wired to the docking port. Or they do it through the USB.
> Although drivers should be required for the latter, I would think. I
> would think the former since the BIOS knows about it even without the
> docking station.
>
Oh, and btw, the physical ports I think ARE on the laptop, it is just
that the connectors are on the docking station, with the wiring coming
from the multipin docking connector.