initialize serial port

Hi to all!

I have a very strange problem... I am working with a fiscal printer on
Polland, and trying to communicate with it. I have a program in Visual
C++ 1.52, over MS/DOS, that initializes the port using int 14h,
function 00h (the same that does the mode.com command).

I can send any information to the printer using COM1, and the printer
hears me with no problem, but it's not answering to any command.

If I previously execute MSD.EXE, and then I press "C" (Com port
status), then the thing works properly.

Does anybody knows which function I can use to emulate this program?
Or does anybody have another program that does exactly the same
function without interaction with the user? I need to activate the
ports in a public commerce, and I don't want they press "c" and "F3"
every morning in order to work (it's not a clean solucion, isn't it?).

Well, I would appreciate any suggestion... I am leaving Polland this
sunday...