AB PIC not being detected

It appears as if the COM port is being used by some other device or I have a defective PIC.
Does anyone know how to check what devices are attempting to access com1?
Here's my set up.

When I connect the PIC to my computer com1 and a SLC501 then start RSLINX the error "Fatal error initializing PIC device driver"
PIC is plugged into COM1 serial port
PIC is plugged into PLC
Run as a service is not checked
Thanks,

go into device manager, uninstall com port1, then try again, i am not sure if this will work for your application, it did work for me one time.

Been there done that!
Looks like I will need to order a 1747-UIC cable, I really hate to do that because there is not much demand for a pic cable. Most other slc500 PLC have a direct serial port that works fine with a USB to serial adapter.
Thanks for the support

Make sure RSLinx is running as a program NOT a service. Also I think you use the RS232 driver not the pic driver.


Marc

No I was wrong it is the pic driver in this version of rslinx 2.52

The program is not running as a service.
Do know of a way to check what devices are accessing the com1 port?

You mentioned USB to serial adapter above. Are you trying to use the PIC with a real serial or the USB to serial adapter? The PIC will not work with a USB to serial adapter only a real serial port.

Ranger,

If you are using Windows XP, you can run the System program "Device Manager" to check the COMM port.

ranger801 said:

Most other slc500 PLC have a direct serial port that works fine with a USB to serial adapter.

Click to expand...

Can you explain...

Ranger801, there are some computers on which the 1747-PIC/AIC+ driver simply will not function because of drivers, voltages, or configuration.

That's why most Support folks (and this Forum) aren't too keen on going through the troubleshooting process, because it sometimes just dead-ends.

Members have already mentioned the two most common issues with the 1747-PIC/AIC+ driver in RSLinx, which are that it requires a built-in RS232 port (no PCMCIA, no USB) and that RSLinx must run as an Application. From your post, you've probably already seen that one cause of the "Fatal Error Initializing PIC" error code is having another process with the COM1 port open.

Background questions to ask are: Which OS are you runnning, and which version of RSLinx do you have installed.

To directly answer your question: it's hard to determine what background program might have your COM1 port busy ! The hardware manager in Control Panel doesn't tell you (at least, I don't know how to tell). Sometimes I just use the Windows Task Monitor to browse through the running processes looking for processes or services that I recognize might be using COM1.

RSLinx Enterprise is a common suspect; it runs as a headless service and starts up even when FactoryTalk Studio isn't running.

Download and run the SysInternals/Microsoft utility "Process Explorer".

Process Explorer v11.04, by Mark Russinovich

Once it's running, go into the Find function and search for "serial0". The software should show you the process that's using COM1.

By other slc500 plc's working with a serial cable I meant the slc503

Ken
I've disabled RSLinx enterprise
My operating system is XP Pro

Ken
I downloaded process explorer and searched for serial0.
This is what I get
Spoolsv.exe
When I click on spoolsv.exe and window comes up and under details when RSLinx is not running I get reference 3, handles 1, paged 0 and non paged 0.
After I start RSLinx (error message comes up and I ok it) and I check spoolsv.exe this is what is in the details reference 1, handles 1, paged 0 and non paged 0.
The only difference is the reference number changes, but I don't know what it means.
Can you shed some light on it, I'm beginning to grow moss because I'm in the dark so much.
What do I look for?
Thanks

Depends on the Spoolsv.exe... if it's in c:\windows\system32 or c:\winnt\system32, it's part of the printer spooling system. You have a serial printer of some kind that's assigned to COM1.

If Spoolsv.exe is located anywhere else, it is most likely a trojan.

Ozee
spoolsv.exe is located in windows\system32.
Is there a way of telling what process is accessing it?
I've looked in the windows task manager and did not recognize anything that might be using it.