Com1 - weird "hanging" problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter dd
  • Start date Start date
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dd

Briefly, for the past several months an email app (not
Exchange) has hung intermittently when the computer is
online. If I disconnect, the app works fine.

I assumed something had changed re the app until I recently
tried to install another app that talks to a device on the
com port (I disconnected the modem). It hangs as soon as it
launches.

More detail:
1. I've used the email app, without problems, for years.
One day a couple of months ago, it hung when I clicked on a
message. I ignored it because I had lots of apps open and
hangs of one kind or another app aren't unusual.
Unfortunately, I didn't pay much attention to it at the
time, even though it began to happen more frequently,
because I was just too busy - so I don't know what if any
changes I had made to the computer before the problem
started (except that I didn't make any changes to the OS or
the email app).
I have uninstalled and re-installed the app, upgraded
it twice. The problem, if anything, has gotten worse. The
app will hang when I try to read a message, send a message,
file a message - but it is always intermittent. Sometimes I
can read several messages in a row before it hangs. Through
a lot of testing, I have discovered that I can "FIX" the
problem simply by disconnecting the modem. In other words,
if I download my messages and go off-line, I can read,
write, do whatever I want and it won't hang. It ONLY hangs
when I use it while I am online.

2. Because my browser, for ex., works fine as does another
email app, I assumed the problem was limited to this app
until I tried to install a new product last week. It's a
scanning device that I attached to the same serial port the
modem usually uses. I launched the associated app and it
hung. I checked with the co's tech support, we made changes
to the device configuration, the app still hung. The tech
guy says something must be wrong with the config; the app
apparently, on launch, talks "directly" to the COM port.

I'm guessing there is a connection between the two
problems, but I simply have no idea what else to try. I
have tried all the different device configurations for the
COM1 port; none of the changes makes any difference (to
either app).

Any ideas?

DD
 
-----Original Message-----
Briefly, for the past several months an email app (not
Exchange) has hung intermittently when the computer is
online. If I disconnect, the app works fine.

I assumed something had changed re the app until I recently
tried to install another app that talks to a device on the
com port (I disconnected the modem). It hangs as soon as it
launches.

More detail:
1. I've used the email app, without problems, for years.
One day a couple of months ago, it hung when I clicked on a
message. I ignored it because I had lots of apps open and
hangs of one kind or another app aren't unusual.
Unfortunately, I didn't pay much attention to it at the
time, even though it began to happen more frequently,
because I was just too busy - so I don't know what if any
changes I had made to the computer before the problem
started (except that I didn't make any changes to the OS or
the email app).
I have uninstalled and re-installed the app, upgraded
it twice. The problem, if anything, has gotten worse. The
app will hang when I try to read a message, send a message,
file a message - but it is always intermittent. Sometimes I
can read several messages in a row before it hangs. Through
a lot of testing, I have discovered that I can "FIX" the
problem simply by disconnecting the modem. In other words,
if I download my messages and go off-line, I can read,
write, do whatever I want and it won't hang. It ONLY hangs
when I use it while I am online.

2. Because my browser, for ex., works fine as does another
email app, I assumed the problem was limited to this app
until I tried to install a new product last week. It's a
scanning device that I attached to the same serial port the
modem usually uses. I launched the associated app and it
hung. I checked with the co's tech support, we made changes
to the device configuration, the app still hung. The tech
guy says something must be wrong with the config; the app
apparently, on launch, talks "directly" to the COM port.

I'm guessing there is a connection between the two
problems, but I simply have no idea what else to try. I
have tried all the different device configurations for the
COM1 port; none of the changes makes any difference (to
either app).

Any ideas?

DD
.
Got anything on com2? Can you switch it to com2? If com1
is going bad that would cause it. The only other thing
would be something that is also using the same interupts.
But I am sure the tech would have looked at that with you.
Plus you can try the modem in another machine and see if
it hangs there.
 
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