Not sure whether to post this here or the software section but here goes:

I have a Dell Lattitude D620 lappy (XP Pro/SP3) and having probs connecting a bit of kit via any of the usb ports. The unit I'm trying to connect is an airband scanner but the xp pro software will not recognise the unit when it's plugged in to any of the usb ports. The ports work with other stuff - usb sticks/card readers/3G dongle/camera etc but they are not seeing this scanner.

There are 3 possible ways to connect the unit. 1 - using a serial cable and connecting directly to a hardware serial port. 2 - using a USB cable and connecting directly to a USB port and 3 - using a serial cable connected to a Serial to USB adaptor which is connected to a USB port. Obviously 2 and 3 are pretty much the same but I chose option 2 as it was cheaper and probably has the quickest data transfer rate.

Any ideas? I've tried all the permutations of plugging in/switching on/booting up lappy with/without cable attached etc?

Al

Have you installed the airband scanner drivers? Are there any "unrecognised" devices turning up in the device manager?

Which brand and model is it?

Thanks Dave. I've managed to crack it and will attempt to explain - hope it makes sense?

There are some Prolific drivers required for the Serial port. These need to be installed and the ports aligned in both device manager and the software. Baud rates have to be syncronised as well. This doesn't explain (to me) why the usb ports work after serial port drivers are installed but I'm not complaining - it's working and I can now program the scanner from the lappy which is much, much easier

Al

Edit: Sorry, it's the Uniden 3500XLT