frustrating com port issues

[Somnium (Aidan)]

Hi All, after moving into our new place i was finally able to set up my telescope again. i built a small temporary observatory in 24 hours, got everything connected and then have had errors galore. my devices dont seem to be discoverable,i connect them up and try to connect and nothing. I am having the issue with my guide camera, camera, and mount, and it doesnt seem to matter if i connect them to the mount cables or as a dedicated USB, i have tried multiple cables and updated the firmware. strange thing is that some times if i disconnect and then reconnect a USB i might be able to connect to my filter wheel. it is really strange and very frustrating. any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

[Ukastronomer (Jeremy)]

I treat computers the same way having been into IT for 30 years and built every one.

If there is a problem I am not able to sort quickly I simply disconnect everything and re install one piece at a time and check, then another piece, graphic card and hard drive then sound card then another hard drive and so on

Can this not work with scopes, just a thought, start from scratch

[Startrek (Martin)]

I’m definitely not a computer wizz but I found that hardware that won’t connect to my laptop usually is caused by the following -
Faulty cable
Mismatch in cable ports say connecting USB2 to USB3 ports/ devices
Incorrect or not the latest installed driver for the device
Most telescopes are Ascom compliant so the latest Ascom software must be installed to talk to Ascom compliant hardware from your laptop
Try to borrow another laptop or PC and load Ascom on it then try again
Use a Windows PC not a Mac. Macs have issues with Ascom
Switch off your virus protection
Switch off wifi and internet
Fire wall
So either Ascom , device drivers or cables , failing that its your operating system
Good luck !

[Somnium (Aidan)]

i have completely wiped my computer and am loading everything from scratch, i do think it is a computer issue. from the research i have done it looks like the USB port thinks it is still connected to something so it will not recognise a device. there is a fix in a patch which i will install and reconnect everything. fingers crossed it works, i have been waiting too long to get my scope up and running again

[Atmos (Colin)]

Having been through this exercise two weeks ago I found that the best solution was to have my laptop connected to the internet to let it check things online and make sure every device was able to check for drivers online even though I’ve installed them.

[redbeard (Damien)]

Originally Posted by Somnium

i have completely wiped my computer and am loading everything from scratch

Hi Somnium,

Some things to check,

Are all the correct chipset drivers for the motherboard loaded? Windows sometimes loads these automatically but usually, the best drivers are downloaded from the web to suit the particular hardware.

Is the USB driver for the motherboard loaded? Same process as above, I have found this always needs to be loaded on any PC I have setup. Windows does not normally install the driver for this very well.

What does the device manager look like? By rights, there should be no yellow question marks or USB drivers in the wrong place. If there are any issues in the device manager, what are they?

The above is a must before any other USB drivers are loaded.

What hardware are you using and what Operating system/version are you using?

Is the operating system a preload/recovery/reinstall type or did you install Windows stand alone etc.

Lots of questions, but a good basis to check.

Cheers,
Damien.

[Somnium (Aidan)]

what a strange issue, given that it was happening with different cables and devices it seemed like it was a computer issue but it was a combination of a 2 faulty cables and a dodgy USB hub. everything is singing now, looking forward to some nice images to come

[Outcast (Carlton)]

Aidan,

Good to hear that you solved the issue but, for future issues you might like to try this...

https://www.uwe-sieber.de/misc_tools_e.html#arbiter

It won't sort issues with faulty cables or usb hubs but, sometimes Windows associates a Com Port with a particular application & won't let it go...

This application allows you to clear Com Ports... I use it when switching between my Meade & Celestron mounts as sometimes, Win 10 is reluctant to reassign a port to the mount/handset I want to update..

Cheers

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

I found it was easier to mark each cable and mark the usb port to match.
I've been using the powered 6 port hub for over six years. I find it easier for me to leave all the cables/ hub connected - then there's less chance of mix up.
Seems to work well for me - no issues, no drama.

I still use win7 32 for the observatory laptop.

[Somnium (Aidan)]

Originally Posted by Outcast

Aidan,

Good to hear that you solved the issue but, for future issues you might like to try this...

https://www.uwe-sieber.de/misc_tools_e.html#arbiter

It won't sort issues with faulty cables or usb hubs but, sometimes Windows associates a Com Port with a particular application & won't let it go...

This application allows you to clear Com Ports... I use it when switching between my Meade & Celestron mounts as sometimes, Win 10 is reluctant to reassign a port to the mount/handset I want to update..

Cheers

Thanks for that, looks like a handy tool, i have saved it for issues in the future

Originally Posted by Merlin66

I found it was easier to mark each cable and mark the usb port to match.
I've been using the powered 6 port hub for over six years. I find it easier for me to leave all the cables/ hub connected - then there's less chance of mix up.
Seems to work well for me - no issues, no drama.

I still use win7 32 for the observatory laptop.

cables will stay connected from now on in the obs. over the years i think i have had 3 or 4 usb hubs that failed, i am going to try and avoid using them from now on.

[speach (Simon)]

I've had this trouble with ascom when I remove the usb cable. The solution I found is to open 'device manager' then com ports, take not which devices are assigned which com number the go in to ascom setup and change the com number to that which assigned in Device Manager. If unplug a usb cable and the plug it in it's not necessarily assigned the same com port as it was before, and ascom doesn't seem to search for the com port that the computer as assigned it. Hence the manual search.

[LewisM]

One thing I always do is keep 2 spare new USB cables for EVERY device I have. Even have a Pelican case for them and it always goes bush when I do.