Streets & Trips says: No GPS Receiver Found

Ted, let us know how it works out. And yes, Google usually doesn't bring up relevant KB articles. Sometimes it's the best to just search the Knowledge Base itself.

One more thing that crossed my mind now: Occasionally users come across a problem when using a USB extension between a GPS unit and their laptop (just in case you are using one).

I'm not sure of all the uses for infrared ports but one of them is for syncing handheld devices. Virtually all PDAs have IR ports so they can exchange data with each other without having to mess with RF wireless connections. Some PDAs are also capable of using their IR port to sync with a host system (desktop, laptop). One less cable to pack if your laptop and PDA can sync with IR.

...ken...

One thing that has been bugging me since reading your initial post is the COM port number (COM13). When one of these devices installs itself the first time, the operating system usually offers it the first available COM port.

When I installed on my desktop, the S&T GPS receiver got COM3 because the desktop has two COM ports on the motherboard. When I installed on my laptop, the GPS receiver got COM5 because the internal modem appears to have 3 and 4. There's nothing using 1 and 2 as far as I can see, but Windoze will look for the highest one in use and offer the next one.

This is consistent. I just acquired a USB-to-serial port converter cable. (I need to connect a serial device and my laptop doesn't have a serial connector.) When I installed it on my laptop the first time, it also was offered COM5 by default.

In the case of the USB-to-serial converter, I can click use the device manager Properties > Port Settings > Advanced to select a different COM port. The dropdown list shows COM1 and 2 available, COM3 and 4 in use (by the internal modem, I assume) and COM5 and beyond available.

So, to keep a long story from getting longer, it bothers me that your S&T GPS receiver is installing as COM13. What it is using COM12?

I'll do some poking around on my laptop to see if I can find a way to display the COM ports and their assignments at any given time. What operating system is on you laptop, XP or Vista? I have Vista on my laptop and XP on my desktop systems.

...ken...

Ken,

It bothered me too about COM13. Like I said earlier, I've only seen COM04 and COM13 on my laptop, and I don't see a COM12. I'm running XP Pro on my laptop and desktop. When I installed S&T on the desktop, it assigned the GPS to COM05. But, all the documentation I've read, the GPS has to be on a lower COM than 20, which it was, so I kind of dis-regarded the number. If I can find out all my COM ports, and change to a different number, I would be glad to try that.

I have quite a few things I need to try when I get home. But, after doing more research today at work, it's looking like there is a conflict somewhere that I need to discover. I'm going to check the IRQ's as well.

If it's not the IR port, internal modem or IRQ conflict, I'll have to do more research.

I even thought it might be a Norton Internet Security issue, almost everyone blames things on Symantec, but I checked and it looks like it has a 'permit all' for MS S&T. I have 2005 on the laptop and 2007 on desktop.

It could also be a service issue, where one service is started on the desktop but not on the laptop.

I'll find the problem ...... ONE of these days, and when I do, I'll be sure to post it here and let everyone know what I did!

The thought just occurred to me about COM13. Could it possibly be, that at one time or another I've had multiple USB devices connected to this laptop:

USB Memory sticks (1GB, 2GB and 4GB),
iPod,
Digital Camera,
SmartCard reader,
External HD and
Garmin Nuvi 660 (my brothers when he was in town, wanted to add some POI's and didn't have his laptop).

Maybe as I add device after device, it just picks the next one in line.

Could it possibly be that one of these devices in lingering somewhere in laptopland that's conflicting with the GPS?

And, if I have NO need for Infrared, would it hurt anything to disbale that function in Device manager and/or the BIOS?


And Marvin,

Yes, from now on, I'll go to the KB Base first, but I really thought I did

One thing you may try at least for testing purposes: Remove the MSN Direct receiver from the setup, and then try to get it going with just the GPS receiver. In the Streets & Trips 2008 with Connected Services box there should have been a short piece of adapter cable included for this purpose.

Well, I can help you a bit with finding any remnants of those other devices.

In Device Manager > View (top menu bar) there is an item to "Show Hidden Devices". It sounds, at first blush, to be useful. It does display some things you won't see in the regular view. But it doesn't display the ones that it knows about but are not currently connected. Here's the way to do that.

Create a batch file with the following two lines in it.

set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1
start devmgmt.msc

Note that this is going to force nonpresent devices to show.

I have it saved as "setdev.bat" in the c:\temp directory so it's easy to get there in a DOS window. Once you have the file created and saved somewhere handy, open a command line window and run it. When the device manager opens, select View > Show Hidden Devices and you'll see all that stuff.

I don't know whether it will help any but it's kind of neat to see all that stuff.

...ken...

Marvin,

That's the ONLY way I've been able to get the GPS working on the laptop. 2 times it has connected and worked properly. I have never been able to get GPS and Connected Services going on the laptop. Both times was fresh after the initial install of S&T, and the 2nd time was after my re-install. I sure would hate to have to re-install S&T everytime I wanted to use my GPS

Ken,

I created that batch file here at work, most interesting info after running. I'll create it at home this evening and give it a shot.

I'm still interested in why it went to COM 13 for the GPS. But, I have quite a bit of new information that I plan on using tonight. Hopefully I'll get this conflict taken care of and all will be good.

You guys have been very helpful and I greatly appreciate your efforts...

tr

Okay...Update guys...

Well, after trying everything I learned today, nothing worked! I tried disabling the modem, doing a clean boot, updating the driver for the GPS unit...nothing worked.

I checked all the devices to see if there was conflict anywhere and found nothing. Was about to give up until i went to device manager again, clicked port settings and then advanced. COM13 was the port that the GPS was on. Dropped down the COM ports and found that COM3-COM12 were (in use)! I guess that's why it assigned the GPS to COM13. I have NO idea what those other COM ports are using, so I tried COM19, still did NOT detect the GPS.

Once again, I was about to give up...

But, just for sh*ts and giggles, I decided to assign the GPS device to COM5...

Low and behold, S&T detected the GPS unit, went to the GPS pane and started GPS, I was amazed, it worked! Put the GPS in the MSN receiver and that worked too.

Went back and enabled modem, and doing that made the GPS go belly-up! Went back and disabled the modem, un-plugged the USB cable, plugged it back in and I was back in business.

So, all is well in the Streets & Trips world here in Houston, Texas! Thanks guys for all your input in helping me get this working. Any time you're in Houston, give me a shout and I'll buy you a beer or 3!!

Ted

I also did some poking around since I last posted and discovered that the "in use" thing in device manager is pretty much a lie. It appears to mean that the port has been in use at one time or another. When I was looking in the device manager on my desktop system with the special show hidden devices setting that I showed you, I discovered that when I looked in port settings for the GPS device it listed COM1 and 3 as in use. Then I immediately looked in port settings for the physical serial port and it listed COM3 and 4 as in use.

I did not have the physical serial port in use at the time and I did not have the GPS receiver connected. And I did not have HotSync loaded. So there clearly were no ports actually in use at the time.

I'm so glad you got it working. I've never been to Houston but I've been to meetings in Richardson a few times and I owned a lot out at Canyon Lake, north of San Antonio, for about twenty years. I do love the Hill country. If I could ever persuade my wife that we should spend a few of the winter months down south, Houston would be one of the places on my list to visit.

...ken...

Im having pretty much the same problem. The GPS reciever works by it self fine. The Direct Reciver and connected services works by itself or with the gps connected. But the GPS will not work if it is in the direct reciever. Iv changed comports, reinstalled drivers, updated firmware but it just fails to see anything.

Okay...I'm confused. You say the GPS works fine alone, and then you say the MSN receiver and connected services work fine with or without the GPS. But then you say nothing works with the GPS in the MSN receiver? Do I have all that correct?

I guess I don't understand your problem. Could you please post exactly what your situation is? I'm sure someone on this forum can help you out.

tr

From memory, I seem to recall that anything with Bluetooth will create virtual serial ports using com ports, usually up to 12 ports. I had the bluesoleil driver on my system before and uninstalled it. I haven't installed it since I have S&T. Is one of the devices bluetooth capable?

toyfountain,

Yes I have bluetooth installed on my laptop. I use that with Motorola PhoneTools for my phone. However, once I changed my GPS/MSN receiver to COM port 5 from 13, and disabled my internal modem, I finally got everything working.

tr