Date   : Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:09:56 -0500
From   : jules.richardson99@... (Jules Richardson)
Subject: XFER

Alex Taylor wrote:
> Don't forget that most PCs now run some form of NT (usually XP), and
> an NT Command Prompt window is not DOS (although it may superficially
> look like DOS, it's a 32-bit multitasking environment). I've had lots
> of problems with DOS programs that expect to write to the serial
> ports, and NT won't allow that.

This text might be relevant (I'm not a Windows person, so I don't know for sure):

   http://www.beyondlogic.org/porttalk/porttalk.htm

Or set up dual-boot support on your PC to run DOS or Linux, where talking to 
the raw hardware's a lot more configurable. Or just keep a separate DOS / 
Linux machine around; Freecycle lists are littered with machines that'll run 
those two OSes happily but which can't handle Win2k/XP.

cheers

Jules