> I'd line to share an external modem between two Win98 machines by using a
> data switch, and am wondering if doing so is permissible in terms of the
> safety of the hardware. I know that people use switches to switch between,
> for instance, two different printers, but I've not heard of it being done
> with a modem.
> I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work. My concern is whether or not
> switching the modem between computers with the power on will damage the
> hardware (it's a mechanical type switch).

In actuallity, serial ports are the hardest ports to damage on a computer. I
have found that parallel ports like to die more often than they should. In
any case, while the official recomendation given by manufacturers is never
to add or remove a device with power applied (except USB and PCMCIA cards of
course), I have never damaged a serial device or port by plugging it in or
removing it with power applied (One of my ports is shared between my digital
camera and my home made IR receiver). Of course by doing something like this
you are taking a risk, but IMHO the risk is very small. Hope this helped,
TTYL

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