In February of this year, the list had an exchange regarding  the
configuration of COMM ports to enable a workstation to run three serial
devices, a mouse, a fax and a ham radio program, all at the same time.  We
saved the entire series of dispatches.  Some correspondents suggested
reordering the assignment of COMM ports.  We concluded that the correspondents
suggesting a reassignment of IRQ's to the existing COMM ports had the better
solution.
     It appears that we are encountering a similar problem on a workstation
running Win95 4.00.950B on a combination Win95 Network / Novell Netware ver.
3.14 Network.  We have not installed LPT2 and it thus appears that the
corresponding IRQ5 was unused.  We recall that the workstation formerly ran a
mouse (COMM1/IRQ4), an internal TI RK Voice/Fax/Data 5600 modem (COMM2/IRQ3)
and a stand-alone multi-purpose Xerox device (COMM4/IRQ5).  The purpose was to
monitor two switched inbound fax lines and to capture incoming faxes which it
also thereafter routed to our network laser printer for distribution.  We
recall that the entire system worked properly.  Now, however, it appears that
COMM4 has been reassigned to IRQ3 and that this conflict with COMM2 on the
same IRQ prevents the loading and operation of the second of our communication
software programs, the one for the multi-purpose device assigned to COMM4.  We
have no explanation of the source of the change.
     What's the worse, we cannot seem to correct the consequences.  We have
tried to use Device Manager / System / Ports to reassign COMM4 to IRQ5, but
Win95 will not allow this.  Our system reports that we have Basic
Configurations 001 through 003 but will not allow a reassignment to IRQ5 in
any of these configurations.  We have "removed" COMM4 hoping to reinstall it
with a correct IRQ assignment, but on reboot, it, like Caesar's ghost, has
returned to its original haunts.
     We have searched the BIOS Setup to determine if it sets the assignments
of the COMM ports to the IRQs and it doesn't appear the case.  Settings/The
workstation runs AMIBIOS 1996 and contains two onboard physical serial ports.
In BIOS setup, port #1 is assigned I/O 3F8h;  #2 is assigned I/O 2E8h.  #2 is
further designated as "normal" mode.
     This is clearly an engagement for greater minds.  Does anyone on the list
have some suggestions for correcting this problem?  Details of corrective
activity would be more helpful than concepts.
Tommy Holmes, Jr.
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