ComPort built in or virtual (USB)

[Heinz Grandjean]

Hello PB - community,
after the function CreateFile(...) has successfully retrieved a valid handle to a serial-port, I want to find out, if that port is an existing physical device or
maybe an USB-Serial-converter.
Is there any way to find out?

Thanks and greetings
Heinz Grandjean

P.S. Thanks again for the help concerning my speed-question from last week.

[Cliff Nichols]

Hi Heinz,
Before anyone says "No", let me be the first to say "YES"

Although I am still working on it, so I can not post a simple snippet just yet, but it can be done. But to give you a jump-start on how its done, look in the Source Code Forum for my USB postings....One that comes to mind is "USB In-Complete"

Also, tonight I hope to be posting a question on where I am stuck, that may be of some help to you as to the real name of "COM1" vs the name of Usb adapter with the same name of "COM1"

Sorry I couldn't give you a short-simple answer, but like I said, I am working on it.

[Heinz Grandjean]

Hello Cliff,
many thanks for a first advice.
Maybe the setupapi.dll could be an answer.
I found in the Poffs an example made by Pierre Bellisle.

[Cliff Nichols]

Hi Heinz,
A while back both myself and Pierre did basically the same thing using SetupApi, so you are on the right track

Now that I was able to find the paths I was looking for, basically the difference for a "Real" Comport are:

'     ErrFunc = CreateFile("COM1", %GENERIC_READ OR %GENERIC_WRITE, 0, BYVAL 0, %OPEN_EXISTING, %FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED, %NULL)        'Windows Friendly Name
     DevHndl = CreateFile("\\?\acpi#pnp0501#1#{86e0d1e0-8089-11d0-9ce4-08003e301f73}", %GENERIC_READ OR %GENERIC_WRITE, 0, BYVAL 0, %OPEN_EXISTING, %FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED, %NULL)        'Windows REAL Name

Where to my knowledge, if the path includes "acpi" then it is a real ComPort, but if it has a "VID" and "PID" then it is a Virtual Com

[Pierre Bellisle]

Hi Heinz and Cliff,

Note that this demo have been updated, look at Hardware enumeration using SetupApi.dll

[Cliff Nichols]

WOW Pierre

WOWSERS!!! Nice Job!!! :rockwoot:

I never realized you optimized so well, now I am going to have to go back to my initial code and see if your route is faster (and probably better) than mine, since its been so long of my endless nights and weekends :coffee2:

Since then, I am close (or I hope I am close, but you know the walls that keep cropping up every time I think I am close) to actually communicating with the device.

Last best hurdle I got over is Enumerate everything, find the info, check if the device is available or in use or if the device is known to windows but can not be used because of some problem.

So far, so good...If I can only get the rest of the pieces in place then I can post what started small but may be "The Holy Grail" as far as USB and other devices

("No....No...Tis nothing but a scratch" ....Monty Python)

Thanx again for all the help that you and the guys in the forums have given me