Hello All, Thaks for running what appears to be the most helpful digital camera forum available on the Internet. This is the only place where I have received some help which was easy to decipher. My problem follows: my fiancee purchased an Agfa ePhoto Smile camera for my birthday. As has been the experience of many other forum contributors, my camera and my laptop (Gateway 9150 Solo) refuse to communicate. It appears that this situation is the result of a problem with the settings related to my laptop's serial port (COM1). Well, I was pleased to find the Gerald Payne article entitled "Troubleshooting Serial-Port/Camera Connections?" published at this site. I read the article thoroughly and followed the instructions regarding altering port settings within Windows 98. Unfortunately, whenever I attempt to change the IRQ setting for the COM1 port, I am presented with a "No Modifications Allowed" dialogue box that claims that "this resource cannot be modified." In sum, I have been unable to adjust the serial port settings so that my computer will recognize the camera. If anyone can help me with the aforementioned dilemma, I would appreciate it. Is there another way that I can connect my camera to my laptop?

Thanks, Jamie Parker

-- Jamie Parker (jameshparker@hotmail.com), May 23, 2000

Answers

Have you tried entering the Bios program on your computer and making the change there? Typically you'll see a message that states something like "Press DEL to enter setup" during the boot up prior to any windows messages or screens. This message usually only appears very briefly so you have to be on your toes to catch it!

If changing it there is not effective, perhaps you could change the IRQ for the other device that is sharing the IRQ?

Write me if I can help further.

You can also get a pcmcia adapter card that lets you insert compact flash or smartmedia cards and read them into your laptop that way. I have one for smartmedia and it's very quick. On the order of mere seconds for an 8MB card vs. 20 minutes for a serial transfer.

Good Luck.

-- Gerald M. Payne (gmp@francomm.com), May 23, 2000.