I have a thermal reciept printer which has only a serial connection (25pin) however my computer doesnt have a serial port so i have purchased a usb to serial converter. The serial converter auto instals however i am unable to get the printer to communicate with the computer. I have checked that both are configured to the same port. I also checked to see if the port was enabled in the BIOS, i couldnt find anything about ports. I checked system info and found there were no ports listed, the convertor is found under usb drop down. I know nothing about serial ports, have i missed something?

First thing to check is to see if your serial port is Enabled in the BIOS (setup). The serial port may be labeled as a COM port and there MAY be two of them. Look in integrated peripherals. I think those types of adapters are hit and miss so you may not get it to work at all. Is the product linked below similar to what you bought? http://www.cablestogo.com/product.a...

Thanks for the reply OtheHill , Yes and no, it's a usb to 9pin and then i have a 9pin to 25 converter. Since posting i have also tested on computer with 9pin serial port and the afortmentioned 9pin to 25pin convertor. No success there either. In the BIOS i couldnt find any mention of ports, i had assumed this was because the actual computer doesn't have any?

If you read the notes on the link I supplied it appears the device should create a virtual serial port. Check your Device Manager to see if that has been done. Are you also powering the printer with AC power?

First thing I would check the thermal printer and especially the manual for the interface and setup. Most new POS printers use either 9 pin or RJ-45 serial connectors. Are you sure yours is not parallel? If serial check the port speed and protocol. These may be either set by software or by dip switches (may be under an access cover) or by front panel switch(s).

OtheHill: Yes, virtual serial port has been created and yes i'm powering with AC. I then used the windows wizard to instal the printer and pointed to driver. Printer appears in printer list but will not print test page etc. wizard-fred : it is deffinately 25 pin, i wondered about the serial vs parallel thing too, but settled that it was serial due to the screws rather thn clips for fastening. It is the star tsp 600 (643D model). When you say check the port speed and protocol do you mean check that the printers match the wizard settings?

Check manual for connector pinout. Listed as a star part is 9 to 25 pin null modem serial cable.