I've had similar difficulties.

I was getting very frustrated with not being able to connect to my unit via the serial port. I checked the settings in the BIOS, I checked the device manager for conflicts, etc. - both said everything was working fine.

I was using Hyperterminal and had ensured the port settings were correct. Nothing seemed to make it communicate though.

Eventually I downloaded and flashed the motherboard BIOS to see whether that would fix it. The BIOS revisions said nothing about fixing a bug with unresponsive serial ports, but it certainly did the trick.

At last I can upgrade my player firmware ...

For reference I am running Windows ME and the motherboard is an Epox 8KTA3+ running AWARD BIOS.

Perhaps this problem isn't that rare after all.

Andy.