Misleading Error 692 with RAS if HyperTerminal Owns COM Port

ID: Q160188

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

If you invoke a Dial-Up Networking connection on a COM port that HyperTerminal already has open, or if you try to open a HyperTerminal session by dialing through a port already in use by Dial-Up Networking in Windows NT 4.0, you get uninformative and misleading error messages.

If HyperTerminal already opened an active session on a serial (COM) port and you attempt to open a Dial-Up Networking (DUN) session on the same port, you get the following error message in the Windows NT 4.0 graphical interface (GUI):

Error 692: Hardware failure in port or attached device.

If Dial-Up Networking has already opened an active communications session on a given COM port, when you attempt to open a HyperTerminal session on that same port you will simply see the word(s):

Disconnected

-or-

No Dialtone

in the HyperTerminal interface.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q126437
TITLE : Using Communications Applications When RAS Server is Running.

ARTICLE-ID: Q122839
TITLE : Err Msg: Error 692: Hardware Failure in Port or Attached...

Additional query words: inactive dropped stop bogus

Keywords : kbnetwork ntras kbbug4.00 NTSrvWkst
Version : WinNT:4.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbbug