[Elecraft] The K2 and the serial port - resolved

[Floyd Sense]

Finally got this resolved.  If you use a Rigblaster Plus with your K2 and
run Win XP now or plan to, you need to understand this problem and solution.
The symptom again was: With Rigblaster and K2 connected to each other,
powered on, and both connected to the PC via serial ports, when Win XP boots
it hangs with the Rigblaster activating both the CW keying line and the PTT
line.  If you happen to be out of the room at this moment, you might not
notice the K2 sitting there in transmit mode at full output (if in CW mode)
or at least in transmit mode if in LSB or USB.  It will stay that way until
you reset the PC.  In my case, this type of boot failure was occurring on
about 95% of all XP boots.  Oddly, turning off the K2 and rebooting always
solved the problem temporarily.

The root of the problem is that XP scans all the serial ports looking for
new devices since the last boot.  There's no reason to scan the ports that
you have your radio(s) and related gear attached to.  Microsoft has
documented a method for disabling the scanning on a port basis and you can
get the details by going to www.microsoft.com and searching for "Serenum".
The fix requires you to find the correct entries in the Registry and add a
new parameter for the ports you want to not be scanned.

I don't know if the problem will occur with interfaces other than the
Rigblaster Plus - you can check that out yourself.  When I first encountered
this problem, I was out of the room with the K2 on and in CW mode for a few
seconds when the system crashed and XP rebooted itself.  Luckily, I walked
in just a few seconds after the lock-up occurred and the K2 was key-down at
100 watts out.  Whether or not the K2 played any roll in the XP lockup, I
don't know.  I never saw this problem with my Icom rig connected to the
serial port that the K2 now occupies.

73, Floyd - K8AC