Is there a free way to monitor a serial port on Windows 7 x64?












13














I've looked around quite a bit, but I have yet to find a free way to monitor a serial port (without opening or blocking it from other applications), that works on Windows 7 64-bit.



Even Microsoft's own Portmon does not work. A few posts have talked about running it in compatibility mode, but it doesn't work for me. I've tried compatibility mode for Windows XP service pack 2 and 3 (the only ones available on the drop-down list), and neither allow it to function.



So yeah, is there any way of monitoring a serial port for Windows 7 64-bit?










share|improve this question




















  • 2




    PortMon from MS/Sysinternals would not work because the driver depends on the bitness of the OS. Unlike with usermode programs which can use WOW64 to run a 32bit app on a x64 system.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jun 2 '12 at 0:00
















13














I've looked around quite a bit, but I have yet to find a free way to monitor a serial port (without opening or blocking it from other applications), that works on Windows 7 64-bit.



Even Microsoft's own Portmon does not work. A few posts have talked about running it in compatibility mode, but it doesn't work for me. I've tried compatibility mode for Windows XP service pack 2 and 3 (the only ones available on the drop-down list), and neither allow it to function.



So yeah, is there any way of monitoring a serial port for Windows 7 64-bit?










share|improve this question




















  • 2




    PortMon from MS/Sysinternals would not work because the driver depends on the bitness of the OS. Unlike with usermode programs which can use WOW64 to run a 32bit app on a x64 system.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jun 2 '12 at 0:00














13












13








13


1





I've looked around quite a bit, but I have yet to find a free way to monitor a serial port (without opening or blocking it from other applications), that works on Windows 7 64-bit.



Even Microsoft's own Portmon does not work. A few posts have talked about running it in compatibility mode, but it doesn't work for me. I've tried compatibility mode for Windows XP service pack 2 and 3 (the only ones available on the drop-down list), and neither allow it to function.



So yeah, is there any way of monitoring a serial port for Windows 7 64-bit?










share|improve this question















I've looked around quite a bit, but I have yet to find a free way to monitor a serial port (without opening or blocking it from other applications), that works on Windows 7 64-bit.



Even Microsoft's own Portmon does not work. A few posts have talked about running it in compatibility mode, but it doesn't work for me. I've tried compatibility mode for Windows XP service pack 2 and 3 (the only ones available on the drop-down list), and neither allow it to function.



So yeah, is there any way of monitoring a serial port for Windows 7 64-bit?







windows-7 64-bit serial-port






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Apr 6 at 17:52









bertieb

5,547112342




5,547112342










asked Jun 1 '12 at 23:57









Xantham

171115




171115








  • 2




    PortMon from MS/Sysinternals would not work because the driver depends on the bitness of the OS. Unlike with usermode programs which can use WOW64 to run a 32bit app on a x64 system.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jun 2 '12 at 0:00














  • 2




    PortMon from MS/Sysinternals would not work because the driver depends on the bitness of the OS. Unlike with usermode programs which can use WOW64 to run a 32bit app on a x64 system.
    – 0xC0000022L
    Jun 2 '12 at 0:00








2




2




PortMon from MS/Sysinternals would not work because the driver depends on the bitness of the OS. Unlike with usermode programs which can use WOW64 to run a 32bit app on a x64 system.
– 0xC0000022L
Jun 2 '12 at 0:00




PortMon from MS/Sysinternals would not work because the driver depends on the bitness of the OS. Unlike with usermode programs which can use WOW64 to run a 32bit app on a x64 system.
– 0xC0000022L
Jun 2 '12 at 0:00










3 Answers
3






active

oldest

votes


















1














I just tried Advanced Serial Port Monitor. "Spy" mode does just what you want.



It's only free to try. However, you have to pay for a permanent solution.






share|improve this answer































    1














    A workaround I have used in the past when I was in the exact same situation as you was to use a 32-bit VM.



    It's not the greatest solution, but it does work and has no cost (other than any costs associated in setting up your VM Environment).






    share|improve this answer























    • What would be an example of a VM?
      – Peter Mortensen
      Apr 6 at 16:22










    • So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
      – Scott
      Apr 7 at 5:57








    • 1




      @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
      – jpaugh
      Dec 6 at 14:36



















    1














    If you have another computer, I recommend running a POSIX OS and using socat to "pipe" the data from one port to another while logging the traffic. This is basically like a hardware-based solution, but it's using general purpose hardware instead of something special. e.g. something like this:



    sudo socat -x -v -d /dev/ttyUSB0,b115200,rawer,cr /dev/ttyUSB1,b115200,rawer,cr



    What's really neat about this program is that it's super flexible as far as what you can connect to what. You can use TCP/IP sockets, files/streams, etc. transform baud rates, change line endings, etc. Introductory article (dated 2009 but still useful) is available here.



    Edit: Just to clarify, instead of having a hardware configuration like this:



    Main computer serial port <--> Device serial port



    It'd be like this:



    Main computer serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 1
    Device serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 2






    share|improve this answer























    • True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
      – iX3
      Dec 12 at 15:08










    • @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
      – iX3
      Dec 14 at 18:38










    • Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
      – jpaugh
      Dec 14 at 21:27








    • 1




      For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
      – iX3
      Dec 14 at 22:16













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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes








    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    1














    I just tried Advanced Serial Port Monitor. "Spy" mode does just what you want.



    It's only free to try. However, you have to pay for a permanent solution.






    share|improve this answer




























      1














      I just tried Advanced Serial Port Monitor. "Spy" mode does just what you want.



      It's only free to try. However, you have to pay for a permanent solution.






      share|improve this answer


























        1












        1








        1






        I just tried Advanced Serial Port Monitor. "Spy" mode does just what you want.



        It's only free to try. However, you have to pay for a permanent solution.






        share|improve this answer














        I just tried Advanced Serial Port Monitor. "Spy" mode does just what you want.



        It's only free to try. However, you have to pay for a permanent solution.







        share|improve this answer














        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer








        edited Apr 6 at 16:21









        Peter Mortensen

        8,331166184




        8,331166184










        answered Jun 7 '12 at 18:29









        MARK C

        111




        111

























            1














            A workaround I have used in the past when I was in the exact same situation as you was to use a 32-bit VM.



            It's not the greatest solution, but it does work and has no cost (other than any costs associated in setting up your VM Environment).






            share|improve this answer























            • What would be an example of a VM?
              – Peter Mortensen
              Apr 6 at 16:22










            • So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
              – Scott
              Apr 7 at 5:57








            • 1




              @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 6 at 14:36
















            1














            A workaround I have used in the past when I was in the exact same situation as you was to use a 32-bit VM.



            It's not the greatest solution, but it does work and has no cost (other than any costs associated in setting up your VM Environment).






            share|improve this answer























            • What would be an example of a VM?
              – Peter Mortensen
              Apr 6 at 16:22










            • So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
              – Scott
              Apr 7 at 5:57








            • 1




              @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 6 at 14:36














            1












            1








            1






            A workaround I have used in the past when I was in the exact same situation as you was to use a 32-bit VM.



            It's not the greatest solution, but it does work and has no cost (other than any costs associated in setting up your VM Environment).






            share|improve this answer














            A workaround I have used in the past when I was in the exact same situation as you was to use a 32-bit VM.



            It's not the greatest solution, but it does work and has no cost (other than any costs associated in setting up your VM Environment).







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Apr 6 at 16:21









            Peter Mortensen

            8,331166184




            8,331166184










            answered Feb 16 '13 at 17:33









            Scott Chamberlain

            27.8k580100




            27.8k580100












            • What would be an example of a VM?
              – Peter Mortensen
              Apr 6 at 16:22










            • So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
              – Scott
              Apr 7 at 5:57








            • 1




              @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 6 at 14:36


















            • What would be an example of a VM?
              – Peter Mortensen
              Apr 6 at 16:22










            • So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
              – Scott
              Apr 7 at 5:57








            • 1




              @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 6 at 14:36
















            What would be an example of a VM?
            – Peter Mortensen
            Apr 6 at 16:22




            What would be an example of a VM?
            – Peter Mortensen
            Apr 6 at 16:22












            So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
            – Scott
            Apr 7 at 5:57






            So you’re saying that (a process on) a VM can monitor a port on the host without blocking it from applications on the host?  I thought that host devices could be accessible by the host or the guest, but not both.
            – Scott
            Apr 7 at 5:57






            1




            1




            @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
            – jpaugh
            Dec 6 at 14:36




            @Scott He's suggesting that PortMon running in a 32 bit VM could monitor the VM's serial connection.
            – jpaugh
            Dec 6 at 14:36











            1














            If you have another computer, I recommend running a POSIX OS and using socat to "pipe" the data from one port to another while logging the traffic. This is basically like a hardware-based solution, but it's using general purpose hardware instead of something special. e.g. something like this:



            sudo socat -x -v -d /dev/ttyUSB0,b115200,rawer,cr /dev/ttyUSB1,b115200,rawer,cr



            What's really neat about this program is that it's super flexible as far as what you can connect to what. You can use TCP/IP sockets, files/streams, etc. transform baud rates, change line endings, etc. Introductory article (dated 2009 but still useful) is available here.



            Edit: Just to clarify, instead of having a hardware configuration like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> Device serial port



            It'd be like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 1
            Device serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 2






            share|improve this answer























            • True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
              – iX3
              Dec 12 at 15:08










            • @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 18:38










            • Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 14 at 21:27








            • 1




              For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 22:16


















            1














            If you have another computer, I recommend running a POSIX OS and using socat to "pipe" the data from one port to another while logging the traffic. This is basically like a hardware-based solution, but it's using general purpose hardware instead of something special. e.g. something like this:



            sudo socat -x -v -d /dev/ttyUSB0,b115200,rawer,cr /dev/ttyUSB1,b115200,rawer,cr



            What's really neat about this program is that it's super flexible as far as what you can connect to what. You can use TCP/IP sockets, files/streams, etc. transform baud rates, change line endings, etc. Introductory article (dated 2009 but still useful) is available here.



            Edit: Just to clarify, instead of having a hardware configuration like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> Device serial port



            It'd be like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 1
            Device serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 2






            share|improve this answer























            • True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
              – iX3
              Dec 12 at 15:08










            • @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 18:38










            • Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 14 at 21:27








            • 1




              For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 22:16
















            1












            1








            1






            If you have another computer, I recommend running a POSIX OS and using socat to "pipe" the data from one port to another while logging the traffic. This is basically like a hardware-based solution, but it's using general purpose hardware instead of something special. e.g. something like this:



            sudo socat -x -v -d /dev/ttyUSB0,b115200,rawer,cr /dev/ttyUSB1,b115200,rawer,cr



            What's really neat about this program is that it's super flexible as far as what you can connect to what. You can use TCP/IP sockets, files/streams, etc. transform baud rates, change line endings, etc. Introductory article (dated 2009 but still useful) is available here.



            Edit: Just to clarify, instead of having a hardware configuration like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> Device serial port



            It'd be like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 1
            Device serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 2






            share|improve this answer














            If you have another computer, I recommend running a POSIX OS and using socat to "pipe" the data from one port to another while logging the traffic. This is basically like a hardware-based solution, but it's using general purpose hardware instead of something special. e.g. something like this:



            sudo socat -x -v -d /dev/ttyUSB0,b115200,rawer,cr /dev/ttyUSB1,b115200,rawer,cr



            What's really neat about this program is that it's super flexible as far as what you can connect to what. You can use TCP/IP sockets, files/streams, etc. transform baud rates, change line endings, etc. Introductory article (dated 2009 but still useful) is available here.



            Edit: Just to clarify, instead of having a hardware configuration like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> Device serial port



            It'd be like this:



            Main computer serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 1
            Device serial port <--> sniffer computer serial port 2







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited Dec 14 at 22:15

























            answered Oct 26 at 22:09









            iX3

            13818




            13818












            • True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
              – iX3
              Dec 12 at 15:08










            • @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 18:38










            • Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 14 at 21:27








            • 1




              For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 22:16




















            • True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
              – iX3
              Dec 12 at 15:08










            • @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 18:38










            • Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
              – jpaugh
              Dec 14 at 21:27








            • 1




              For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
              – iX3
              Dec 14 at 22:16


















            True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
            – iX3
            Dec 12 at 15:08




            True, but it will allow one to observe all data that is sent or received on the physical port. Since the OP did not specify whether the "port" was abstract/software or physical/hardware I think this is still a fair answer.
            – iX3
            Dec 12 at 15:08












            @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
            – iX3
            Dec 14 at 18:38




            @jpaugh I don't understand what you mean. What "isn't running"? This solution allows use of any software or hardware as long as the data flows through a physical port. Just attach an additional computer / device inline with the connection and run socat to forward the data while logging it. I'll add a simple diagram to the answer in the hope of clearing this up.
            – iX3
            Dec 14 at 18:38












            Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
            – jpaugh
            Dec 14 at 21:27






            Okay. Yeah, I misunderstood. Now that I understand it, I don't think you said anything wrong. Originally, I came here trying to deal with a virtual serial device a la USB, so of course this would not make sense for that case. Sorry about taht.
            – jpaugh
            Dec 14 at 21:27






            1




            1




            For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
            – iX3
            Dec 14 at 22:16






            For USB connection debugging I highly recommend these: desowin.org/usbpcap wiki.wireshark.org/CaptureSetup/USB
            – iX3
            Dec 14 at 22:16




















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