1) USB to Serial converter cable needed?

If your laptop does not have a serial port - you'll need to use the USB-to-Serial converter cable (available from your lab instructor). There are USB to Serial installation directions here.

2) USB cable set itself as a COM port that is not COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4

How do I ... Change the COM port number if it comes up 5 or above?

3) I might not have "administrator rights" to install the cable (or check the COM port settings)

This is a new one that has begun appearing in Fall 2007 with some of the laptop images. I'm assuming this is a rare situation!

The first step is to check to see if you are a local administrator (you may get stopped at some point along the way as you try this .. if so, it means you are NOT and you need to go to the laptop help desk to resolve this - tell them "I need to be added into the administrator group on this laptop".

The other comment (as you'll see in this following page) - you have to be ON CAMPUS to be able to do this!

Try looking at this page (adding yourself as a local administrator) - if you can't do any of these steps (meaning, the system says something like "you don't have the authorization to see these settings" or something like that) - then "game over" - you need to go to the help desk to have them configure it.

4) The Logger Pro program can't find the calibration folder.

This has also started to appear in the Fall 2007 laptops, but not all of them (?!?).

Use the How do I .. Set the "default location" folder (and Calibration folder!) in Logger Pro? page - scroll down to the bottom to see the Calibration Folder information!