Knowledge Base

Error message in Streets & Trips and in AutoRoute: "A connection cannot be made to the GPS receiver using the specified port"

Article ID: 914342

Article Last Modified on 10/26/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft AutoRoute 2007
Microsoft AutoRoute 2007 with GPS Locator
Microsoft AutoRoute 2006
Microsoft Autoroute Europe 2005 Europe
Microsoft AutoRoute Europe 2004
Microsoft MapPoint 2006 Standard Edition
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 with Connected Services
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 with GPS Locator
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 with GPS Locator
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 Standard Edition
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2004 Standard Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you try to track your position after you set up your GPS, you may receive the following error message:

A connection cannot be made to the GPS receiver using the specified port. Make sure another program is not using that port and try again.

Note This issue occurs in the products that are listed in the "Applies To" section.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if a program that is running in the background is preventing the GPS port from opening. For example, this problem has been experienced with the Palm HotSync program.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, exit the HotSync program and any other programs that may be using COM ports. If this does not resolve the issue, use the System Configuration utility to perform a clean boot procedure.

How to perform a clean boot procedure in Microsoft Windows XP and in Windows Vista

Note We strongly recommend that you do not use the System Configuration utility to modify the Boot.ini file on the computer without the direction of a Microsoft support engineer. Doing this may make the computer unusable.

After you perform a clean boot procedure, you may temporarily lose some functionality. If you restore the settings, you restore the functionality. However, you may receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section. You must first identify the program that is interfering with the GPS port and verify that you can connect to GPS. Then, to continue to use the features in Microsoft Streets and Trips or in Microsoft Autoroute, you must remove or disable the program that is interfering. Additionally, you can contact the manufacturer of the program for help.

Note You must be logged on as an administrator or as a member of the Administrators group to follow these steps. If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from following these steps.

Open the System Configuration item in Control Panel:
- In Windows Vista, click Start, type System Configuration in the Start Search box, and then click System Configuration in the Programs list.
  
  If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
- In Windows XP and in earlier versions, click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then click to clear the following check boxes:
- Process System.ini File
- Process WIn.ini File
- Load Startup Items
You cannot turn off the Use Original Boot.ini option.
On the Services tab, click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
Click OK, and then click Restart to restart the computer.
After Windows starts, determine whether the symptom still occurs.

Note Look closely at the General tab to make sure that the check boxes that you cleared are still cleared. Go to step 6 if no check box is selected. However, if other check boxes have been selected, the clean boot procedure was not completed successfully on the computer. This indicates that a third-party program automatically selects some check boxes when the computer restarts. In this case, you may require help from the manufacturer of the program that automatically rechecks the check boxes in the System Configuration utility.

If no check box is selected, and the issue is not resolved, you may have to repeat steps 1 through 5. However, you may have to click to clear the Load System Services check box on the General tab. This temporarily disables Microsoft services and permanently deletes all the restore points for the System Restore utility. Do not do this if you want to retain your restore points for the System Restore utility or if you have to use a Microsoft service to test the issue.

Note The Microsoft services that are temporarily disabled include Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting.
Open the System Configuration item in Control Panel again:
- In Windows Vista, click Start, type System Configuration in the Start Search box, and then click System Configuration in the Programs list.
  
  If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
- In Windows XP and earlier versions, click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
On the General tab, click to select the Process System.ini File check box, click OK, and then click Restart to restart the computer.

If the issue continues, the issue is with an entry in the System.ini file. If the issue does not continue, repeat step 7 for the following check boxes until the issue occurs:

Process Win.ini File
Load Startup Items
Load System Services

After the issue occurs, the last item that you selected is the item where the issue is occurring.

How to return from a clean boot procedure

Open the System Configuration item in Control Panel:
- In Windows Vista, click Start, type System Configuration in the Start Search box, and then click System Configuration in the Programs list.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.

- In Windows XP and in earlier versions, click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
On the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services.
Click OK, and then click Restart when you are prompted to restart the computer.

REFERENCES

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310560 How to troubleshoot by using the System Configuration utility in Windows XP

To learn more about system configuration in Windows Vista, follow the instructions in the "Run selective startup using System Configuration" topic in Windows Vista Help and Support. To view the topic, follow these steps:

Click Start , and then click Help and Support.
In the Search Help box, type Run selective startup using System Configuration, and then click Search Help.
Click the appropriate topic.

MORE INFORMATION

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

Additional query words: GPS port error message track position

Keywords: kbtshoot kbprb KB914342

Microsoft KB Archive/914342

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