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G8BPQ User Mode Virtual Serial Port Driver

NB. This driver only works on Windows 2000 and above.

This Driver, BPQVirtualSerial.sys, provides emulated(virtual) COM ports which are used by various BPQ32 components to link to applications that expect to see a real COM port.

Note that BPQ32 now includes two Virtual COM Drivers, this one and BPQVirtualCOM.sys. This is a User Mode Driver (ie runs as an application, not as part of the operating system). BPQVirtualCOM.sys is a Kernel Mode Driver (ie runs as part of the operating system).

The BPQ32 installation includes the sofware in two folders, VCOM32 and VCOM64. Use the one for your version of Windows.

Note - to Install the first Virtual COM device on a Windows 8 or Windows 10 64 bit system you must reboot with advanced options to disable driver signature enforcement. With Win 10 you simply select "Reboot" from the Power Menu with the shift key held down. The exact sequence will depend on the build of Windows, but is something like Select Troubleshoot, Advanced Options, See More Recovery Options, Start-up Settings, Restart. The PC will then reboot and you get a menu including "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement". Select this and the system will reboot with Signature Checking disabled. Once you have installed one your can add others without going through this process.

If you are using Win 8 search the Web for instrutions - any links I include here may disappear.

With Windows 7 and above, you should be able to install the driver by right clicking on InstallBPQVCOM.exe (or InstallBPQVCOM.bat if 32 bit) and selecting "Run as Administrator". If that fails, follow these instructions:

For Windows 7 and above, see intructions here.
For Windows XP, see intructions here.

The port will be installed with the next available COM port number. If necessary, this can be changed via the device properties page. Some applications, especially older ones, only support a limited range of COM port numbers.



John Wiseman G8BPQ
November 2011
Updated November 2018