Maxim
Wed Nov 19 11:42:59 CST 2003
"PnP devices" are by definition - "devices which can report their
identity/part number/hardware resources to the OS by bus-standard means".
All sane USB devices are PnP, since USB requires the device to implement
the config descriptors.
All sane PCI devices are PnP, since PCI requires the device to implement
the config space.
Same on 1394, IDE and SCSI.
As about the serial port - there is a "serial PnP protocol" (set the port
to some state, and the device must print its PnP ID to the host), which is a
developed version of MS/Mouse Systems mouse identification and button counting
protocol :-).
Nevertheless, not all serial devices support this (all mice support a
primitive subset of it, and all modern modems seem to support it, but lots of
serial hardware does not support). Thus - non-PnP serial devices.
--
Maxim Shatskih, Windows DDK MVP
StorageCraft Corporation
maxim@storagecraft.com
http://www.storagecraft.com
"Kirk Ferdmann" <kirk_ferdmann@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:DOGdnTQIV90_oiaiRVn-gg@comcast.com...
> "jun" <xj137@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:OZAIdJorDHA.2380@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
> > I don't know why a device is a pnp device, and another one is a non_pnp
> > device.
> If the hardware spec for that device defines some kind of PnP the device is
> a PnP one :-)
>
> > Is a USB device a pnp device,
> Definitely
>
> > and a serial port device is not pnp?
> Depends. If you are referring to the on-board COM port that it's up to BIOS.
> I.e. if you have ACPI BIOS the COM port is essentially PnP device.
>
> -Kirk
>
>
>