[Also posted in t5he NCE-DCC group]
Well, everybody,
It turns out the problem is that the drivers for the chipset that come with Windows 11 are apparently Windows 10 drivers that don't work with 11!
I chanced upon a Microsoft Tech Community problem report from 9 November 2023 about serial port access - the same problem I had. Here's the link:?
On 4 January 2024 someone answered with a link to a site with drivers that actually work! Here's that link:?
Download the first drivers in the list. Click on "(Latest) WCH CH340 Driver" and they'll e downloaded. Then all you have to do is install them and the port will work as it should.
I spent probably in excess of 50 hours trying to figure this out. I bought three different laptops, the latest of which is a Win 10 laptop I ordered from Amazon this morning. When it gets here I'll just ship it back.
Thanks to everyone who spent time and effort trying to help me resolve this problem. I sincerely do appreciate it.
Mark P.
Mark P.