A serial port is used in most if not all operating systems today. Also called communication ports, they send 8 bytes of data one bit at a time. This results in slower transmission time, but lower cable costs.
Serial, Parallel and USB 1.1 to mention a few.
PS/2 (For Keyboard and Mouse)USBCOM1 and COM2 (serial) PortParallel Port (for Printers)SpeakerMicVideo Port (Monitor Port)Lan Port
This depends entirely on the use of the cable. In a full features RS-232 cable there would be 9 cables. But most hardware that uses a serial cable doesn't have the need for all of these wires so the number may vary. regards, tesseract
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Serial ports
If the printer is of an older type that has the appropriate logic circuits, connectors and compatiible printer driver software, a parallel port and/or a serial portcan be used if they are available on the pc.
it can be usb, or PS/2 usb is better more commen and newer, faster and works on any windows PC that has usb PS/2 is older but still works, less commen, used on all windows computers that don't use usb. e.g. windows 98
In the past external modems connected to the COM (or serial) port. However, most modern external hardware is USB these days, modems are no exception.
Serial port is by far the fastest port. It is so fast that it is used in modern computer to connect hard drive to motherboard. Current generation of serial port is SATA 6Gpbs.
The port is a USB (Universal Serial Bus).
In the past, both the serial and parallel port were the most common means of data transfer and communication used by PCs. Serial ports were used for devices such as modems, mice, and serial port printers. However, in newer PCs, both the serial and parallel ports have been replaced by the use of USB ports. You should only disable serial port(s) if you are absolutely certain that auxiliary devices such as modems; printers; mice; etc.. are USB based and that your PC has enough USB ports to accommodate all of your auxiliary devices. Note: If at some point in the immediate future, you plan to sell your PC, it might be wise to leave the serial port as is.
"Firewire" is the term used for a certain type of serial port on computers. Similar uses are USB. The Name is 1394 for "FireWire". The term firewire was meant to express that it was a faster connection than standard serial or parallel ports.