I am trying to access an OpenBSD system that I have just installed via my PcBSD system by the use of a serial cable. I have been trying both minicom and cu but I am obviously doing something wrong... cu -l /dev/cuad0 returns /var/spool/lock/LCK...cuad0 Permission Denied. Can't Open lock file. all ports busy. And when I try to connect through minicom I either get a similar lock error, or minicom will sit at the connection screen with (offline status). I feel like the answer to my problems is a rather simple one, but I do not know where else to look for information. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I don't use minicom much, but I think it tries to talk to a modem on startup, and if it doesn't get some satisfactory reply, it goes offline. Perhaps your minicom config is unsuitable for the multiport card (handshake & flow-control lines fully implemented?). When dealing with serial ports, I strongly prefer C-Kermit. It seems to be able to cope with any port I've thrown at it, is highly configurable and scriptable, and has very good terminal emulation.

--- rod.

A loopback test with a single wire connecting the port's Rx & Tx lines is always one of the first tests I do when diagnosing serial comm's issues. If you aren't using a modem, I suggest also removing all of the modem init strings from your minicom configuration. Is your problem that minicom doesn't automatically go online, or that it simply will not go online at all?
Another useful tool (requires X) for setting up serial comm's is serlook. It is less useful for the level you're working with right now, but comes into play where you are actually transferring data between hosts or host & device.

--- rod.