Ok consider this figured out . I hadn't realized the debugger would go into the Open() function, I had expected it to just run the Open command and update the Output window. Turns out it goes into more detail as in stepping through each pin initialization. I pointed it to the NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs from the SDK source and now it's working fine. Thanks for the help. Andy

Just as a note, if I disable the breakpoint and let the app run without stepping through the code it doesn't fail in any visible way so it could be the debugger causing problems.

I've been executing through the Debug > Start Debugging command with a breakpoint on the if(!c1.IsOpen) line so I can single step through the code. I'm not seeing either of those options even with 'Show all settings' checked. Could it be because I'm using C# Express?

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if it was something misconfigured on my machine. So I created a new app using the template. Added the reference for Microsoft.SPOT.hardware.SerialPort. As soon as it hit the c1.Open(); line an Open File Dialog box showed up in the v4.1 program folder looking for NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs. For giggles I ran a file search on my system but wasn't able to turn the file up at all. I even tried removing and reinstalling the SDK but that didn't seem to help either. I'm wondering if I could just d/l that file and point the program to it.

Hi Chris,

1. ZIP up the project's directory and attach it to this post--so we can take a quick look at any odd settings that might have crept in...
nd_serialTest.zip
2. Please verify that you have selected the Netduino as your deployment target (in projet properties....NET Micro Framework tab).
Yup, Netduino is selected.
3. Create a blank Netduino Application project--does that give you the same error? If so, create a blank ".NET MF Console Application"--does that give you the same error?
Doesn't appear to, I used the Netduino as the target for this too: MFConsoleApplication_test.zip

I thought it was a bit unusual. I am indeed using the 'Netduino Application' template and I made sure to referenceMicrosoft.SPOT.Hardware.SerialPort.dll as well. I wouldn't dare touch the firmware of my Netduino yet (I'm a total noob when it comes to embedded hardware) so it's still the original. Andy

Morning everyone,
Maybe I'm missing something obvious here but I'm trying to open a SerialPort and when I execute the port.Open() command VisualStudio is asking me where the NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs file is. I have the SDK installed and I've only run into this (so far) when trying to use a SerialPort. Any thoughts? Below is the code & error text

using System;
using System.Threading;
using Microsoft.SPOT;
using Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware;
using SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino;
using System.IO.Ports;

namespace nd_serialTest
{
	public class Program
	{

		static InputPort btn = new InputPort(Pins.ONBOARD_SW1, false, Port.ResistorMode.Disabled);
		static OutputPort led = new OutputPort(Pins.ONBOARD_LED, false);

		public static void Main()
		{
			SerialPort c1 = new SerialPort("COM1", 9600);

			Debug.Print("ready");

			if (!c1.IsOpen)
			{
				c1.Open();
				byte[] msg = System.Text.UTF8Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes("TEST");
				c1.Write(msg, 0, msg.Length);
				c1.Close();
			}
		}
	}
}

error text:

Locating source for 'C:\Documents\Secret Labs\Projects\Production\SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino\NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs'. Checksum: MD5 {36 3 f0 c2 91 e3 ea ee 5 bc 34 44 70 d8 e1 22}
The file 'C:\Documents\Secret Labs\Projects\Production\SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino\NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs' does not exist.
Looking in script documents for 'C:\Documents\Secret Labs\Projects\Production\SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino\NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs'...
Looking in the projects for 'C:\Documents\Secret Labs\Projects\Production\SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino\NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs'.
The file was not found in a project.
Looking in directory 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\vc7\atlmfc'...
Looking in directory 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 10.0\Common7\IDE\vc7\crt'...
The debug source files settings for the active solution indicate that the debugger will not ask the user to find the file: C:\Documents\Secret Labs\Projects\Production\SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino\NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs.
The debugger could not locate the source file 'C:\Documents\Secret Labs\Projects\Production\SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.Netduino\NetduinoHardwareProvider.cs'.