Question 1

i have an hp monitor i'd like to use with my laptop that doesn't have a serial port - would this cable work to plug the monitor into the laptop with only usb ports...?

Accepted Answer

Emphatically no.  This cable is for serial data devices like printers - not for video.  Your confusion is likely due to the similar appearance of the DB9 connector - common for RS-232 communications - and the 15 pin VGA connector that is common to many older video monitors.

That being said, there are USB to VGA adapters (such as the StarTech USB2VGAE2) that can (with the use of the appropriate driver installed on your laptop) drive an external monitor.  But be aware: USB is a pretty small hose for pumping video - screen refresh will be pretty slow; fine for reading/writing email and documents but video games and streaming video will perform poorly.

Question 2

What is the length of the cable ?

Accepted Answer

I bought several for bank serial printers and the cable is only about 1.5 feet in length.  Your original serial cable should make up the rest of the length you need considering this is only an adapter.

Question 3

I have an engraving machine that uses serial cable but my computer does not have that provision. Can i connect the machine cable to this and connect to computer using usb without having to reinstall?

Accepted Answer

For me, It worked without an issue, nor the need to reboot.
I used Putty to interface to this adaptor (pay attention to which tty device the driver assigns). 
Also, you can test it but shorting pins 2 & 3, and type any character. It will echo to the dos[lay what you type.

Question 4

how long is this cable?

Accepted Answer

The overall cable length (connector tip-to-tip) is 17".  The cable alone (in between the connectors) is 12 - 12.5".

Question 5

Is this item compatible with windows 8.1?

Accepted Answer

I do not know if the StarTech RS232 adapter is compatible with 8.1.  It does work with Win7 and XP.

If you navigate to StarTech's website, they do have driver updates.

That's where I'd check.

Question 6

Anyone use this cable on a Mac OSX 10.10 ? Is it compatible?

Accepted Answer

Sorry.  I do not know.  It works just fine on Win-7 64-bit, 32-bit, and XP, also virtual XP running on Win-7 host.

Question 7

due to the hex nuts, can I use a DB-9 extender as a form of an adapter to effectively use this cable?

Accepted Answer

I haven't personally done this, but it should work.  All the signals are still coming through the same wires.

Brand	StarTech.com
Model	ICUSB232V2
Type	Data Transfer Cable
Type	Cable Connectors
Color	Black

Connector Number	2
Connector Detail	Connector A: USB A (4 pin) Male Connector B: DB-9 (9 pin; D-Sub) Male
Terminal Gender	Male to Male
Specifications	Bus Type: USB 2.0 Chipset ID: Prolific - PL2303-HXD Industry Standards: USB 1.1/2.0, RS232 Interface: Serial Port Style: Cable Adapter Ports: 1 Data Bits: 5, 6, 7, 8 FIFO: 512 Bytes Flow Control: None, Xon/Xoff, RTS/CTS, DTR/DSR Max Baud Rate: 921.6 Kbps Parity: Odd, Even, Mark, Ace, or None Parity Modes Serial Protocol: RS-232 Stop Bits: 1, 1.5, 2 Microsoft WHQL Certified: Yes OS Compatibility: Windows 8 (32/64bit), 7 (32/64), Vista(32/64), XP(32/64), 2000 Windows Server 2012, 2008 R2, 2008, 2003(32/64) Mac OS 10.x (Tested up to 10.8), 9.x, 8.x Linux kernel 2.4.31 and later

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StarTech.com ICUSB232V2 USB to Serial Adapter - Prolific PL-2303 - 1 port - DB9 (9-pin) - USB to RS232 Adapter Cable - USB Serial

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Item#: N82E16812400515