In reference to the serial issue on mobos with no legacy ports. I was able to solve the problem with a serial to usb adapter. I've tested it with the gfroster software and it works just fine.

I got mine for about $20, i know having to spend more money isnt a solution for everyone but i didnt really see any other options for the moment. Below is a link to a product similar to the one i bought, if you google serial to usb adapter you'll find many others at varying prices.

http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/USA19HS/