USB and Serial Ports

What is the difference between a USB and a Standard Serial Port, I know that they are both Serial I/O devices but can I connect a Stand Serial Device that was to go into a COM Port into a USB Port(Thats provided I have the right connector of course)

 

They're two different kinds of ports. USB is much faster and is far newer technology. Serial ports are slow and have been around for a very long time. A device either plugs into a Serial port or a USB port. It can't plug into both.

- What kind of device are you trying to connect?
- What does the connector on the end of the cord look like? Is it large with two rows of pins or is it small and flat?
- Did it come with an adapter so you can connect it to either port?
- What operating system is your computer running?