Know this has been covered before but I wonder what the current thinking is concerning how to connect from laptop with serial adapter.
Nothing I have tried connects with the Atom Pro using laptop. Have to use serial port on desktop to connect.
Hank
I’m in the same boat, here.
My Atom Pro-28 programs correctly from any of my desktop’s “true” RS-232 ports, but I get no recognition of the Atom Pro when I try to blow the same code into it, from the same version of the IDE, using the BAFO USB-to-serial adapter that others have reported success with. Adjusting the “Reset Hold Time” variable does not rectify the situation. Adapters by Belkin and Dynex produce the same non-results.
The same adapters, in the same USB ports, on the same notebook, are able to program BASIC Stamps just fine, even if they’re plugged into the same Bot Board that won’t work with the Atom Pro-28. Also, as mentioned above, the same Bot Board will correctly program both Atom Pro-28 and BASIC Stamp units when fed the data via my desktop’s RS-232 port.
I have also had problems 
with different USB to serial adapters. The one that I have had the best luck with is one that I bought at RadioShack. It has blue ends and clear plastic over braided shielding in the cable. I think it may be this one:
radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2273291&cp=&origkw=usb+to+serial&kw=usb+to+serial&parentPage=search
This one has worked reasonably well. I found it much slower than using the hard wired serial port of my PC, but with some adjustments in the device manager, its speed is much better 
.
Good Luck
Here is a post about changing some settings in the USB driver.
lynxmotion.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1324&
Let me know if it is helpful. I know the programming of an Atom is done at a much higher baud rate compared to a stamp…
Just a though. Since it seems that the problem is isolated to USB to Serial magic perhaps it might serve well to list factors that effect the connection. I would guess it is power. I heard latency.
Are there other possibilities
I’ve tried a number of cheap USB to serial adapters, and only the one that appears to be a genuine Startech.com adapter works. Avoid any adapter that has thumb screws on it. I’ve tried two different ones with thumb screws and neither worked. Avoid buying the clear blue plastic versions on ebay that look like the starteck adapter. I’ve tried two different vendors, and one sent a totally different thumb screw type than pictured which didn’t work. Another one looked almost like the startech, but will only receive and not send. This one appears to be a knockoff clone of the startech, but it has some differences when closely examended (like a dark serface behind the pins instead of white). Below is a source that might be cheaper than Radio Shack, but I haven’t ordrerd one from them (the adapters are ~$55 from Startech.com).