multithreading issue

Hi Folks, I wonder if somebody can either point me in the right direction or explain a certain concept to me... i just can't figure it out (i've browssed through MSDN)...If in an application I have several threads running and while these threads are running something arrives on the serial port of the computer...Using a control I can raise an event to signal this "BUT" will the application be aware that this event has taken place? Or how can I make sure that the application is aware that something has been recieved at the serial port while other threads are running?.... Please can someone help... A secondary issue also related ... say again multiple threads are running in an application, in one thread I implement a lock on a certain portion of code (so this must complete execution before any other thread can resume control)... if a timer raises an event (or is due to raise an event) while another thread is executing a portion of locked code... will this timer event be lost by the time the locked code in the other thread completes??? can anyone help!!! I'm desperate... can't find this information anywhere... Maria ([email protected])