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I'm trying to create a direct connection to a hardware device via RS232 serial connection. Am using a USB to Serial adapter and works fine in WinXP but the option seems to have disappeared in Win7. This is the only connection option available for this piece of hardware so I have no choice. Currently have a netbook with WinXP installed purely for interfacing with this hardware.

In XP it was just a matter of creating an "Advanced connection" and then "Directly to another computer" etc, I can find no such options in Win7.

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    What application program are you using that has these "Advanced connection" and "Directly to another computer" options? The USB-to-serial adapter should simply exist as COM port. Have you inspected the Device Manager? Have you tried to use the USB-to-serial adapter with a terminal emulator program such as Putty or TeraTerm?
    – sawdust
    Nov 7, 2012 at 22:42
  • It is the options given within Windows when setting up a connection, nothing to do with other SW. Yes it exists as a COM port and works for basic terminal apps. I should have mentioned earlier (have now edited the title) its actually a PPP connection over a serial link im trying to achieve, so really need to be able to create an "advanced connection" from within Windows. Nov 7, 2012 at 23:04

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Windows 7 can only do very limited operations with rs232 out of the box. Also it's absurdly picky about the driver used for rs232-to-usb adapters in my experience so make sure it's popping up under ports in your device manager. In my opinion your better off using third party solutions.

I personally use RealTerm. It's free, open source, and generally works very well. There are, however, a large number of proprietary alternatives.

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  • Thanks for that, although the UI isn't actually a terminal interface, but web based. The connection type is actually a PPP connection (probably should have mentioned that) so I really need to create the connection in Windows so that the device can assign the Windows machine with an IP when I "dial-in" to it. Nov 7, 2012 at 23:00

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