Changing the Default COM Port and Baud Rate in Terminal

Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
Article ID: Q85707

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

The first time Microsoft Windows Terminal (TERMINAL.EXE) is started it prompts you for the default port by displaying a Define Serial Port dialog box. The port you select in the Define Serial Port dialog box will become the default port for all subsequent Terminal sessions. However, the default communication settings of Terminal (baud rate, parity, data bits, stop bits) are preset during setup. To change these default settings, modify the WIN.INI file.

MORE INFORMATION

There are two methods to change the default COM port in subsequent Terminal sessions.

Open the WIN.INI file in a text editor, such as Notepad, and search for the [Terminal] heading. There will be an entry such as Port=COM1. Change the existing entry to one of the following:
a. Port=None
```
      -or-
```
b. Port=COM1
```
      -or-
```
c. Port=COM2
```
      -or-
```
d. Port=COM3
```
      -or-
```
e. Port=COM4
Optionally, after loading the WIN.INI file in Notepad, the [Terminal] heading and the entry below it can be deleted. The next time Terminal is started, it will prompt for a default port to use as if it were the first session of Terminal.

To change the default bit rate in the Terminal program packaged with Windows 3.0 and 3.1, add the desired settings description (baud, parity, data, stop bits) to the port= line in the [Terminal] section of the WIN.INI file.

For example, to default to 2400 bits per second (BPS) on COM2, the following changes/additions need to be made to WIN.INI:

   [Terminal]

   port=COM2:2400,N,8,1

Settings in individual *.TRM files will still override the default communication settings.

In either of the above situations, Windows must be restarted for the WIN.INI file changes to take effect.

KBCategory: kbsetup kbtool
KBSubcategory: win30 win31 wincomm
Additional reference words: 3.00 3.00a 3.0 3.0a 3.10 3.1 3.11

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Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
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