Put HyperTerminal on Windows 7

By Stephen Bucaro

In the early days of computers all the applications and data was stored on large computers called "main frames". Users accessed the applications and data through dumb devices that consisted of basically a keyboard and monitor. These devices were called "terminals".

Nowadays, even the most primitive personal computer is way more powerful than the old main frames. At one time it was thought that there was no need for a centralized computer to serve up applications and data. The applications and data could be distributed across a network of PCs. However this created an administration and security nightmare. So again, the applications and data are stored on powerful computers, this time called "servers".

Today there are still network devices with interfaces that communicate via the old main frame commands, and a PC can log on and communicate with them using a terminal emulation program. The terminal emulation program used with the Windows operating system is HyperTerminal.

HyperTerminal was included with all versions of Windows up to Windows XP. HyperTerminal was not included with Windows Vista or Windows 7. If your operating system is newer than Windows XP, one option is to use a third-party terminal emulation program.

One of the most popular third-party terminal emulation programs is PuTTY. PuTTY is a free, open-source, terminal emulator, serial console and network file transfer application. It supports several network protocols, including SCP, SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. It can also connect to a serial port. PuTTY can be downloaded from here: PuTTY Download Page

In alternative to a third party terminal emulation program, you can copy Hyperterminal from a Windows XP system. To put HyperTerminal on Windows Vista or later, create a folder under C:\Program Files (x86)\HyperTerminal. From a Windows XP system copy the following 3 files, which should be in the C:\Windows\System32 folder, to that folder:

C:\Program Files\Windows NT\hypertrm.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\hypertrm.dll
C:\WINDOWS\Help\hypertrm.chm

Then run hypertrm.exe. To have HyperTerminal on your Start Menu, create a shortcut to hypertrm.exe and place it in C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs. When you go to Start Menu | All Programs, HyperTerminal will be there.

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