Converting a USB port to a serial COM port

[leekb]

I have a IBM Thinkpad R30, which incidentally does not come equipped with the DB9 serial male port. It has two USB ports instead.

The trouble is I need to connect the laptop to the console of a Cisco router. On other PCs, I would use the Hyperterminal application on Windows to connect to the COM1: interface and everything clicks.

Now the R30 has only got USB ports. So I got myself a cable where one end is the DB9 male connector and the other end is the USB plug that goes into the USB port of the laptop. It didn't work. By connecting it this way, Windows does not seem able to identify it as a COM port.

Is there any special driver I need to load? Or perhaps do I need a box to convert serial stream to USB stream? I have seen product like this

http://www.byterunner.com/products/usb_port.htm

Do I really need them for this purpose?

thanks in advance

 

[Najemikon]

I work for a HP reseller & a lot of the laptops without COM ports now come with what is affectionately known as a 'dongle'! It's what you describe as your cable with db9 at one end & USB at the other.

I'm honestly not sure what might be needed in way of drivers as we haven't got one of these things currently & they're usually ready configured anyway (by that I mean the dongle came with the laptop & works as a standard HP thing). But that may put you on the right track- is there a specific one you have to get for the ThinkPad? Knowing how jealous HP & similar companies can be, I doubt they allow generic ones to work! Maybe thats just me being cynical...

 

[franklin97355]

The one I got from Tripp-Lite does actually have circuits in the plug so I would say you need a real USB to serial adapter. Mine came with software and works great although it insisted on taking port 5 which was a problem until I found a terminal emulator that could map to it.