I have used 4 different IBM laptops, which have all had the same problem (feature). If you are using the IR ports, this is a feature, but if you want to enable the serial port, it is a problem.

I have not had the good fortune of buying a laptop that included the original software disks, but the programs are available from the IBM web site. The program to install the dos utilities is uttpfdos.exe . The program might be installed on your machine already. The same program works on all the machines I have tried, 755,760 and 770.

The IBM website lists the following as using this utility:
- ThinkPad 365X, 365XD
- ThinkPad 380, 380D, 380E, 380ED, 380XD, 380Z
- ThinkPad 385D, 385ED, 385XD
- ThinkPad 560, 560E, 560X, 560Z
- ThinkPad 760C, 760CD, 760L, 760LD
- ThinkPad 760E, 760ED, 760EL, 760ELD
- ThinkPad 760XD, 760XL
- ThinkPad 765D, 765L
- ThinkPad 770, 770E, 770X, 770Z

Determining which version is installed

1. Open a DOS screen.
2. Type PS2 ? and press Enter .
The version will be displayed next to Utility for DOS on the second line. It should be 4.22 .

It is possible that the "PATH" statement doesn't include the path to PS2. Check the path by entering { path } at the DOS prompt. You should see something like c:\thinkpad as part of the path statement.

If there is no directory named THINKPAD then it is likely someone has changed the hard drive before you.

Installation instructions for DOS
1. Start DOS.
2. Type [Program Path] \UINSTALL and press Enter .
3. Press Enter again.
4. Select Install DOS ThinkPad Configuration at the Installation Options screen; then follow the instructions on the screen.

At this point you should have the PS2 program installed, and see version 4.22 when the program responds to{ PS2 ? }.

The syntax of the commands is simple once you have played with it a bit. Typing PS2 , without ? or a valid command generates a message prompting you to use PS2 ? . The list of commands are

The first thing we want to look at is the IRQ assignment. We do this from the DOS prompt by typing PS2 ? IRQ and pressing enter . A table will be displayed showing all the IRQ assignments. Notice the X is for not assigned and O is assigned. Seems backwards to me, just don't be confused. If there are O's assigned for the IR (infrared ports) then we need to go back and disable the INFRARED so we can use the IRQ for the serial port.

So what command will get us there ?? It is IR, and the syntax is PS2 IR disable , then enter . The program response is OK. If we want to see how the IR is set up, then we type PS2 ? IR , then enter . We see a whole screen of information on how the IR can be set up. The main thing we are interested in, is the line that shows it disabled.

Now we can go into the Serial Port and set it up . The command is PS2 ? SERA , then enter . Again we see a screen showing the status of the serial port. It is probably disabled, or you wouldn't be here. To enable the serial port, the syntax is PS2 SERA enable. You should also notice there are selections to make the com port something other than COM 1. Once the Com PORT is enabled we can change it to a different IRQ and COM PORT number. If COM 1 is OK, then be happy. If you want COM2, the syntax is PS2 SERA ADD 2 , then enter .

This covers the basic idea of the DOS utility. There is one more feature which is worth mentioning, and that is the screen expansion. This allows a 640 X 480 screen to expand to the full size of the TFT display. The syntax for this feature is PS2 ? HVEXP , then enter . We see a screen that shows the status and explains what the feature does. To enable screen expansion the syntax is PS2 HVEXP enable , then enter . There is still one more step to this feature, we must set up the key that enables or disables screen expansion. The syntax for this is PS2 ? F8 , then enter . If it says the current state is "ENABLE", then we are all done. If it says "DISABLE" then we can use the command PS2 F8 enable , then enter , to make this work.

There is much more that can be done with the different commands, but this should get you going with the syntax to make this useful.

Setting the COM from a machine running windows

How to enable the external serial port on your ThinkPad - ThinkPad General

SYMPTOM: The ThinkPad is not communicating with an external serial device. CONFIGURATION: Any ThinkPad trying to utilize the external serial port.
Applicable operating systems : Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0, OS/2 3.0, OS/2 4.0
RESOLUTION : By default, currently available ThinkPads come with the external serial port disabled and Infrared enabled on COM 1. To use the serial port on COM 1 you must either disable infrared or change infrared so that it uses alternate resources. If you are not using infrared for printing or file sharing it is recommended that it be disabled. To disable infrared and enable the serial port on COM 1 do the following.
1. Double-click your ThinkPad Features or ThinkPad Configuration icon located in the ThinkPad folder on your desktop.
2. Locate the Infrared button located on the left-hand side of this configuration screen and click it once.
(Note: If you hold your mouse pointer over any of the icons in this configuration screen the button will be identified at the bottom in the status window.)
3. Change Infrared from "Enable" to "Disable" and click "OK".
4. Locate the serial port icon and click it once.
5. Select serial port "enable" and insure that the COM PORT setting is "COM 1" and click "OK".
6. Shut down and restart the computer.

More Information: There are many different combinations of port settings that are possible.
The following table indicates the standard settings for the four available COM Ports.

COM Port Port Address IRQ

COM 1 03F8 4
COM 2 02F8 3
COM 3 03E8 4
COM 4 02E8 3


Please note that COM 1 and 3 share IRQ 4 and COM 2 and 4 share IRQ 3.

Have fun !! 73 de Mike KD7TS

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