Welcome to Minicom Version 3.8 Help

Contents

Introduction

System Requirements

Functionality

Installation

Connecting

Setting PC Properties

"Do" Options - Functionality

Screen

File Manager

Shutdown

Chatboard

Clipboard Exchange

Time Center

MyPhone

AutoSchedule

E-Mail my IP Address

Audio Router

Modem Connect

Brief Tutorial

Tips of the Day

Command Line Starting

Registering Minicom

The License

Introduction

Minicom is produced by CS-JAMI and is designed for PCs running Win'95, Win'98, ME, Windows NT, Win'2000 or XP. The PCs can be connected together via Internet, an Intranet ( LAN) or modem (WAN) and use the TCP/IP or IPX/SPX protocols.

System Requirements

Minicom requires a minimum of a 486 66 Mhz computer with 5 Megabyte spare disk space and VGA/ SVGA graphics card.

Minicom works on Win'95, Win'98, ME, NT V4.0, Win 2000 and XP systems.

For modem connections at least a 28k modem is recommended.

For MyPhone you will also need a sound card, headset or speakers and a microphone.

Functionality

Minicom allows you to

...monitor and control other PCs from your PC
...manage local and remote Files.
...shutdown your own and other PCs
...text chat with the Chatboard to other PCs.
...exchange clipboard text with other PCs.
...synchronise your PC Time from another computer.
...voice chat with other PC users
...AutoSchedule tasks on other PCs.
...E-Mail my IP address on the Internet.
...Audio Route Audio from or to another computer.
...Modem Connect Connect or disconnect a local or remote modem

Installation

Description of files installed

Minicom.exe - the controller or master program
Minirem.exe - the remote monitor program or slave
MyPhone.exe - the phone function
Shutdown.exe - used by Minirem to Shutdown the remote PC

Comnet.dll - common network routines
mcmm.dll - multimedia
mcrasint.dll – dial-up interface
ntmcdd.sys - common NT routines

Htm, txt and gif Help files are provided for information purposes.

Setup.dat is provided for later de-installation.

Installing Minicom...

Minicom is provided either as MC30day.exe, the 30 day demo program, or as MC.exe the unrestricted version.
To install Minicom run the exe on all the PCs you wish to control.

At installation MiniRem.exe, the hidden remote control program, is started on the PC and entered in the PC start-up, to be restarted each time with the PC.

After installing the software, run Minicom and follow the instructions.
The "Select a PC" dialogue allows you to enter the name and connection details of each PC that you wish to connect to.
For PCs on the same network you can also use the "Auto-Update" button which will automatically scan the network for PCs with Minirem installed.
See Connecting .

The default TCP-IP and IPX port for each PC is "2600".
The default password for each PC is empty, ie. "".
Set the Port and Password by selecting a PC and then Menu/ Edit/ Properties.

By default the remote control program Minirem is set to run at startup.
Minirem tries to open its default port set at install time for IPX and TCP-IP.
If it fails to open the port with either protocol it will display an error message.

Uninstalling Minicom...

Selecting & Connecting

Select the PCs you wish to connect to .

To add PCs to the "Select A PC" window, use Menu: "Edit", "New", or AutoUpdate.
New opens a new PC Properties dialogue and you enter a name for the PC.
AutoUpdate" polls each of the computers running Minirem on your system and automatically enters them in the list.

Having selected the PC name or names, select a function from the Toolbar or from Menu/ Do .
If you have selected a Dial-up link this will now start to connect.
If you have selected the TCP-IP protocol and "Enter Internet Address when connecting"
you will now be asked for the remote PCs Internet address.

Setting PC Properties

...allows you to setup Minirem and Minicom on your own and other computers on the network.

Select one or more PCs and select Menu: "Edit", "Properties" or press Enter.

The Properties dialogues allow you to...

... set a new password for Minirem.
... set a new port for Minirem.
( all future connections to Minirem will be on this port )
... define which functions are available on the remote Minicom "Configure Minicom".
... remove Scheduled tasks from the remote PC.
..."Configure E-Mail" - set the E-Mail properties for Minirem to Internet connect.
...Open or Close the Log file "Minirem.log".
…Set Time Center connections.

See PC Properties for more details.

Functionality: Screen

...allows you to view and control other PCs from your own screen.

Select one or more PCs and select Menu:"Do", "Screen" .

A window will now appear that says "Screen - <Computer Name> Connected". In the window you should see the other PC screen.

You can View this as a Full Screen Display giving the impression of working directly on the other computer. To exit from the Full Screen Display press the Full Screen key, default F10.

See View/ Refresh to update the screen if there is a line transmission problem.

See View/ Special Keys for "Ctrl Esc" etc.
Special Key "Ctrl Alt Del" is only available for Win NT, 2000 & XP PCs.

Functionality: File Manager

...allows you to manage local and remote files.

Select one or more PCs and "Do", "Files" from the Menu .

You can now copy/ paste , delete, get properties, make a new folder and open ( start ) files.

The commands are available from the top level menu ( see "File" and "Edit" ), the pop up menu ( press the right mouse button ) or by using the short cut keys.

File Manager: Copy

To "Copy/ Paste" select 1 or more folders and/ or files as the source, select "Edit", "Copy" from the menu, select the destination folder and select "Edit", "Paste" from the menu. The source files and folders will now be copied to the destination folder.

You can copy files and folders from one PC to another, or on the same PC.
If the source file is locked ( in use ) you will be advised by a dialog window.
If the destination file or folder already exists you will be prompted by a dialog window.

File Manager: Delete

To "Delete" select 1 or more folders and/ or files and select "File", "Delete" from the menu. You will be asked whether you really want to delete these items.

Tip1:
deleted files and folders cannot be undeleted!
Make sure you really want to delete them.

Tip2:
When you delete a folder you delete all files and folders within that folder.

File Manager: Properties

Select folders and/ or files. Select "File", "Properties" from the menu and a dialog window will display the properties of the selected items, such as number of files, folders, total size, and the attributes Hidden, System, Read-Only and Archive. If some items have for example the Hidden attribute set, and others do not, then the attribute will be shown as greyed.

You may now change the attributes and accept the changes by pressing "OK".

File Manager: Making a New Folder

To make a New Folder select the destination drive or folder and select "File", "New Folder" from the menu. The "New Folder" will appear, and you can then edit the folder name.

File Manager: Open ( Start ) a file

Select one file as a source file, and select "File", "Open" from the menu. You will now be prompted as to which PC you would like to "Open" the file on. If you select a remote PC, this will not work if the source file drive is not set "Shared"to the network.

FileManager: Find

Select "Edit", "Find" to display the File Find Dialog.

In the "File Name" entry box enter the name of the file you wish to find
eg. *.ttx or *.ttx, *.doc.

The entry box accepts space, "," and ";" as separators.

Select the directory where you wish the search to begin.

In the "Text" entry box enter any text you wish to find in the file.
This box can be left empty.

Search "Sub-directories" and "Match Case" can also be selected.

Select the "Start" button to display the files.

Functionality: Modem

...allows you to start and stop local and remote dial-up connections.

Select one or more PCs and "Do", "Modem" from the Menu.
A dialog will appear with a list of the remote PCs dial-up connections.

Select a connection and click the "start" or "hangup" button.

Functionality: Shutdown

...allows you to shutdown your own and other PCs.

Select one or more PCs and "Do", "Shutdown" from the Menu.
The "Shutdown" dialogue will appear.

Options are "Shutdown", "Shutdown with Restart" and "Shutdown and Logon as a different user".

If the "Seconds Timeout" field is greater than 0 then a Count Down message will appear on the PCs to be shutdown.

"Forced Shutdown" forces the shutdown independent of warning messages and even if other users or programs are using the PC at the time. Be careful when using this option.

Having selected the options press OK .
The Shutdown command will now be sent to all selected PCs which can be connected.

Functionality: Chatboard

...allows you to text chat with other PCs.

Chatboard does not require a Password.

Select one or more PCs and "Do", "Chatboard" from the Menu.
A Minicom chatboard will appear. If the connection is successful to the remote PC a "PC connected" message will appear on the chatboard. This means the chatboard has also popped up on the remote PC. You can now type in a message to the remote PC user.
Press Enter to send the message.

When the remote user closes the chatboard a "PC Disconnected" message will appear.

Functionality: Clipboard Exchange

...allows you to exchange clipboard text with another PC.

Select one or more PCs and "Do", "Clipboard" .

If there is any clipboard text on your PC you can "Send" it to the remote PC clipboard. If the remote PC has clipboard text you can press "Get" and copy it to your PC clipboard.

Functionality: Time Center

...allows you to set your PC clock from another computer on the network and to set other PC clocks from your PC.
Select a PC and "Do", "Time Center" from the Menu.

A Properties Page window appears.
Select Update.
Select "Send to this PC" or "Get from this PC".
NB. You can only have 1 "Get from this PC", but you can send to as many PCs as you wish.

The Hour Adjustment ( Maximum +/-12 Hours ) is provided for updates to or from different Time Zones.
The PC clocks are synchronised every minute while Minicom is running .

Functionality: MyPhone

...allows you to phone other users on the network/ lan and Internet, and for them to phone you.

To use phone you need a full duplex sound card on your PC and a set of headphones, or speakers, with a microphone.

Tip:
Special cardiod moving coil microphones may not work well as they require extra amplification. This is not always provided by the sound card. eg. boost.

MyPhone does not require a Password.

To configure the sound card with MyPhone select "File/ Setup" to display the Setup dialog.
You can set the microphone and speaker/ earphone sound card drivers.

The telephone / PC list shown contains the same PCs setup in Minicom so it helps if you run Minicom first e.g. with Auto-Update and set up the hosts.

To make a phone call select a PC name from the "Phone List" on the main screen.
Then click the "Call" button.

If another user calls you, select the "Call/ Answer" button to speak to the caller.

During a conversation select the "Mute" button to put the caller on hold.

To check the volume use File/ Check Handset.
To set the volume use the standard volume controls provided for your soundcard.

Functionality: AutoSchedule

...allows you to schedule tasks on your own and other PCs.

Select a PC and "Do", "AutoSchedule" from the Menu.

An "Untitled" dialogue will appear.

First build a list of schedule tasks using the "Add", "Insert", "Modify" and "Delete" buttons. For more details see Schedule Tasks.

To open an existing schedule file use the File/Open menu commands.

To test these tasks you can Run them on your own PC.
Don't forget that the directory names may be different on the target PC/s.

Use the File/ Save menu commands to save the schedule for later use.
The files are saved by Minicom in its default directory with the extension ".sch".

To run the tasks on your own or other PCs select Run.
If you select to run the schedule on another PC, Minicom will open a "Schedule Send" window and try to send the task list to Minirem on the Remote PC.
Select Schedule Details to name the Schedule and to set the Schedule to "one shot" or "restart everytime with Minirem". To remove schedules from Minirem select Setup and Schedule List.

If the task list is "one shot" Minirem will start carrying out the tasks.
If the task list is "restart everytime with Minirem" Minirem will start carrying out the tasks but will also save the list to a ".scd" file. Each time that Minirem restarts it will start carrying out the tasks.

To remove a schedule from the remote schedule list start Minicom, select MiniremSetup for the remote PC and select Schedules.
Select Schedule List, highlight the task list and press Remove Schedules.

Functionality: AudioRouter

...allows you to route audio from or to another computer on the network.
Select a PC and "Do", "Audio Router" from the Menu.

A window will now appear that says "Audio Router - <Computer Name> Connected".

You can now select "Get" or "Send" and the audio input and output to connect.
The buffer level is preset to 3 seconds of audio.
The default mode is "Mono" ( if both sound cards support it you can select "Stereo" ).

Click "Do It" and see the volume level being routed.

The compression level is defaulted to "Automatic" which will try to give the best compression setting
for the connection.

Tip 1:

Use the volume controls, on the send and receive PC, to set the volume level being routed.

TechTalk:

Base sample rate of 11,025 samples per sec, mono or stereo.

Functionality: E-Mail

...allows you to connect to the Internet and E-Mail your IP Address to other users.
This allows the other user/s to connect in to your PC over the Internet, whilst you are still connected. The user can then use Screen, File Manager and the other Minicom functions to monitor or control your PC and communicate.

To set up your local PC to EMail select the PC and "Do" "EMail my IP Address".
To set up the EMail details see Settings: E-Mail Setup.

To set the remote PC over a dial-up line or LAN to auto-connect into the Internet and E-Mail the IP Address see Setting PC Properties

Command Line Parameters when starting Minicom

You can start Minicom with a Command Line Parameter. For example if you want immediately to connect to "Screen" on computer "PC6" then add PC6 to the command line for Minicom.

If you have a host name with spaces eg pc250 Sarah then
put italics at the start and end of the name eg /s "pc250 Sarah".

Registering Minicom

To buy Minicom over the Internet...

Regnow
ShareIt
SWReg

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