Troubleshooting under WinNT

28-Mar-02 TROUBLESHOOTING WINDOWS NT 4/2000/XP/ME PARALLEL PORT INSTALLATIONS

1. No Dataq parallel interface device can operate in ECP (Extended Capabilities Port) mode, devices with a dual interface (Universal Serial Bus or Ethernet) cannot operate in Standard mode, and the DI-220 series devices cannot operate in EPP mode. Instead of guessing, it is best to check the computer BIOS setup to make sure it is in a mode which will work. How to do this varies with computer type, but many machines suggest a key to press during bootup. Avoid chooisg EPP+ECP or EPP 1.9, which usually do not work with the current version of our parallel port software. A parallel port cannot support EPP mode when it is located at address 3BC, since EPP requires 5 ports, the last of which conflicts with the video controller at 3C0.

2. The maximum acquisition rates under Windows NT, 2000, XP, 95, 98, or ME are approximately:

3. If WinDaq acquisition reports "Could not open data acquisition device" or the title bar shows "DI-000 Acquisition" or "DI-??? Acquisition", the device is not communicating. The title bar should show the acquisition device model number, although a DI-500 may show as DI-720 because that board is now used inside. Try running the loader from the WinDaq or StartUp folder after powering the device off and on. On a DI-500, DI-720, DI-730, or DI-740 series device, this should make the red light go out. On a DI-220 series device, this should make the green light come on and the red light flash briefly. If this does not happen, rerun the loader and watch the screen carefully.

4. If the error message disappears too fast to read, click Start, Settings, Taskbar, Start Menu Programs, Advanced. Right click the device loader in the WinDaq folder, click Properties, and the Shortcut tab. Write down the target command line and working directory. Start a Command Prompt, type CD followed by a space, a backslash, and the working directory name, and press Enter. Type the target command line, press Enter, and read the error message at your leisure.

5. If "LPT Port is not available." is displayed, make sure that that you have shut down and restarted the computer after software installation and that the LPT port which you specified (the number preceding the .BNM filename on the target command line) is not tied up by an attempt to print. To make sure the port at least exists, type DEBUG and press Enter, then at the dash prompt type:

-D 40:8
The first line of the display will start with something like:
0040:0008 -78 03 BC 03 78 02
To quit DEBUG, type:
-Q
To exit the command prompt, type:
>EXIT
The above display means that LPT1: is at address 378 hexadecimal, LPT2: is at
address 3BC, and LPT3: is at address 278. If an address is 00 00, the port
does not exist or is not functioning.

6. If "DI-500/720/730 series driver not installed" is displayed in Windows 2000 or XP, the PARPORT.SYS driver is probably not started. A workaround is to install a fictitious Epson LX-86 printer on LPT1 (don't leave it as the default printer) and reboot the computer. Under Windows NT 4.0, see the next paragraph.

7. Under Windows NT 4.0, click Start, Programs, Administrative Tools (Common), Windows NT Diagnostics. Click Resources, I/O Port and check the hexadecimal addresses mentioned at the start of this paragraph. At least one of these should be listed for Device ParPort. If not, enable the device in the computer BIOS setup, preferably at address 378, and select an appropriate parallel port as described in paragraph 1. To check the status of the LPT port drivers in NT 4.0, make sure you are logged in as Administrator. Click Start, Settings, Control Panel. Double click Devices. Scroll the Device listbox down near the bottom to locate ParPort and Zeecube ParPort 2000. The status of both should show as Started.

8. Under other operating systems, click Start, Settings, and double click Control Panel. (On Windows 2000/XP Click Hardware.) Click Device Manager, then the + sign to the left of Ports, and make sure that the port in question is not marked with a yellow exclamation point or a red X. If so, right click the port, click Properties, and if there is a resource conflict, click the Resources tab. The installation file NEW_ZQ.EXE can be run from the CD-ROM under Windows 95 or 98 in lieu of our standard software, whose resident part can support only one acquisition device but is capable of higher sample rates.

9. If the loader runs successfully but the WinDaq/Lite, Pro, or Pro+ application title bar still shows "DI-000 Acquisition" or "DI-??? Acquisition", aggressive Power Management (see Control Panel, Power and the computer BIOS for settings you can change) may be turning off the port in the meantime, or a printer port monitor program may corrupt the DSP program. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to bring up Task Manager to look for such programs, and try closing them one at a time, then rerun the loader and application after shutting down each one that can be closed (except Explorer and Systray). After identifying the offending program, remove it from the StartUp folder, or run REGEDIT or remove it from the keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Run Services

10. If you want to print through the parallel port, exit acquisition first. To resume acquisition after printing, disconnect the printer and connect the Dataq device. If the device is DI-220 series or was powered down, it is necessary to rerun the loader before starting acquisition. Otherwise it is just good practice to make sure the DSP program was not corrupted while disconnected.