I/O Board Support Page
The
following applies primarily to installation of the WarpExpress,
F/PortPlus and 1284Port in a Windows 95/98/ME environment.
For
support on the WarpPCI, please click here.
For
support on the F/Port card, please click here.
Overview
In
most installations, just following the instructions in the Product
Manual will lead to a normal product installation. Between Windows
95/98/ME Plug and Play and the new BIOS's of newer machines, parallel
port detection, installation and configuration should be relatively
straight forward and simple. Unfortunately, also due to the differences
in some system BIOS's, OEM Windows versions, and Windows releases,
not all systems work the same. This sometimes causes problems with
installing the cards.
Another
factor is that every PC becomes unique in some way as soon as you,
the end user, begin to load your own programs, customize your installation,
and add peripherals and features. This is one reason that an installation
is simple for one customer, and near hell for another. Please be
assured that even the most advanced PC users can become frustrated
and angry sometimes when trying to install what seems to be a "simple"
card, peripheral, or program. If you've installed one of the Warp
boards and have a problem, read on.
I/O
Cards
- F/PortPlus
- WarpExpress
- 1284Port
|
These are the cards
most recommended for operation with products such as the Iomega
zip drive, Visioneer Strobe color scanner, and many other
tape, CD, scanning and printing peripherals. Although they
may differ in some card functionality, IRQ, or connector type,
the parallel port installation of the cards are basically
the same. In general, the information here pertains to any
parallel port peripheral connected to a Warp product and used
in a stand alone situation, or shared in a daisy chain fashion. |
The
information is presented in order of installation:
If
you are having difficulty installing a Warp Nine product please
read through and try these procedures before calling Warp Nine
for
technical support. The questions and procedures listed here represent
nearly 100% of the problems we've encountered in answering customers
questions. If, after trying these procedures, you still have
difficulties,
please give us a call at (858) 576-4354 or e-mail support.
The
vast majority of Tech Support calls fall into the following categories:
- My
com port or modem doesn't work now.
If you have the F/PortPlus or 1284Port see here
in Random Issues.
- I
get a "System Resource Conflict" when I boot my PC.
Try to determine if another system device is using the same
resource as the card you are installing (for example, two devices
at the same I/O address). See the section "Determining Your Current Pre-Installation System Configuration".
The utilities and instructions here can help determine if this
is the problem.
- Windows
does not recognize the new parallel port.
First, verify that the card is recognized by your system BIOS;
you can use our LISTIO utility to determine this. If the
card does not show up in the LISTIO report, it is not installed
correctly and Windows will not be able to recognize it. In this
case, remove the card, double check the resource settings and
reinstall it, making sure the gold contacts on the card are
firmly and evenly seated in the ISA slot. If you have more than
one ISA slot open, you might also try putting it into a different
slot. Rerun the LISTIO utility check the status of the port.
If your BIOS recognizes the card, but Windows 95/98/ME does not,
you many need to manually add the card to the device list. Refer
to the Software Initialization section of your manual and view
these notes.
- Everything
seems OK except that my zip drive does not work now.
Click here for this topic under Issues
and Common Questions from Zip Drive Owners.
- Everything
seems OK except that my Strobe scanner does not work now.
See Issues for the Visioneer Strobe Installation.
- I've
never touched an electronic device before and I have no idea
where to start.
Carefully read the manual before you install the card. Do things
in order; determine what resources you have available, configure
the card by setting the appropriate jumpers, install the card
and start Windows 95/98/ME to get the operating system to recognize
the card. (All of these items are covered in detail in the manual).
If you are unsure about a procedure, e-mail or call us.
Before
you get started it is important to know what the current configuration
of your PC is.
Do you have an ISA slot available for the card installation?
Look here for help in determining if your
system has an open ISA slot.
Do you know what your current LPT and COM port assignments are?
Our LISTIO program reads your
systems BIOS table and displays the current COM and LPT port assignments.
Our PORTENUM program displays your current port
assignments as determined by Device Manager.
Using Windows 95/98/ME Device Manager to view system resources.
Click here to see how to use the Windows
95/98/ME Device Manager to view system resources.
Always POWER-OFF
your PC before installing or removing any card. Also, static electricity
can damage sensitive electronic components. Discharge you body's
static electric charge by touching a grounded surface - e.g., the
metal area of the computer chassis - before performing this procedure.
After
the I/O address, IRQ and DMA jumpers have been setup properly,
you may now install the card.
Power
off the computer and remove the cover. If necessary, consult your
system manual for removal instructions.
Select
an empty ISA expansion slot. The card may be installed in either
an 8 bit or 16 bit I/O slot if you are using IRQ 5 or 7. If you
are using IRQ 10, 11, 12 or 15, the card must be installed in a
16 bit I/O slot. With the slot cover removed, grasp the card by
the top edge and carefully seat it firmly into the slot. Fasten
the retaining bracket with a screw and replace your computers cover.
In
most cases, Windows 95/98/ME will automatically recognize your installed
card as a "ECP Printer Port" and it will install the correct
driver. A "Discovered New Hardware" window will be momentarily
be displayed on your Windows 95/98/ME desktop in this case. You can
go to the Windows Device Manager (or use our PortEnum utility) to
confirm that you now have an additional port installed in your system.
If the card is not automatically recognized (no new port listing
in device manager or PortEnum utility) you have to manually add
it to the device list. Please review the Software Initialization
section of your manual for card specific details. It is important
to know the I/O base address, DMA Channel and interrupt IRQ setting
that you previously selected with the jumper settings prior to making
these manual settings.
1.
Double-click on My Computer, then Control Panel on your Windows
desktop.
If your F/PortPlus, WarpExpress or 1284Port is installed at address
378 or 278 go to step #2.
If your WarpExpress is installed at address 288 or 388 go to step
#3.
2. Double-click on "Add New Hardware".
Choose "Next" and allow Windows 95/98/ME to automatically
check for new hardware devices.
When this process is complete, the new parallel port should be recognized
as an "ECP Printer Port". You can verify this by clicking
on the Start button, point to Settings, click on Control Panel and
then the System icon. Click the Device Manager tab, then double-click
on Ports (COM & LPT). You should see your new port displayed
as "ECP Printer Port (LPTx)" where x is either 1, 2 or
3. At this point, your new card is installed and ready to use. If
you would like to enable IRQ or DMA, go to step #4. It is not critical
that an IRQ (or DMA) be used with the port.
3.
For a WarpExpress card installed at address 288 or 388.
a. Double-click on "Add New Hardware". Click on "Next".
b. Choose "No" to allowing Windows 95/98/ME to automatically
detect your hardware.
c. Click on "Next"
d. Scroll down the list until you get to "Ports (COM and LPT)".
Double click this.
e. On the right side of the window, highlight "ECP Printer
Port" and click next.
f. At this point Windows 95/98/ME will display an I/O base address
for the card. You can ignore this number and we will change it later.
g. Select "Next". At this point the system may ask for
your Win95 setup CD or location. After the system updates your driver
Windows 95/98/ME will recommend that you reboot your PC; DO NOT DO
THIS! We need to modify the I/O base for the port first.
h. Now proceed to step #4 and select this parallel port to modify.
You will change the I/O base address in the window to either 288-28F,
or 388-38F.
4.
The following instructions will allow you to modify the resources
of your card or increase the capabilities of the card by enabling
the IRQ and DMA features. It is not critical that an IRQ (or
DMA) be used with this port.
a. Return to the Device Manager until you see the ECP Printer Port
you installed.
b. Double-click on the ECP Printer Port that you installed. This
will bring up the Port Properties window.
c. Click the Resources tab. This will bring up the port configuration.
d. Click on the box "Use automatic settings". This will
clear the box.
e. Click on the box "Setting based on:" and choose an
appropriate configuration (see the chart below). Normally, "Basic
Configuration 2" would be the choice for a card set at 278
or 378 with an IRQ and DMA channel enabled. (Choose Basic
Configuration 3 or 4 if you have the WarpExpress set at I/O 288
or 388).
An
extended capabilities port has five possible "Basic Configurations"
(0 through 4). Standard I/O ranges means that you have the card
set for 278 or 378.
- Basic
Configuration 0 Standard I/O ranges for LPT ports only (no IRQ
or DMA)
- Basic
Configuration 1 Standard I/O ranges for LPT ports and any IRQ
setting (no DMA)
- Basic
Configuration 2 Standard I/O ranges for LPT ports, any IRQ setting,
and any DMA setting
- Basic
Configuration 3 Any I/O ranges for LPT ports only (no IRQ or
DMA)
- Basic
Configuration 4 Any I/O ranges for LPT ports, any IRQ setting,
and any DMA setting
 |
A
list such as this will be displayed. (Your list will look
different depending on what Basic Configuration you picked
and what settings your card is at). |
If
the values displayed next to each item do not match the choices
you made when you installed the card then double-click on the resource
(in this example, the blue Input/Output Range) and modify its setting
to match the jumper settings of the installed card. When all of
the resource settings match the installed card, click OK until you
are prompted to shut down your computer. Shutdown your computer
and then restart it. The port should then be ready to use.
-
- Q. How
fast will my zip drive go with this card?
-
A.
Some documents quote 20MB to 30MB per minute with the zip
drive. In reality, it is almost impossible to quote a specific
performance for a PC peripheral. It is very dependent upon
the PC setup, memory, what applications you are running, and
how you are measuring. These quoted rates are given for a
system under DOS doing nothing else. It's kind of like the
color ink jet printers. They say "4 pages per minute"
on the box, but it's more like "4 minutes per page".
You can get the former if you are printing blank pages, but
that's not very useful. What we guarantee is, that with this
card you will get the best performance possible with your
particular system.
-
-
Q.
My Hewlett-Packard or Canon printer won't work with the zip
drive. What's wrong with the zip?
-
A.
Nothing! The problem is with the software that drives the
printers. Many printers don't like to share the parallel port
so the drivers refuse to give it up for another device to
use. For this type of case, the best solution is to add another
parallel port to your system. Attach the printer to the old
port, and use the new port for your zip drive and other sharable
peripherals.
-
-
Q.
I added the your card and attached my
zip drive to it, but the system can't find the zip drive.
What's wrong?
-
A.
If you have previously installed the zip drive to one port
and you now want to move it to a new port, you must uninstall
and then reinstall the zip drive so that it will be setup
properly.
To remove a prior installation:
Go to the Windows Control Panel, (Start|Settings|Control Panel)
and click "Add/Remove Programs". Look for a listing
for Iomega, such as "Iomega Software". If there,
highlight it and remove it using the "Add/Remove"
button.
Next, check Windows Device Manager:
-
From Device Manager (Start|Settings|Control Panel|System|Device
Manager tab):
-
Look for a "SCSI" section (right below Ports section).
Remove the "Iomega Parallel Port Interface" if listed.
Then connect the zip to the new parallel port and rerun the
zip install program. The zip should then work fine.
-
-
Q.
If I still have problems is there another method to install
the zip?
-
A.
There is a brute force method that should always work. This
is only good for Win95/98/ME. Try the following:
- Go
to the "Control Panel"
- Click
on "Add New Hardware"
- Click
on Next
- Select
'No' to "Search for new hardware"
- Scroll
down the components list and double click on "SCSI
Controllers"
- Click
on "Have Disk". Be sure to have the Iomega install
diskette in your "a:" drive.
- Browse
the a: drive and select "Iomega Parallel Port zip
Interface"
- Select
"Finish"
- Restart
your machine.
- Be
sure the zip drive is installed on the right port and
has power.
-
Q.
How do I know I'm getting the best performance with my new
parallel port and the zip?
-
A.
After you've installed the zip, run the Iomega utility "Parallel
Port Accelerator". This should set you up with the fastest
transfer rate. If you're still not satisfied, or you don't
think it worked right, then you can do the following (Win95/98/ME
only):
- Go
to the "Control Panel"
- Click
on "System". This brings up the system settings.
- Select
"Device Manager"
- Scroll
down the list until you see "SCSI Controllers"
- Highlight
the "Iomega Parallel Port Interface" and click
on "Properties"
- Select
"Settings"
a. For the WarpExpress, 1284Port or F/PortPlus
If the settings box is empty then you can type the following
into the box:
/mode:smceppecp /port:278 /speed:6
(the /port:278 should be whatever you set our card to,
278 or 378.)
b. For the WarpPCI
If the settings box is empty then you can type the following
into the box:
/mode:eppecr /port:278 /speed:6
(the /port:278 should be whatever you set our card to,
278 or 378.)
- Select
"OK" and restart your computer.
-
This
should get you the best performance with your machine.
- Q.
I've installed my new parallel port and attached my Strobe to
it, but the scanner is still not recognized. What's wrong?
- A.
Sometimes the Strobe does not immediately recognize and initialize
itself on the newly installed port. While everything is attached
and turned on, gently pull out the cable from the back, left
side of the Strobe desktop scanner. Leave it unattached for
a few seconds and then plug it back in. Usually, you will see
that it now "initializes" itself and you are up and
running! If this doesn't work, also try removing the the small
black power cord from the dongle (the small unit that the cord
from the Strobe is attached to). After a few seconds, plug the
power connection back in and see if your Strobe now initializes.
Serial
Ports
The F/PortPlus and 1284Port have two serial ports in addition to
the parallel port (the WarpExpress does not have serial ports).
If the ports are not disabled (or configured correctly) they will
conflict with your systems built-in ports and will cause a resource
conflict. If your immediate concern is to get the parallel port
configured properly, we recommend that you initially disable the
serial ports on our card. To disable both serial ports, set jumpers
JP1, JP2, JP3 and JP4 all to the right (covering pins two and three).
When disabled, Jumpers JP8 and JP9 (serial IRQ settings) are automatically
disabled and may be left at the default settings. If you want
to enable the serial ports on our card, it is recommended that you
first get the parallel port working correctly and then begin configuring
the serial ports. Our LISTIO utility can be helpful in determining
your systems current serial port configuration.
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