Warp Nine Engineering - The IEEE 1284 Experts

WarpPCI Support Page

The following procedures and information apply primarily to installation of the
WarpPCI I/O Boards (both single and dual port models).

For other I/O board products, see here.

WarpPCI Drivers

Overview

In most installations, just following the instructions in the Installation Guide 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.

Types of problems
Installing the Warp Nine parallel port card

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.

1. Types of Problems

Compatibility Note: The WarpPCI is not currently compatible with the AMD K7 AthlonT Processor. We are working on a solution.

Q. I have upgraded my system to Windows Millennium Edition. I left my card in the system during the upgrade. Now in Device Manager my card is showing up in Other Devices as PCI Parallel Card or PCISerial card, and the peripheral attached to it (modem, printer, Zip drive) won't work. What do I do now?

A. While installing the upgrade, Windows was looking for the card's drivers on the Windows ME upgrade CD. Our drivers are not located on the CD so Windows couldn't install the card properly. The following procedure will make our card reinstall properly:

1) Go to Device Manager by right-clicking on My Computer from the Desktop and entering Properties. Then
click the Device Manager tab.

2) In Device Manager remove the PCI Parallel Card or PCI Serial Card with the exclamation (!) mark by
clicking it and hitting delete on the keyboard.

3) Close all open Windows and reboot the system by using Start - Shutdown.

4) Upon booting into Windows you will see the New Hardware Found wizard. Direct this wizard to our diskette, following the procedure described in the Lava Installation manual for installing the card in Windows 95/98/ME. If you don't have the installation diskette, drivers for your card can be downloaded from this web site.

Q. My PC wont' boot after I installation of the card or Windows does not recognize the new parallel port.

A. Make sure the card is firmly planted all the way down into the PCI slot. If the card is not pushed firmly all the way in your PC might not boot or you may get various error messages on system boot up.

A. Incompatibility with AMD K7 AthlonT processor. No current workaround. Some users have had success by upgrading to latest version of system BIOS.

Q. Cannot change the input/output range in Device Manger in Windows 95/98/ME.

A.
1) Go to Start|Shutdown and choose Restart the computer and Click OK.
2) As the system is booting up, hold down the CTRL key or tap the F8 key. This will bring the system to the Windows Startup Menu.
3) Choose Safe Mode and hit Enter.
4) Once you are in Safe Mode, right click on My Computer then left click Properties and enter Device Manager.
5) Double click the WarpPCI in Ports COM and LPT and enter Resources. Uncheck "Use Automatic Settings" and then double click on the words Input Output Range.
6) Change the port to the address you need for the device you are attaching to the port.

Q. Sound card on system no longer works after install of WarpPCI.

A. Some legacy sound cards can cause a conflict when the WarpPCI is set to an address of 278. Should this happen, change the WarpPCI address to an I/O address other than 278. Try using 0288 - 028F address range. If that does not work then it is necessary to reinstall the OnBoard Parallel Port as the 3BC port and modify the WarpPCI as the 0378 - 037F port.

Do this in the following manner:
a) Go to the WarpPCI in Device Manager, Go to resources and recheck Automatic Settings click OK and then click refresh.
b) Remove the WarpPCI from Device Manager AND the LPT1
c) Shut Down your computer and reboot.
d) As you are booting up enter your CMOS setup by hitting F1 or DEL or the appropriate key for your motherboard.
e) Enter the menu for configuring your OnBoard parallel to 3BC
f) save this new setting and exit.

NOTE: Consult your motherboard manual for steps d) ,e) and f)

g) Boot into Win95/Win98 let the ports reinstall
h) Reconfigure the WarpPCI to 0378-037F by going to the resources tab uncheck "Use Automatic Settings" and then double click Input Output Range.

Q. Everything seems OK except that my zip drive does not work now.

A. Click here for this topic under Issues and Common Questions from Zip Drive Owners.

The zip must be installed at the I/O address of 278, 378 or 288. See the section in the Install Guide headed "Connecting a non-printer device".

Q. Everything seems OK except that my Strobe scanner does not work now.

A. See Issues for the Visioneer Strobe Installation.

2. Installing the Warp Nine Parallel Port Card

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.

Power off the computer and remove the cover. If necessary, consult your system manual for removal instructions.

Select an empty PCI expansion 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.

Parallel-PCI Drivers

Windows '95/'98/ME/2000 Updated: Dec-20-2000

Windows 3.1 Updated: Mar-23-1999

DOS Driver Updated: Mar-23-1999

NT 4.0 Driver Updated: Mar-23-1999



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