I have received my picstart plus programmer and after 4 hours of swearing I
am ready to send it all back. The programmer isn't recognized no matter
what I seem to do - here's the sequence of events;
- I have Win95 on a NEC Versa 550 laptop - it has a com1 serial port on the back
- I had MPLAB 3.4 downloaded from the mChip web site and have been using that
- When the picstart arrived I tried it with the MPLAB3.4 and it would not
recognize the programmer on com1 when I went into the "Options-Programmer
Configuration - com port" selection in MPLAB
- Figuring it was that the version of MPLAB was different than that supplied
with the programmer, I installed the 3.x MPlab from the four 3 1/2 disks.
- There was no "install.exe" on the disks like the documentatino said - just
some cryptic icon - anyway, I clicked on that and the installation seemed
to work fine
- Re-tried the options-programmer config-com port thing and still the same
answer - does not recognize the programmer
- Manually set up the com port for 19200,8,n,1 and H/W flow control like the
documentation said (same documentation that pointed me to the non-existent
.exe install file earlier) - still same problem.
- Shut off the fifo stuff for the com port in windows as mentioned in the docs
still same problem
- lookl for the comm.drv in the system.ini file - it's the way it should be
- yank the pcmcia card out - which should look like com2 anyway - still same
problem
- multiple resetting of the picstart plus programmer by disconecting and
re-connecting the 2.5mm power plug - still same problem.
- re-boot the computer, reset the programmer - same problem
What the hell is going on? Is there something not right with this thing and
Win95?
Do you know if the drivers are being enabled inside the laptop? (Normally
this is controlled by laptop software and has nothing to do with PSP.)
I've run into this one twice.
myke
>I have received my picstart plus programmer and after 4 hours of swearing I
>am ready to send it all back. The programmer isn't recognized no matter
>what I seem to do - here's the sequence of events;
>
>- I have Win95 on a NEC Versa 550 laptop - it has a com1 serial port on the
back {Quote hidden}
>- I had MPLAB 3.4 downloaded from the mChip web site and have been using that
>- When the picstart arrived I tried it with the MPLAB3.4 and it would not
> recognize the programmer on com1 when I went into the "Options-Programmer
>Configuration - com port" selection in MPLAB
>- Figuring it was that the version of MPLAB was different than that supplied
> with the programmer, I installed the 3.x MPlab from the four 3 1/2 disks.
>- There was no "install.exe" on the disks like the documentatino said - just
> some cryptic icon - anyway, I clicked on that and the installation seemed
> to work fine
>- Re-tried the options-programmer config-com port thing and still the same
> answer - does not recognize the programmer
>- Manually set up the com port for 19200,8,n,1 and H/W flow control like the
> documentation said (same documentation that pointed me to the non-existent
> .exe install file earlier) - still same problem.
>- Shut off the fifo stuff for the com port in windows as mentioned in the docs
> still same problem
>- lookl for the comm.drv in the system.ini file - it's the way it should be
>- yank the pcmcia card out - which should look like com2 anyway - still same
> problem
>- multiple resetting of the picstart plus programmer by disconecting and
> re-connecting the 2.5mm power plug - still same problem.
>- re-boot the computer, reset the programmer - same problem
>
>What the hell is going on? Is there something not right with this thing and
>Win95?
>
>george c
>
>
"In this life we all get an equal share of ice. The rich get it in the
summer, the poor get it in the winter." - Bat Masterson's last words
myke predko wrote:
>
> George,
>
> Do you know if the drivers are being enabled inside the laptop? (Normally
> this is controlled by laptop software and has nothing to do with PSP.)
>
> I've run into this one twice.
Myke,
What do you need to do on your laptop to enable the drivers? We're trying our
best to solve these serial problems for the PS+ and are compiling a list of
things to look for.
Lewis (who's using his Dad's ID) says that he can't find any Serial Port
Access and Darrel Johanson is looking for general access.
My replies:
As I understand Laptops, Windows 3.11 and Windows/95 there are a number of
options to look at:
1. Are you attempting to use COM4? Do not, this port is not available in
most PCs; the I/O addresses are used by the Super VGA Video Registers.
2. Does the Laptop have an internal modem I/R Ports or PCMCIA (PC Cards)
adapters? These can result in the Actual Hardware ports being redirected.
To find this out, check the manual or look for something like "NEC Laptop
Control or Options"
3. How are the Ports Mapped, this can be done one of two ways:
a) Through power up options
b) Through the Window/Folder mentioned in 1.
Note that I have an IBM Thinkpad 755 that requires BOTH to have the serial
ports to work properly. In it's case, either one can be enabled and not
tell you the other has to be enabled as well.
4. What operating mode are you working with? In Laptops, you have APM
(Advanced Power Management) at a minimum and maybe ACPI (Advanced Control
and Power Interface). If you put the laptop in anything but the fastest,
most feature rich and battery burning mode, you'll probably find the Serial
and Parallel ports are disabled.
ACPI is meant for Windows/98, but I believe that some of the latest OSRs
look for and access the functions.
5. This is a bit of a long shot, but it's true for the Toshiba and one IBM
I have; Is it meant for a base station? In both these PCs, the base station
drivers disable the built in serial ports, instead accessing the
Lewis,
Your best bet is to a) Get the manual for the PC and read through what it
says about Serial Ports, Modems and I/R interfaces b) Measure the voltage at
Pin 3 of the line going into the PSP (relative to the shield or pin 5). It
should be -10 Volts or so if it isn't, then you haven't got the serial port
enabled. c) if you have a logic probe, See if you can get Pin 3 to wiggle
when you type characters in from Hyperterminal (Make sure "Hardware
Handshaking" is OFF). d) Once you are here, use Hyperterminal at 19,200 bps
with a direct connection (and hardware handshaking). Type in "ABCDE" and
you should see some response from the PSP. This is a lot easier to play
around with than MPLAB. Remember to "Disconnect" before trying out the new
data rates.
Good Luck!
Darrell,
It's a good question - Right now, I have access to several different
flavours of IBM, HP, Micron and Toshiba laptops and in each one, serial port
control/enabling and addressing are handled differently.
My list above is basically what *I've* done to get the PSP (and other serial
devices) working on a laptop. I realize that it's a bit of a brute force
approach, but I would think that if you can wire up a PIC application, you
can do these checks. I'm *very* popular at work when it comes to getting
Serial Ports working; at least I'm not reloading operating systems all the
time any more.
I think with ACPI and Windows/98 things will become easier (hopefully).
I'd be interested in seeing what you have come up with.
>myke predko wrote:
>>
>> George,
>>
>> Do you know if the drivers are being enabled inside the laptop? (Normally
>> this is controlled by laptop software and has nothing to do with PSP.)
>>
>> I've run into this one twice.
>
>Myke,
>
>What do you need to do on your laptop to enable the drivers? We're trying our
>best to solve these serial problems for the PS+ and are compiling a list of
>things to look for.
>
>Darrel
>--
>___________________________
>| Darrel Johansen |
>| tempe, arizona |
>| .....darreljKILLspam@spam@primenet.com |
>|_________________________|
>
>
"In this life we all get an equal share of ice. The rich get it in the
summer, the poor get it in the winter." - Bat Masterson's last words
Myke - for what it's worth I've spent some 3 more wasted hours looking for
the problem on the NEC laptop and I have learned that the serial port does
work with other software like hyperterm and an old copy of mirror - typing
characters to the Picstart plus however does nothing.
I tried the Picstart Plus system on a friend's desktop machine and the same
thing happens - can't detect the PSP on either of the serial ports on his
machine either - again - all fifos, etc. set as suggested in the
documentation.
This thing is going back first thing in the morning - I've got projects to
do and I'm afraid I just don't have the time to make a career out of trying
to get someone else's hardware to work - especially when I buy it! I'd
appreciate any pointers on another programmer that I can buy that tends to
WORK? Cost is not much of a concern - keeping "my" customers happy is and
there's some milestones coming up....
Thanks for your assistance.
Regards,
Lewis
At 10:51 PM 6/20/98 -0400, you wrote:
>Hiya Folks,
>
>Lewis (who's using his Dad's ID) says that he can't find any Serial Port
>Access and Darrel Johanson is looking for general access.
>
>My replies:
> Myke - for what it's worth I've spent some 3 more wasted hours looking for
> the problem on the NEC laptop and I have learned that the serial port does
> work with other software like hyperterm and an old copy of mirror - typing
> characters to the Picstart plus however does nothing.
>
> I tried the Picstart Plus system on a friend's desktop machine and the same
> thing happens - can't detect the PSP on either of the serial ports on his
> machine either - again - all fifos, etc. set as suggested in the
> documentation.
>
> This thing is going back first thing in the morning - I've got projects to
> do and I'm afraid I just don't have the time to make a career out of trying
> to get someone else's hardware to work - especially when I buy it! I'd
> appreciate any pointers on another programmer that I can buy that tends to
> WORK? Cost is not much of a concern - keeping "my" customers happy is and
> there's some milestones coming up....
I've had my share of PS+ sorrows in the past, too. Have you tried to
download and install the new driver for MPLAB? It works much
better than the one that installs.
If it still won't work, try the following :
Open up a terminal program like Telix or Hyperterm. Short pins 2 & 3. Type
something and see if it is echoed back. If it is, then you know you've got some
action on the port. Now connect your PS+ and type few characters (experiment
with the baud rate). If you see garbage returned, the PS+ works. If you don't,
it doesn't.
BTW the PS+ is a really nice programmer and Mchip is obliged to support it
as soon as new parts come out. All-purpose programmers are more expensive,
and you are not guaranteed that they will support all new Mchip devices.
Another point, is that the PS+ was designed as a development programmer.
A programmer with a more production-type of approach, would chew up
your JW parts much quicker, because they hit your pricey PIC with more
programming pulses.
If price is really no concern, I'd recommend an ICE and a production
programmer. You save loads of time using an ICE.
> I have learned that the serial port
>does
>work with other software....
>I tried the Picstart Plus system on a friend's desktop machine and the
>same
>thing happens....
It appears that you have done some good tests that show your PICSTART+ is
almost certainly defective (You did try another cable, right?). Such
failure is rarely reported here, but it has happened to at least one
other person on the list. Overall the unit has a good reputation, try
another one and it should work great for you. I would consider the
PICSTART as a programmer with much more than a "tendency" to work, as
long as it's used within it's limits (proper Windows versions).
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george cobb wrote:
>
> I have received my picstart plus programmer and after 4 hours of swearing I
> am ready to send it all back. The programmer isn't recognized no matter
> what I seem to do - here's the sequence of events;
>
> - I have Win95 on a NEC Versa 550 laptop - it has a com1 serial port on the ba
ck
We have found similar problems on customers' IBM ThinkPads. In these
cases, the problem was due to the laptop's infra-red port on com1. The
only way I was able to resolve it was to "delete" the port by removing
it in the device manager tab of system properties and then reinstalling
the port using the 'add new hardware' applet (choosing the settings
myself - ie: no autodetect).
Had nearly the same problem with my new PSP last week. Mine was only
being recognized by MPLab sporadically.
After hours spent screwing with the bios and system settings, I decided
to try something else. I downloaded firmware version 1.50 from
Microchip's ftp site <ftp://http://www.microchip.com> and burned it into a 17C44
using the same PSP and a different computer running Windows 3.1 and an
older version of MPLab (don't remember the version number). I installed
the '44 into the PSP, put MPLab 3.4 on the Windows 95 computer, and was
running reliably.
Incidentally, the PSP originally came with firmware version 1.19, and the
floppy-disks of MPLab were not the most recent version. Kinda lame.
Hope this helps - I know I was ready to throw the thing at the wall and
play the 'hammer my new programmer really hard' game for a bit.
>I have received my picstart plus programmer and after 4 hours of swearing I
>am ready to send it all back. The programmer isn't recognized no matter
>what I seem to do - here's the sequence of events;
>
>- I have Win95 on a NEC Versa 550 laptop - it has a com1 serial port on
>the back
>- I had MPLAB 3.4 downloaded from the mChip web site and have been using that
>- When the picstart arrived I tried it with the MPLAB3.4 and it would not
> recognize the programmer on com1 when I went into the "Options-Programmer
>Configuration - com port" selection in MPLAB
>- Figuring it was that the version of MPLAB was different than that supplied
> with the programmer, I installed the 3.x MPlab from the four 3 1/2 disks.
>- There was no "install.exe" on the disks like the documentatino said - just
> some cryptic icon - anyway, I clicked on that and the installation seemed
> to work fine
>- Re-tried the options-programmer config-com port thing and still the same
> answer - does not recognize the programmer
>- Manually set up the com port for 19200,8,n,1 and H/W flow control like the
> documentation said (same documentation that pointed me to the non-existent
> .exe install file earlier) - still same problem.
>- Shut off the fifo stuff for the com port in windows as mentioned in the
>docs
> still same problem
>- lookl for the comm.drv in the system.ini file - it's the way it should be
>- yank the pcmcia card out - which should look like com2 anyway - still same
> problem
>- multiple resetting of the picstart plus programmer by disconecting and
> re-connecting the 2.5mm power plug - still same problem.
>- re-boot the computer, reset the programmer - same problem
>
>What the hell is going on? Is there something not right with this thing and
>Win95?
>
>george c
>
I just got a Picstart Plus a few days ago.....it uses version 1.2.
What is the the file name of firmware version 1.50...???
.....and where exactly at the ftp site is it...?
> Yo,
>
> Had nearly the same problem with my new PSP last week. Mine was only
> being recognized by MPLab sporadically.
>
> After hours spent screwing with the bios and system settings, I decided
> to try something else. I downloaded firmware version 1.50 from
> Microchip's ftp site <ftp://http://www.microchip.com> and burned it into a 17C44
> using the same PSP and a different computer running Windows 3.1 and an
> older version of MPLab (don't remember the version number). I installed
> the '44 into the PSP, put MPLab 3.4 on the Windows 95 computer, and was
> running reliably.
Frank Hreczuch wrote:
>
> I just got a Picstart Plus a few days ago.....it uses version 1.2.
> What is the the file name of firmware version 1.50...???
> .....and where exactly at the ftp site is it...?
>
it's in the latest installed version of MPLAB, look for *.HEX file
regards,
Graham Daniel
Dude - "Version 1.5" is stamped on the box in a flourescent orange sticker
- AND - I downloaded MPLAB 3.4 ....
Been there, tried it all - waiting for the RMA number from the seller now -
it will be out of my hands shortly - thank god - I can go on to productive
work...
>Yo,
>
>Had nearly the same problem with my new PSP last week. Mine was only
>being recognized by MPLab sporadically.
>
>After hours spent screwing with the bios and system settings, I decided
>to try something else. I downloaded firmware version 1.50 from
>Microchip's ftp site <ftp://http://www.microchip.com> and burned it into a 17C44
>using the same PSP and a different computer running Windows 3.1 and an
>older version of MPLab (don't remember the version number). I installed
>the '44 into the PSP, put MPLab 3.4 on the Windows 95 computer, and was
>running reliably.
>
>Incidentally, the PSP originally came with firmware version 1.19, and the
>floppy-disks of MPLab were not the most recent version. Kinda lame.
>
>Hope this helps - I know I was ready to throw the thing at the wall and
>play the 'hammer my new programmer really hard' game for a bit.
>
>Jason
>
>Kool 'n Groovy george cobb Tried To Tell Me...
>
>>I have received my picstart plus programmer and after 4 hours of swearing I
>>am ready to send it all back. The programmer isn't recognized no matter
>>what I seem to do - here's the sequence of events;
>>
>>- I have Win95 on a NEC Versa 550 laptop - it has a com1 serial port on
>>the back
>>- I had MPLAB 3.4 downloaded from the mChip web site and have been using
>>- When the picstart arrived I tried it with the MPLAB3.4 and it would not
>> recognize the programmer on com1 when I went into the "Options-Programmer
>>Configuration - com port" selection in MPLAB
>>- Figuring it was that the version of MPLAB was different than that supplied
>> with the programmer, I installed the 3.x MPlab from the four 3 1/2 disks.
>>- There was no "install.exe" on the disks like the documentatino said - just
>> some cryptic icon - anyway, I clicked on that and the installation seemed
>> to work fine
>>- Re-tried the options-programmer config-com port thing and still the same
>> answer - does not recognize the programmer
>>- Manually set up the com port for 19200,8,n,1 and H/W flow control like the
>> documentation said (same documentation that pointed me to the non-existent
>> .exe install file earlier) - still same problem.
>>- Shut off the fifo stuff for the com port in windows as mentioned in the
>>docs
>> still same problem
>>- lookl for the comm.drv in the system.ini file - it's the way it should be
>>- yank the pcmcia card out - which should look like com2 anyway - still same
>> problem
>>- multiple resetting of the picstart plus programmer by disconecting and
>> re-connecting the 2.5mm power plug - still same problem.
>>- re-boot the computer, reset the programmer - same problem
>>
>>What the hell is going on? Is there something not right with this thing and
>>Win95?
>>
>>george c
>>
>
>
Check the serial port voltages. I have seen some flaky levels on RS232 for
laptops. Sometimes it only works if you have the AC power connected. Some
laptop designers cheat on the serial port ands use a 0 - 5 volt swing
instead of the -12 - +12 swing and sometimes the other end has problems. If
you can test the programmer on a desktop computer.
As an alternative you may have a bum programmer but a test on another
computer could help confirm what is happening.
At 01:12 PM 6/20/98 -0300, you wrote:
>I have received my picstart plus programmer and after 4 hours of swearing I
>am ready to send it all back. The programmer isn't recognized no matter
>what I seem to do - here's the sequence of events;
>
>- I have Win95 on a NEC Versa 550 laptop - it has a com1 serial port on
the back {Quote hidden}
>- I had MPLAB 3.4 downloaded from the mChip web site and have been using that
>- When the picstart arrived I tried it with the MPLAB3.4 and it would not
> recognize the programmer on com1 when I went into the "Options-Programmer
>Configuration - com port" selection in MPLAB
>- Figuring it was that the version of MPLAB was different than that supplied
> with the programmer, I installed the 3.x MPlab from the four 3 1/2 disks.
>- There was no "install.exe" on the disks like the documentatino said - just
> some cryptic icon - anyway, I clicked on that and the installation seemed
> to work fine
>- Re-tried the options-programmer config-com port thing and still the same
> answer - does not recognize the programmer
>- Manually set up the com port for 19200,8,n,1 and H/W flow control like the
> documentation said (same documentation that pointed me to the non-existent
> .exe install file earlier) - still same problem.
>- Shut off the fifo stuff for the com port in windows as mentioned in the
> still same problem
>- lookl for the comm.drv in the system.ini file - it's the way it should be
>- yank the pcmcia card out - which should look like com2 anyway - still same
> problem
>- multiple resetting of the picstart plus programmer by disconecting and
> re-connecting the 2.5mm power plug - still same problem.
>- re-boot the computer, reset the programmer - same problem
>
>What the hell is going on? Is there something not right with this thing and
>Win95?
>
>george c
>
>
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