1. Why can't I get my CompactPCI RS-232 board to perform at 460.8 kbps?

2. I can't get my Serial CompactPCI Board installed in my PC. What am I doing wrong?

3. Under which OS is my RS-232 CompactPCI Board supported?

4. How do I install my RS-232 CompactPCI Board under Windows 2000/XP?

5. What does it mean to have an unregistered Windows XP driver? Why do I get a warning screen when I install some Quatech drivers?

6. How do I disable the Windows XP Driver Signing check?

7. How do I install my CompactPCI Serial Board under Windows 95/98/Me?

8. How do I install my RS-232 Compact PCI Board under Windows NT?

9. Where can I find help with using my RS-232 CompactPCI Board under OS/2?

Q1. Why can't I get my RS-232 CompactPCI board to perform at 460.8 kbps?

A. Data rates (or baud rates) are highly system dependent. It is impossible for Quatech to know exactly how one of our products will perform in your specific system. Some major factors that affect baud rate are cabling, OS, and FIFOs. For more information about maximum data rates, see the Quatech "Serial Data Rate Information Sheet"

Q2. I can't get my Serial CompactPCI Board installed in my PC. What am I doing wrong?

A. CompactPCI boards are designed to fit in special enclosures external to the PC. Typically these enclosures are standalone systems with onboard processors. It is possible to use a CompactPCI board in a standard PC, though it is hardly the optimal choice for serial connectivity-try a PCI or UniversalPCI board instead--,however it requires a special adapter to permit the board to fit. Quatech does not sell such an adapter.

Q3. Under which OS is my RS-232 CompactPCI Board is supported?

A. View the latest OS support matrix for RS-232 Serial Compact PCI Board.

Q4. How do I install my RS-232 CompactPCI Board under Windows 2000/XP?

A.

1. Install your hardware according to the instructions in your user's manual. Boot your machine.
2. The "Welcome to the Found New Hardware Wizard" window will open.
3. Click "Next" to continue.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions. When prompted, point Windows to the location in which the Quatech drivers are stored-typically on the Quatech COM CD, or the folder on your hard drive to which you downloaded the drivers.

Q5. What does it mean to have an unregistered Windows XP driver? Why do I get a warning screen when I install some Quatech drivers?

A. Microsoft has implemented a new driver signing program. This program verifies that the driver will not cause problems on the system. Although driver signing isn't a complete indication that a driver is safe or bug-free, it's certainly reasonable to assume that signed drivers are generally safer for overall system health than unsigned drivers. In addition, driver signing ensures against a Trojan horse or virus application being introduced into a driver, or having the driver replaced with other code.

However, just because a driver is unsigned DOES NOT mean that it will not function properly in your system. An "unregistered" driver is one that has not been officially tested and certified by Microsoft. Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows XP warns users every time they try to install a driver that Microsoft has not certified. Quatech thoroughly tests all drivers before releasing them to our customers. The Microsoft XP warning has nothing to do with the quality of our driver or its ability to function properly in your system.

XP driver development is an ongoing process. We are in the process of submitting all Quatech Windows XP drivers for review by Microsoft, and we fully expect to receive certification for most products in the coming months. However, every time we update a driver it must be re-certified. Until this certification process is complete, the updated driver will remain unsigned. Because we want to provide the best possible service for our customers, we release our XP drivers prior to receiving Microsoft certification--this gets it into your hands faster! However, we will always continue to make the most recent signed driver available even if there are more recent unsigned updates.

When you see this warning during an installation of a Quatech's Windows XP driver, simply tell Windows that you want to install the driver anyway, and continue with the standard installation process.

Q6. How do I disable the Windows XP Driver Signing check?

A. To disable Windows XP driver signing warnings, follow the steps below:

1. Double click on the System icon in Control Panel.
2. Left click on the Hardware tab.
3. Left click on the Driver Signing button. (click here for a screen cap of the Driver Signing Options Window)
4. Choose the Ignore option. Click on O.K. and then Apply and O.K.
5. Windows will not warn anymore about driver signing.

Q7. How do I install my CompactPCI Serial Board under Windows 95/98/Me?

A. An "INF" configuration file is included with your Quatech Serial board to allow easy configuration in the Windows 95/98/Me environment. Also, a custom Windows 95/98/Me serial device driver is included with the board to support the use of the 16750 UART's 64 byte FIFO. Windows 95/98/Me uses the "INF" file to determine the system resources required by your board, searches for available resources to fill the boards requirements, and then updates the hardware registry with an entry that allocates these resources.

The following instructions provide step-by-step instructions on installing a Quatech serial CompactPCI board in Windows 95/98/me using the "New Hardware Found" wizard.

1. After booting the computer with a newly-installed CompactPCI serial board, the "New Hardware Found" dialog box will appear. If you have never installed a Quatech PCI communications adapter before, the dialog box may simply indicate that it has found a "PCI Card."
2. Select the radio button for "Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer." Click the "OK" button to continue.
3. An "Install From Disk" dialog box should pop up. Insert the Quatech COM CD with the Quatech INF files on it, select the correct drive letter, and click the "OK" button. Windows 95/98/Me automatically browses the root directory for an .INF file that defines configurations for Multifunction Adapters. If no INF files are found, click the "Browse" button and navigate to the "\Serial Port Adapters\Drivers\Windows 95, 98, Me for PCI" folder on the Quatech COM CD. You are not required to select the file name. After finding the directory containing the INF files, Windows 95/98/Me will choose the correct file.
4. The "New Hardware Found" dialog box will appear again, this time for an "Unknown Device."
5. Again select the radio button for "Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer." Click the "OK" button to continue.
6. Another "Install From Disk" dialog box will pop up. The path should already be pointing to the Quatech COM CD. Click the "OK" button to continue.
7. You should now see the "Copying Files" dialog box as Windows 95/98/Me copies the driver files from the CD.
8. The installation utility will ask for your Windows 95/98/Me system CD. Serial communication ports require two drivers supplied by Microsoft to function: SERIAL.VXD and SERIALUI.DLL. Insert the Windows CD and click "OK"
   
   NOTE: You may be able to skip this step if you are certain that your system has the latest version of these files installed. If you do not have your Windows 95/98/Me system CDs immediately available, click "OK" anyway. A dialog box appears with an option to Skip the files. Click the Skip button and the files will not be installed. This is all right if the latest versions of these drivers are currently in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.
   
   
9. The "New Hardware Found" dialog will repeat as each serial port is registered with Windows 95/98/Me
10. Installation is complete.

Q8. How do I install my RS-232 Compact PCI Board under Windows NT?

A. Quatech provides a Device Manager for Windows NT that is used to install CompactPCI serial boards. The Quatech Device Manager utility includes a simple add hardware wizard to guide you through the installation. The Device Manager is located on the Quatech COM CD.

Q9. Where can I find help with using my RS-232 CompactPCI Board under OS/2?

A. Though OS/2 is becoming increasingly less popular, Quatech knows that there are many dedicated users out there, and we are committed to continued support of OS/2. See our OS/2 tip sheet for answers to common questions about installation, un-installation, configuration, and troubleshooting.