1. How can I tell which ports have been assigned to my serial CF card under Windows CE?

2. How can I test to see if my serial CF card's ports are working properly with my Windows CE device?

3. Under which OS is my RS-232 Serial CF card supported?

4. How do I install my RS-232 Serial CF card under Windows CE/Pocket PC?

5. How do I install my Serial CF card under Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP?

6. My DSCF-100 doesn't work under Windows 2000 + SP4. What can I do?

7. My DSCF-100 doesn't work under Windows XP + SP1. What can I do?

8. I can't get my DSCF-100 to install under Windows XP. What can I do?

9. How do I install my serial CF card under DOS?

10. Why can't I get my serial CF card to perform at 921.6 kbps?

Q1. How can I tell which ports have been assigned to my Quatech CF serial card under Windows CE?

A. If you want to know the port number you will have to go into the registry with the development tools and see what COM # CE assigned. You can also look under HKLM\ Drivers\Active and go down through the enumerated subkeys till you find the one using the Quatech driver, and from there you can determine the COM number. Alternatively, you can download PHM Registry Editor from this website: http://www.phm.lu/Products/PocketPC/RegEdit/

Q2. How can I test to see if my serial CF card's ports are working properly with my Windows CE device?

A. To see if the driver is installed and ports are working correctly you can use use vxHpc - (a terminal emulator for CE similar to Hyperterminal) for Windows CE by Cambridge Computer Corporation. You can download a free trial version for thirty days at http://www.cam.com/vxhpc.html.

Q3. Under which OS is my RS-232 serial CF card supported?

A. View the latest OS support matrix for RS-232 Serial CF card.

Q4. How do I install my RS-232 Serial CF card under Windows CE/PocketPC?

A. There is no need to install any software for Windows CE or PocketPC. Simply insert the CF card and it will appear in a list when you set up a "Connection." For more information about setting up a "Connection" see the manual for your handheld device. Note that the default Windows CE/PocketPC driver will not permit the two ports on the DSCF-100 to function simultaneously. For simultaneous operation you must also install the Quatech DSCF-100 driver available for download here or located on the Quatech Communication CD that shipped with your product.

Q5. How do I install my RS-232 serial CF card under Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP?

A. There is no need to install any software for Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP. However, you will need the .inf file supplied on the Quatech Communication CD in order for Windows to properly configure the card. The Card Center Pro software supplied on the Quatech Communication CD can also be used to configure the cards.

Q6. My DSCF-100 does not work under Windows 2000 + SP4. What can I do?

A. There is a known bug in Windows 2000 + SP4 that causes problems with multiport PCMCIA cards, that also effects Quatech CompactFlash cards. When Windows is installed, the multifunction PCMCIA/CF card's PWRDWN bit is set in the function configuration registers. If the hardware supports this register bit, then the device is placed in a low power state (as defined in the PC-Card Specification for multifunction PC-Cards). Windows sets the PWRDWN bit on device insertion and power up. When a program attempts to use the device, Windows never clears this bit, so the device fails to operate correctly. There is no indication in the Device Manager of any problem.

The Microsoft Knowledge Base describes the commonly experienced problem in the following article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;813820

There is not yet a Microsoft solution for this problem in Windows 2000. (Hopefully a hot-fix will be available soon. Continue to check the above-linked knowledgebase entry.)

However, the following work-around will enable you to use your DSCF-100:

You will need to restore the SP3 version of pcmcia.sys. Our testing has show that this version should not cause any problems in your Windows 2000 system. To do this you will need a copy of the old pcmcia.sys from SP3. If you installed SP3, then it should be in the "Driver Cache" folder, buried in a cab file; if you hadn't installed SP3, then you can download it here.

Inorder to replace the file you will need to work around the "Protected File System" in Windows. To do this, you will need to boot in Safe Mode. Follow the directions below.

1. Go to the "C:\WINNT\Driver Cache\i386" folder and open the sp3.cab file with WinZip. (Where "C" is the drive on which Windows 2000 is installed)
2. Extract the pcmcia.sys file and save it to somewhere like the c:\
3. Reboot the PC and go into "safe mode" by pressing F8 during boot up.
4. Go to the C:\WINNT\System32\drivers folder and rename the pcmcia.sys file to pcmcia.sp4
5. Copy the SP3 version of pcmcia.sys, into the C:\WINNT\System32\drivers folder (and make sure it's named "pcmcia.sys").
6. Reboot the PC and your DSCF-100 card should now work. 

Q7. My DSCF-100 does not work under Windows XP + SP1. What can I do?

A. There is a known bug in Windows XP + SP1 that causes problems with multiport PCMCIA cards, that also effects Quatech CompactFlash cards. When Windows is installed, the multifunction PCMCIA/CF card's PWRDWN bit is set in the function configuration registers. If the hardware supports this register bit, then the device is placed in a low power state (as defined in the PC-Card Specification for multifunction PC-Cards). Windows sets the PWRDWN bit on device insertion and power up. When a program attempts to use the device, Windows never clears this bit, so the device fails to operate correctly. There is no indication in the Device Manager of any problem.

The Microsoft Knowledge Base describes the commonly experienced problem in the following article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;813820

A Hotfix for this problem is currently available from Microsoft. You can download the English language version here. Versions for other languages can be obtained from Microsoft product support.

Q8. I can't get my DSCF-100 to install under Windows XP. What can I do?

A. There is a known bug in Windows XP that causes installation problems with multiport PCMCIA cards, that also effects Quatech CompactFlash cards.

This problem has been fixed with Windows XP Service Pack 1.

The Microsoft Knowledge base describes the commonly experienced problem in the following article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q318213&SD=MSKB&

A Hotfix for this problem is currently available from Microsoft. You can download the English language version here. For other language versions, or for additional information, you can also contact Microsoft Product Support Services.

To install the Hotfix, you must first uninstall the DSCF-100 according to the following instructions. (These instructions assume that you have run the setup installation, or that you have inserted the DSCF-100 and tried to find the best drivers.) Make sure your computer is turned on with the DSCF-100 inserted.

1. Go to: Start |Control Panel |System |Hardware Tab| Device Manager Button
2. Double click on "Multifunction adapter"
3. Right click on "Generic Multifunction PC-Card"
4. Select Uninstall
5. Click OK
6. Close Control Panel
7. Iinstall the hotfix you downloaded by double-clicking on the Q318213_WXP_SP1_x86_xxx.exe file (where xxx is the language version applicable to your PC) and follow the on-screen instructions.
8. Reboot your computer
9. Insert the DSCF-100 into your computer. The card should be detected as new hardware.
10. Follow the on-screen instructions to locate the correct driver for the card.

Q9. How do I install my RS232 serial CF card under DOS?

A. Operation in DOS requires 3rd party Card and Socket Services drivers to be properly installed and configured. Follow your software vendor's instructions on how to do this. The Quatech serial CF card itself requires no extra drivers to operate in DOS. Insertion of the card should create a familiar "happy beep" as the host software configures the card as a standard DOS COM port. Resource allocation and troubleshooting is all related to the 3rd party software and any issues that may arise during configuration should be addressed to the vendors of this software. Quatech serial CF cards have been tested with: SystemSoft Cardware and Award Cardwizard.

Q10. Why can't I get my Serial CF Card to perform at 921.6 kbps?

A. Only one port RS232 cards (SSCF-100 and SSCFR-100) can operate at 921.6 kbps. The two port card (DSCF-100) has a maximum speed of 115.2 kbps per port. To configure the single port cards for 921.6 kbps you need to move the jumper, located on the bottom of the CF card (next to the port connector). To configure the card for 921.6 kpbs, move the jumper to the "8x" position.

It is possible that a CF card properly configured for 921.6 kbps may still not reach that maximum speed. 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".