Echo/Dflex/ISA, DFlex/104 and Xtreme/104 Software Installation Guide for Windows NT

Installing the Echo/Dflex or Xtreme

NOTE: It is often necessary to go into the CMOS setup (BIOS) and ensure that the IRQ used by the Echo/Dflex or Xtreme is available to Non-PnP ISA devices only.
Look in the CMOS setup for Resource Configuration or PnP Setup options.

NOTE: The Echo/Dflex and Xtreme cards use the standard serial driver from Microsoft, and therefore you do not need to acquire any drivers from Connect Tech.

• Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Ports.
• Click the Add button.
• Select the COM port number, I/O address and IRQ numbers.NOTE: The I/O address and IRQ MUST match the hardware settings. The Echo/Dflex / Xtreme cards will NOT function if they don’t match. Please read the manual for more information on hardware settings.
• Select the FIFO ENABLED option and click OK.
• Windows will not ask you to restart the computer. Click on Restart Later.
• Repeat the above steps for all the ports you would like to install.
• Now you need to edit the registry to tell the system that the Echo/Dflex / Xtreme ports will share the same IRQ.
  There are two methods for doing this. A simple method A and a more complex method B.NOTE: Use method B if you are using the status register. Use method A if you are not using the status register.WARNING: There are always some risks when accessing the registry directly. Failure to follow the directions exactly might result in erratic operation of your Windows NT machine

Method A:

This series of steps involves editing the registry database to inform the Windows NT serial driver that all the Echo/Dflex ports will share the same hardware Interrupt.

• Go to Start -> Run.
• Enter REGEDT in the text filed and click OK. This will bring up the Windows NT Registry Editor.
• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENT CONTROL SET\SERVICES\SERIAL.
• On the right side you will see some information. Double click the PERMIT SHARE value. Change the value from 0 to 1.
• Exit the registry editor and reboot your computer.

Method B:

This method is more complex than Method A and involves writing information regarding the Echo/Dflex status port to the Windows NT registry. Since this method will enable your Echo/Dflex adapter’s status port, you will attain slightly better system performance in the way of less CPU usage.NOTE: You will need to know the I/O address of the your Echo/Dflex / Xtreme adapter’s status port and make sure that the status port is enabled on your hardware. Please read the manual for more information on hardware settings.

• Go to Start -> Run.
• Enter REGEDT in the text filed and click OK. This will bring up the Windows NT Registry Editor.
• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENT CONTROL SET\SERVICES\SERIAL\ PARAMETERS.
• You will need to add two new values: an InterruptStatus value and a PortIndex value for each SERIAL key associated with your Echo/Dflex ports (SERIAL110000, SERIAL110001, SERIAL110002, etc…):
• Click EDIT, then ADD VALUE, and enter the following values as below:

        Value Name:    InterruptStatus        Data Type:     REG_DWORD        Value:  2C0Where 2C0 is the status port I/O address in this example(Highlight Hex format Check Box)

Note: For our example, the Echo/Dflex status port is at I/O address 2C0. The Value is the address of the status port corresponding to I/O address range set on the Echo/Dflex adapter. All Echo/Dflex ports on a single board will have the same status port address, so each key Serial10000, Serial10001 up to Serial1000n will have the same value.

• Once again choose EDIT, then ADD VALUE, and enter in the following values EXACTLY as below:

        Value name:    PortIndex        Data Type:     REG_DWORD        Value:  1

Note: Each key Serial10000, Serial10001 up to Serial1000n will get a unique entry for its Value. You will enter 1 for Echo/Dflex port one, 2 for port two, etc.

• Exit the registry editor and reboot your computer.NOTE: If the Echo/Dflex ports don’t work, ensure that the resources under Windows match the hardware settings.

Changing COM Port Mapping

• Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Ports.
• Select the COM port you wish to change.
• Click the Settings button.
• Click the Advanced button.
• Change the COM number to the number that you want to use.
• Click OK twice.
• Reboot the computer.

Uninstalling the Echo/Dflex/Xtreme

• Go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Ports.
• Select the COM port you wish to delete.
• Click the Remove button.
• Click OK.
• Repeat the above for all the ports you would like to remove.
• Reboot the computer.

Testing the Newly Installed Ports

You can perform a simple loopback test with a terminal program (i.e. HyperTerminal or SerialTest) and a loopback connector to ensure that the newly installed ports are functioning.

Connect the loopback connector to the port you want to test and run HyperTerminal. When you type a character, you should see it on the screen, which means that the port is working. If you remove the loopback connector, the characters that you type should not appear on the screen.