Cardware (tm) User Manual 1.50A Revision History Rev. Section Description Date 0.0 All Initial Draft 07.08.1993 1.0 All Final Draft 09 09 1993 A All Release 10/08/93 Contents 0. Proprietary Notice and Disclaimer Overview 1.3. Before You Start... 1.3.1. System Requirements 1.4. Terminology and Key Concepts 1.5. Using Battery Operated Computers 1.5.1. Advanced Power Management 1.6. BEEPS 1.6.1. What the Beeps Mean 2. Installation 2.1. Installing CardWare 2.2. Sample CONFIG.SYS 2.3. PCDISK CONFIG.SYS Syntax 2.4. Assigning System Resources to Cardware 2.5. Disabling Cardware 2.6. Re-enabling Cardware 2.7. Removing Cardware 3. How to work with... 3.1. First-Time Insertion of a PC Card 3.1.1. Recognizing a PC Card by Type 3.1.2. Recognizing a Specific PC Card 3.1.3. Unrecognizable PC Cards 3.2. Configuring a PC Card 3.3. Installing and Using PC Cards 3.3.1. How To Register a New Card 3.3.2. Fax/Modem Cards 3.3.3. Network Adapter Cards 3.3.4. ATA Harddisk Cards 3.3.5. Memory Cards Using SRAM Cards Using FLASH Cards 5. Appendices A. Using PCPREP B. Troubleshooting C. Frequently Asked Questions D. Glossary Proprietary Notice and Disclaimer Unless otherwise noted, this document and the information herein disclosed are the property of Award Software International, Incorporated (Award) and Ventura Micro Incorporated (VMI). Any person or entity to whom this document is furnished or who otherwise has possession thereof, by acceptance agrees that it will not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part, nor used in any manner except to meet the purposes for which it was delivered. The information in this document is subject to change without notice, and should not be considered as a commitment by Award. Although Award will make every effort to inform users of substantive errors, Award disclaims all liability for any loss or damage resulting from the use of this document or any hardware or software described herein, including without limitation contingent, special, or incidental liability. PC and AT are trademarks of IBM Corporation. Flash System is trademark of Microsoft Inc. CardWare is trademark of Award Software International, Inc. and Ventura Micro Inc. Copyright c by Award Software International, Inc. Copyright c by Ventura Micro Inc. Award Software International, Inc. Corporate Offices 777 East Middlefield Road Mountain View, CA 94043-4023 Tel. (415) 968-4433 Fax (415) 968-0274 1.0 Introduction 1.1. Scope of this Manual This manual will give a brief overview of how to use Cardware. If you need detailed information use CardWare's Online Help (see chapter ""). 1.2. About Cardware Features Cardware is a PCMCIA rev. 2.0 compliant, software package that provides users of PC Cards with the most complete support for PCMCIA Platforms, Cards and Controllers. Card Configuration - The dynamic allocation of system resources when a card is inserted means that inserting multiple cards no longer runs the risk of creating a resource conflict. As each card is inserted, Cardware utilizes a user defined "priority list" (a modem card could be installed as COM3, COM2, COM4, COM1) looking for an available resource and installs the card to the first unused resource. When a card is removed from the system Cardware recognizes that the system resources are available again for use with other PCMCIA cards. The user can easily define, through a Graphic User Interface, the configuration and "priority list" that best fits their needs. Card Drivers - No longer does PCMCIA software need to be updated with new drivers for every new card release. By utilizing drivers for capable of reading a PCMCIA card's CIS, Award is able to work with any PCMCIA rev. 2.0 compliant card. Socket Service (PCSS.EXE) - The Socket Service software can be loaded into RAM or placed into ROM as part of the BIOS. Socket Services has been designed to support a variety of PCMCIA controller chips (adapters). Award plans to extend its support to new chips as they become available. Card Service (PCCS.EXE) - Card Services has been developed to meet the PCMCIA promise of interoperability. Card Services provides the "control" for Hot Swapping, assignment of system resources and card configuration. Two generic drivers are utilized by Card Services to recognize and install cards, PCENABLE (Generic I/O support) and (PCDISK "Generic Storage" support). These drivers ready the CIS information and pass the information to Card Services for use in configuring and card in the system. Hot Swap cards in DOS or Windows™. In DOS, Beep tones let you know if a card is ready for use. In Windows™, either Beep tones or Wave files can be used to notify you that a card is ready. Utilities - Award provides a variety of support utilities which cover the following functionality: Formatting Memory Cards, Partitioning Memory Cards, Reading CIS, etc. A single utility formats SRAM and ATA cards. 1.3. Before You Start... 1.3.1. System Requirements To properly utilize Cardware your computer must have: An 80286 or compatible processor. At least one PC Card socket using an Intel 82365SL PC Card Interface Controller (PCIC), or a register-compatible controller such as the Cirrus Logic (CL-PD6710/6720) or the Toshiba TOPIC used in the Toshiba T1900, T4500 and T4600 computers. At least one available IRQ level for routing status change interrupts from the socket controller chip(s) to Cardware. At least one additional available IRQ level is suggested for each PC Card socket in your system to support PC Cards that use hardware interrupts. 4K of unused memory address space in the Expansion ROM area of your system for Cardware internal use. It is usually best to set aside an additional 16K of memory address space in the Expansion ROM area for each PC Card socket in your system. Up to 100K of system RAM for use by Cardware, if all of the components are loaded. Microsoft DOS version 5.0 or later, or equivalent version of an MS-DOS work-alike such as DR-DOS from Novell Microsoft Windows version 3.1 for the display and configuration utility (pcdisk.exe). 1.4. Terminology and Key Concepts Several expressions are used in the following sections to describe how Cardware recognizes and configures PC Cards so they may be used. While the Glossary defines most of the terminology used within this manual, there are several key concepts to understanding how Cardware works. System resources are system memory ranges, I/O ranges and IRQ levels. A device definition is a collection of system resources that the PC Card uses once it is configured. Cardware also records a list of associated device definitions in the database. 1.5. Using Battery Operated Computers PC Cards are very new technology. While more and more computers are being designed to be PCMCIA compliant, many are not. The idea of simply plugging in a pocket-sized card (i.e., a FAX-modem, hard drive, etc.) without having to disassemble your computer is catching on quickly. However, there are some cautions. Just as you wouldn't pull the plug of your VCR while recording a TV program, you don't want to allow the 'plug' to be pulled on your card while it is live or hooked up to your computer. Many of the newer battery-operated computers have power management systems that will let your applications software and your Cardware system know that power is about to be turned off. If your computer and software does not have this capability, we suggest that you disable suspend mode while you are using your PC Cards. 1.5.1 Advanced Power Management Many battery-operated computers have a system known as Advanced Power Management (APM) which monitors system activity, shutting down various components (and even the computer itself) whenever they have been idle for a set period of time. This can make a significant difference in the length of time you can work before having to recharge the battery 1.6. BEEPS Beeps (tones emitted from your computer's tiny speaker) are the standard way of notifying you that certain events have happened. 1.6.1. What the Beeps Mean Most of the time Cardware performs in the background without interrupting normal system operations. In the default configuration, Cardware uses the system speaker to signal the recognition and configuration of PC Cards when they are installed. Cardware signals the insertion of a PC Card with a single beep. When a PC Card is recognized by the generic card enabler (pcenable.exe), a second slightly higher pitched beep is sounded. Finally, when the recognized PC Card is configured using an associated device definition, a third beep is sounded at an even higher pitch. If a recognized PC Card cannot be configured because none of the associated device definitions are available, a two tone warning is sounded twice. This warning is made after the initial two beeps indicating card insertion and recognition. 2. Installation 2.1. Installing Cardware From the DOS prompt, type in either A:INSTALL or B:INSTALL ...depending on your system After specifying a directory to instlall cardware to, you will be asked to specify your platform. A screen similar to the following will appear: 1) Toshiba T1900/T4500/T4600 2) Toshiba T3300 3) AST PowerExec 4) AT&T/NCR Safari 5) IBM ThinkPad 350/720/750 6) Sharp PC6700/PC6800 7) GreyStone Card Reader 8) DataBook TMB-240 Card Reader 9) GENERIC If your laptop is not listed above, select GENERIC. GENERIC will install socket services that are specific to your laptop. IMPORTANT! Contact your laptops vendor to find out which of the following applies to your laptop. The following list describes different types of PCMCIA Controller Chipsets: 1) Toshiba's TPP163 2) Intel PCIC 3) Intel PHIC 4) DataBook DB82086 If you select GENERIC from the first chioce, you will have to select one of the above choices. If your laptop vendor cannot tell you what type of chipset your laptop has, then select Intel PCIC, as most latops are 'Intel PCIC compatible'. 2.2 Sample CONFIG.SYS Cardware files may be loaded as device drivers when your system starts by including a 'DEVICE=' line in your CONFIG.SYS file or, on demand by loading them from the DOS command line. The files must be loaded as device drivers if you need support for PC Cards that store files (i.e. static-RAM and flash memory cards, or ATA hard drive cards). The file that provides support for such devices (pcdisk.exe) can only be loaded from the CONFIG.SYS file, not from the DOS command line. If you are going to be using PC Cards most of the time, we suggest you load the Cardware files from the CONFIG.SYS file. Assuming the files are stored in a subdirectory called CARDWARE on the C: drive, you should add the following lines to your CONFIG.SYS file, in this order: DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCSS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCCS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCENABLE.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCDISK.EXE If you have placed the Cardware files in a different subdirectory or drive, change all of the references above to C:\CARDWARE to the appropriate drive and subdirectory (also known as the path). Be sure a backslash still separates the path from the filename as shown above. WARNING If you are using memory management software (QEMM, 386MAX, EMM386 etcetera), you MUST instruct the manager to exclude the ROM Expansion area assigned to Cardware. Review the MEM= entries in the [Resources] sections of the initialization file (cardware.ini) to determine the area(s) to exclude. The lines added to the CONFIG.SYS file should be after any entries used to load memory managers such as Quarterdeck's QEMM, Qualitas 386MAX or Microsoft EMM386. They MUST also be placed after any entries which load Power Management software. 2.3. PCDISK CONFIG.SYS Syntax Use the following syntax in your CONFIG.SYS file to load the PC Card disk device driver. DEVICE=[d:][path]PCDISK.EXE [/QUEUE=nn] /QUEUE= Specifies the number of concurrent erasures for cards that support background erasure (1-9). This is an optional field. Default is: /QUEUE=1 2.4. Assigning System Resources to Cardware In order for Cardware to operate, it must be assigned system resources. These resources are used for configuring PC Cards so they do not conflict with the use of system resources by other peripherals in your system. System resources include system memory address space, Interrupt ReQuest (IRQ) levels and I/O address space. These system resources must be excluded from use by other system software such as memory managers and Windows. The Cardware initialization file (cardware.ini) has a default [Resources] section. This section should be customized for the host system. The defaults provided may operate without modification. However, if you encounter any problems with PC Card recognition or configuration, improper resource assignment is the first item to check (see the CWINI.TXT file for more information). It is necessary to edit the initialization file (cardware.ini) directly with a text-editor capable of editing ASCII files. Be careful editing the file with a word processing program such as WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. These programs normally do not save files as ASCII and may damage the initialization file. NOTE: If you are using a memory manager, you must exclude any of the Expansion ROM area assigned to Cardware from the memory managed by that program. This is typically done by adding a command line argument to the DEVICE= line used to load the memory manager in the CONFIG.SYS file. As an example, Microsoft EMM386 requires the argument X=mmmm-nnnn, where mmmm is the starting segment address and nnnn is the ending segment address of the area to be excluded. See your memory manager documentation for more in rmation. 2.5. Disabling Cardware To temporarily disable Cardware, follow this simple procedure: Modify your CONFIG.SYS file using a text editor capable of editing ASCII files without changing the format. Locate the four DEVICE= statements: DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCSS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCCS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCENABLE.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCDISK.EXE Insert 'REM ' at the beginning of each line. Note that there is a space after the letters 'REM'. The case is irrelevant, but the space is required. 'REM ' turns each of the four DEVICE= lines into a remark line, thereby preventing the loading of your Cardware. Remember to save the file. 2.6. Re-enabling Cardware To re-enable Cardware, modify your CONFIG.SYS file using a text editor capable of editing ASCII files without changing the format. Locate the four DEVICE= statements: REM DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCSS.EXE REM DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCCS.EXE REM DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCENABLE.EXE REM DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCDISK.EXE Delete the 'REM ' at the beginning of each line. Be sure to remove the space after the letters 'REM'. ('REM ' turned each of the four DEVICE= lines into a remark line, thereby preventing the loading of your Cardware.) 2.7. Removing Cardware Removing Cardware from your system requires the following steps: 1. Remove the following four lines from the CONFIG.SYS file: DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCSS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCCS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCENABLE.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCDISK.EXE 2. Remove (or modify) the following line from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file: PATH = .... C:\CARDWARE .... (If you installed Cardware in a different directory, substitute the name of that directory for 'CardWare'). 3. Remove the [PC Card Control for Windows] section from your WIN.INI file. (Both the section name and the line that follows.) 3. How to work with... 3.1. First-Time Insertion of a PC Card There are three possibilities when a new PC Card is inserted for the first-time: 1. The card is generic type of PC Card and automatically installed by Cardware if the resources are available. 2. The card is recognized specifically and you have to register the card and associate devices definitions. 3. The card is not recognized and there is not enough information on the PC Card to register it for future insertions 3.1.1. Recognizing a PC Card by Type Many, but not all, PC Cards contain information describing the card that is readable by Cardware. One piece of information that may be present is the type of function performed by the PC Card. If Cardware recognizes a new PC Card as a FAX/data modem or as an ATA hard disk, it configures the card according to device definitions associated with these generic card types. By default, modems are setup as the next available COM port, and ATA hard disks are connected to the logical drive letter assigned to the P C Card socket where the card was inserted. 3.1.2. Recognizing a Specific PC Card Some PC Cards do not include the necessary information to recognize them by the type of function they perform. However, these cards may often be recognizable by other information that is readable by CardWare. These cards must be uniquely recognized by Cardware. If you enter the necessary definition and configuration information using the card display and configuration utility (pccard.exe), that card can be automatically configured the next time it is inserted (assuming your system has the necessary resources available at that time). 3.1.3. Unrecognizable PC Cards Some PC Cards (which are not PCMCIA compliant) cannot be automatically recognized because there is not enough information on the card to act as a unique identifier. If you know what the card is and what it requires to operate successfully on your system, you may enter the necessary definition and configuration information by editing CARDWARE.INI. See the file CWINI.TXT for more information. Although that card can not be automatically configured when you next insert it, you can always reenter the necessary information each time. 3.2. Configuring a PC Card Even if a PC Card is recognized, it might not be possible to configure the card. This occurs if system resources described in the associated device definitions are not available when the PC Card is inserted. This usually indicates the resources described in the device definition(s) are currently in use by another PC Card or system peripheral. As an example, imagine a FAX/Modem PC Card is inserted that has been associated with the device definitions COM1 and COM2. If the system already has a COM1 device installed on the motherboard and another PC Card in a different socket that is configured as COM2, the newly inserted card cannot be configured. However, you may change its definition to use COM3 or COM4 (if you can do so on your system) by editing the CARDWARE.INI file. See CWINI.TXT file for more information. Or, you may remove the mouse or modem board already installed to make COM1 or COM2 available to the PC Card. 3.3. Installing and Using PC Cards 3.3.1. How To Register a New Card Many PC Cards are now compliant and can be automatically registered and configured when you insert them in the socket. But others, especially the cards manufactured earlier, do not contain this information. Many of this cards can be handled by Cardware - with your help. Here you will learn how to create a new card definition (so that the next time the card is inserted it will be automatically configured). Not all PC Cards can be handled successfully in this manner. If you have a card that just won't work, it can probably be updated to the current PCMCIA guidelines by the card manufacturer. NOTE: Please see also the CARDINFO.TXT file for the latest information about several PC Cards and their recommended settings. Registering and Configuring a PC Card is a 8 step procedure in Windows™: 1. When you first insert the PC Card , PC Card Control for Windows informs you (via a message window) what has happened and what it needs you to do. Usually the card is recognized and the message, "A card definition has been added ..." is displayed. You are asked to Choose Edit from the Cards menu item after choosing the OK button of this message window. 2. The 'Initial Display Dialog Box' appears. There are four menu items on the menu bar at the top of the box. Choose Cards. From the drop down menu choose Edit. 3. The 'Edit Card dialog box' appears. Here you will associate the necessary device definition(s) with your PC Card. At the top of the dialog box are two information fields: Card: This is the name of the PC Card that Cardware found in the card. Type: This is the type of card (e.g. Network Adapter, Serial Port) Across the center of the Edit Card dialog box are the Defined list box and the Associated list box separated by the Include and Remove command buttons. 4. Select the card you have inserted from the Card field by choosing Card and selecting form the pull down menu. 5. Select the type of card from the Type field. 6. Move the defined devices from the defined (left) box to the Associated (right) box to associate these devices with your card. (Double clicking on a device in one box moves it to the other box.) 7. Choose the OK button (bottom left corner of the Edit Card dialog box). You are now back at the initial display dialog box. Typically , when you have reconfigured something you would have to reboot or, with the cards, remove the card and reinsert it in a socket. However Cardware has a little helper called Reconfigure. If you have more than one socket, select the socket you wish to reconfigure. 8. Select Cards from the Initial Display dialog box menu bar. The Cards menu drops down. Choose Reconfigure. 9. If the required resources are available, your card will be configured and will be ready to go.In the line above the socket you can see the name of the card and in the line below the socket you can see the configuration use. Next time you want to use this card, just plug it in and it plays. 10. If the required resources are not available you will see the message window shown at left. Please check the Associations with the card. If you have no matching devices available, you have the possibility to create new devices (see section "). 11. Check also whether the resources are in use by another card or whether you have no resources defined in the [Resources] section of CARDWARE.INI (see section "). 3.3.2. Fax/Modem Cards A modem card can be inserted into the PC Card Slot either before or after turning on your system. If you insert the modem card before turning your system ON, you will hear three beeps at the end of the POST messages signifying that the card has been successfully installed and is now active. If the card is inserted at the DOS prompt, the system will also sound three beeps on successful recognition. Use the DOSCARD.EXE command to determine the device used. Your modem PC Card will be automatically recognized and installed as a modem if it has a valid CIS which conforms to the PCMCIA Committee's Standard rev 2.0. If your CIS is not valid, or has been damaged, the card cannot be configured by Cardware. NOTE: If your modem is a generic modem, it will not appear in the Cardlist when you choose the Cards Edit command. If you want to change the configuration for a generic modem edit the associations for the 'Generic Modem' card. When a specific modem card is inserted for the first time, Cardware will prompt you to assign the resources that will be associated with the card. These resources are the COM ports to which the card will be automatically configured when you insert the card in the future (see chapter "" for a step by step sample procedure). The order in which you choose the resources, will be the order that Cardware will attempt to dynamically configure the card. For example, if you assigned COM1, COM4 and COM3, when the c ard is inserted the software will attempt to first configure the card as COM1. If COM1 was being used by another device (mouse, printer, etc.), then the software will next attempt to configure the card as COM 4. Hence, there will never be a resource allocation conflict between devices as can happen with ISA cards. NOTE: All of the 3rd party fax and telecommunication programs being sold today are unable to detect the difference between an ISA BUS modem and a modem PC Card. Hence, you should insert your modem prior to running any 3rd party fax or telecommunication software. Hot Swapping of PC Cards during the operation of a telecommunication software package (i.e. replacing the modem with a different type of card) is not recommended. 3.3.3. Network Adapter Cards A LAN card can be inserted into the PC Card Slot either before or after turning on your system. If you insert the LAN card before turning your system ON, you will hear three beeps at the end of the POST messages signifying that the card has been successfully installed and is now active. If the card is inserted at the DOS prompt, the system will sound three beeps on successful recognition. An important point if you plan to run LAN cards while in Windows is that, due to the manner in which Windows allocates and recognizes resources, the LAN card must be inserted before Windows is loaded. Also, depending on the type of network software you are using, the network software must be running prior to Windows being loaded. This will allow Windows to recognize the availability of a LAN and reserve the resources. NOTE: Since none of the current network software is designed to support PC Card Hot Swapping, you must NEVER remove the LAN card while connected to the network. When connected to the network, logout prior to removing the card from the socket. LAN cards are configured as ISA BUS LAN adapters, thus allowing PC Card LAN adapters to be used with existing network driver software. Your LAN PC Card will be automatically recognized and installed as a LAN if it has a valid CIS that conforms to the PCMCIA Committee's Standard rev 2.0. If your CIS is not valid, or has been damaged, the card cannot be configured by Cardware. When a LAN card is inserted for the first time, Cardware will prompt you to assign the resources that will be associated with the card. These resources are the LAN configurations to which the card will be automatically configured when the card is inserted in the future (see chapter "" for a step by step sample procedure). The order in which you choose the resources, will be the order that Cardware will attempt to dynamically configure the card. For example, if you assigned LAN1, LAN3 and LAN2, when the card is inserted the software will attempt to first configure the card as LAN1. If LAN1 was being used by another device (perhaps by another LAN adapter), then the software will next attempt to configure the card as LAN3. Hence, there will never be a resource allocation conflict between devices as it can happen with ISA cards . 3.3.4. ATA Hard Disk Cards An ATA Harddisk card can be inserted into the PC Card Slot either before or after turning on your system. If you insert the ATA card before turning your system ON, you will hear three beeps at the end of the POST messages signifying that the card has been successfully installed and is now active. If the card is inserted at the DOS prompt, the system will also sound three beeps on successful recognition. Use the DOSCARD.EXE command to determine the device used. Your ATA PC Card will be automatically recognized and installed as a Harddisk drive if it has a valid CIS which conforms to the PCMCIA Committee's Standard rev 2.0. If your CIS is not valid, or has been damaged, the card cannot be configured by Cardware. NOTE: If your ATA drive is a generic drive, it will not appear in the Cardlist when you choose the Cards Edit command. If you want to change the configuration for a generic drive edit, the associations for the 'Generic ATA Disk' card. When a specific ATA card is inserted for the first time, Cardware will prompt you to assign the resources that will be associated with the card. These resources are the I/O ports and/or Memory range to which the card will be automatically configured when you insert the card in the future (see chapter "" for a step by step sample procedure). The order in which you choose the resources, will be the order that Cardware will attempt to dynamically configure the card. NOTE: If your drive is not already partitioned and formatted you must use the PCPREP utility (see Appendix "") before you can use your drive. 3.3.5. Memory Cards A Memory card can be inserted into the PC Card Slot either before or after turning on your system. If you insert the Memory card before turning your system ON, you will hear three beeps at the end of the POST messages signifying that the card has been successfully installed and is now active. If the card is inserted at the DOS prompt, the system will also sound three beeps on successful recognition. Use the DOSCARD.EXE command to determine the device used. Using SRAM Cards You can use a SRAM card in the same way you use Diskettes. NOTE: If your SRAM card is not already formatted you must use the PCPREP utility (see Appendix "") or the FORMAT command before you can copy files to your Memory card. You can also use the Windows File Manager for Formatting and Copying. Using FLASH Cards If you want to use FLASH Memory cards you have to use the Microsoft Flash-File-System II (FFS II). The FFS II is not part of the CardWare package and must be purchased separately from Microsoft. If you already have the FFS II, install the MS--FLASH.SYS driver after PCDISK.EXE in your CONFIG.SYS (see also chapter ""). Your CONFIG.SYS should look like this: DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCSS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCCS.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCENABLE.EXE DEVICE = C:\CARDWARE\PCDISK.EXE DEVICE = C:\MSTOOLS\MS-FLASH.SYS If your FLASH card is already formatted you can use it in the same way you are using Diskettes. The procedure for Copying and Deleting files on a FLASH card is the same as with a SRAM card. You can also use the Windows File-Manager. NOTE: If your FLASH card is not already formatted you must use the MEMCARD utility that comes with your Flash-File-System for Partitioning and Formatting your FLASH card (Consult the MEMCARD manual for further information). You can not use the DOS FORMAT command or the PCPREP utility for this purpose. A. Using PCPREP PCPrep is a DOS utility that partitions and formats of SRAM cards and ATA hard disk cards as standard DOS partitions. PCPrep can not be used on FLASH cards. For FLASH cards you have to use special utilities which come with your Flash File System (e.g. MEMCARD.EXE for Microsoft's FFS-II) If you have a clean unformatted SRAM or ATA Harddisk card you must prepare those cards for use with your system. Following is a step by step description. This example assumes the drive letter E: is assigned to the slot. If you do not know which drive letter is assigned to the slot, use the DOSCARD utility to determine the drive letter assigned. 1. Insert the card in the slot. 2. Type 'PCPREP E:'. 3. PCPrep now starts to prepare your card. You must not format your card with a FORMAT command after executing PCPrep. 4. Your card is now ready for use in your system. NOTE: If your system requires an ATA Harddisk drive to be formatted like a floppy disk (without partition table), you can use the '/F' switch (e.g. 'PCPREP E: /F'). Please notice that it is not recommended to use this switch for normal operation. Troubleshooting Occasionally troubles occur with new software because of incompatibility with your system's BIOS. We recommend that you confirm that you have the latest system software. Many portable computers have the BIOS in flash memory which can be easily updated. Most portable computer manufacturers provide special BBS support which allows you to down-load an updated BIOS via telephone. PC Card support is an evolving area and some systems have better support in newer BIOS software. Older BIOS software with limited PC Card support may interfere with Cardware. In most cases, updating your BIOS to the latest release will reduce the potential for problems. PC Card Control is included to enable confirmation of automatic configuration being performed, and to allow editing of system resources (i.e., [Cards] and [Associations] ) and Communications ( [Devices] ) sections of CARDWARE.INI . If Socket Services is loaded into a system that already has another socket services installed, a warning message is displayed. Socket Services continues initializing all other hardware, but does not disturb the previous socket settings. If your system hangs immediately after Socket Services is loaded during CONFIG.SYS file processing, or if your system begins to behave erratically (i.e., beeping, etc.), power-off and restart as a cold boot. If the PC Card in the socket is a non-memory card (e.g., modem or LAN adapter), any attempt to read/write data in a file format will return an error. HOWEVER, if an ATA card is loaded when a MemCard Erase (a function of MS-Flash) is issued, no invalid media message is received, and the card is totally erased. Mouse Driver Interference When movement of the mouse is erratic or interferes with PC Card activity, this is usually caused by assigning the card to the COM port corresponding to the mouse's COM port (e.g. COM1 and COM3, or COM2 and COM4). Windows for Work Groups will not run. Delete any multiple copies of the BWCC.DLL and CPALETTE.DLL files which may reside in the WINDOWS subdirectory. These files are provided with Cardware and may cause conflicts in systems that are running Windows for Work Groups PC Card Control does not notify you of low or Dead battery For 'low' or 'dead battery' beep warning to function, it must be enabled under the Options- Edit Event Notification menu bar of Card Control's panel. Also make sure your speaker is not turned off. Not Ready Reading Drive DOS Error (Reading a Flash Card) Check to see if your Flash Card has been formatted. Is the Flash File System device driver in your CONFIG.SYS? The Flash Card may be damaged. Consult your card documentation. No Beeps Remove the card from the socket and make a visual inspection of the card and socket rails to insure that there isn't anything that could obstruct a connection. If so remove it and reinsert card FIRMLY. Notebook specific software of the notebook may be disabling the speaker. Check the README.TXT file for system specific information. No Beeps in Windows but Beeps in DOS Open Options -Edit Event Notifications Menu in Card Control and confirm that Beeps are activated. Notebook specific software on the notebook may be disabling the speaker. Frequently Asked Questions My system works fine when I first turn it on, but if I restart it by pressing the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys at the same time, my PC Cards don't seem to work properly. Some computer systems do not reset the PC Card socket controller when they are restarted using the Ctrl-Alt-Delete key sequence. Any configured PC Cards installed when the system is restarted may be incorrectly sensed by the system's BIOS to be peripherals that reside on the motherboard or in an adapter board installed in an expansion bus. The BIOS then believes it should handle the operation of these peripherals creating a conflict with the Cardware software. This situation may often be corrected by updating the system's BIOS. Often, when a computer manufacturer realizes the problem failing to reset the socket controller hardware causes, they typically release a BIOS update that fixes this problem. Until an updated BIOS is available, there are two possible solutions: 1. remove all installed PC Cards before restarting your systems with the Ctrl-Alt-Delete key sequence, or 2. only restart your system by cycling the power OFF and then back ON. What CIS information is used by Cardware to recognize the card? Four pieces of information are used and are stored in the following tuples: Manufacture ID, Function ID, Level 1 Version/Product Information tuple (two pieces of Information are used from this tuple: Manufacturer's Name and Product String). What target platforms does the software work with currently? AST PowerExec, Toshiba T1900, T4500 & T4600, Dell 320SLi, AT&T/NCR Safari are currently supported. Do you support Type III cards? Cardware supports Type III PCMCIA ATA drives. What PCMCIA-compliant controller chips do you support? What are your future plans for support? Currently we support the Intel 82365SL (PCIC), Toshiba Topic and Cirrus Logic 6710/6720. In testing, we currently have Socket Services for the Intel PHIC and Toshiba TPP163. The Vadem VG465 is a register compatible part to the Intel 82365SL and should work with our Intel PCIC Socket Service. However, we have not (as of this writing) tested the Vadem VG465 with our software. Our next series of Socket Service support includes plans to provide software for the DataBook and TI families of PCMCIA-compatible parts. Other vendors' parts are under consideration at this time for future releases. How do you deal with a non-PCMCIA compliant card? On card insertion, an end user will be notified that the information required to configure the card is not available, or cannot be read by the software. Only a single beep tone will occur indicating that the inserted card is not recognized by the software. How is hot swapping of cards handled? An interrupt is generated by the system on insertion and removal of a PC Card, . This interrupt is used to either flag that the card needs to be registered as a client or de-registered. Can you boot from a PC Card? The current PCMCIA specifications do not provide for booting from PC Cards. However the PCMCIA committee is working to define a methodology which allows the DOS file structure to be read from a PC Card during boot. Why isn't support for booting included in current platforms? What part of Socket Services must be included in the BIOS? The PCMCIA software specifications are new enough so that in many cases the system vendors have not included the 4K of Socket Service support code in their current BIOS. Eventually, we expect that all 4K of Socket Service code will migrate into part of the system BIOS. It is reasonable to expect that system vendors will delay integrating the Socket Service code into the BIOS until such time as it is possible to boot a system from a PC Card and to execute a program from a PC Memory Card. What file formats do you support with memory cards? Currently we are supporting DOS FAT and Flash File System II. Our future plans include support for the SCM and M-Systems file formats. How are you going to support new cards as they are released? For a card to be PCMCIA 2.01 compliant, it must have a validCard Information Structure (CIS). As our software uses the CIS information to configure the card, any card which is PCMCIA compliant will automatically be recognized and supported by our software. In addition, AWARD/VMI has established a Card Review Program designed to promote the review and testing of card manufacturers' CIS with Cardware. How do you update the CARDWARE.INI file? What is the information format so that I ( anend-user) can modify it or troubleshoot it? When a card is inserted for the first time, the end user is prompted for how he/she would like to configure the use of the card. This configuration information is stored in the CARDWARE.INI file. An end user can modify this file through the use of a text editor program. How do I get Windows to recognize that a modem or LAN card has been installed so that I can use it with my application software. Specifically, how do I get COM (etc.) ports to be recognized as active? When Windows loads, it performs a hardware detection. Hence, a COM port card MUST be inserted in the system before Windows is loaded so that the COM port 'X' will be recognized as active. After Windows is launched, you can remove and insert cards as desired. Glossary Adapter The hardware which connects a computer bus to PC Card sockets. Also: Certain PC Cards are commonly called adapters. Associated The description of the relationship between a device definition and a card definition. Cardware uses associated device definitions to determine how to configure a PC Card with the appropriate system resources . ATA Acronym for AT Attachment specification. The industry standard for interfacing to hard drives with Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) Card A PCMCIA-compliant card. Also known as a PC Card . Card Definition Card Definitions are used by Cardware to determine how to configure a PC Card . A definition includes a card name, information from the Card Information Structure (CIS) that is used to recognize the card when it is inserted, and a list of associated device definitions Card Type The type of function performed by a PC Card . Examples are: ATA hard drive, Network Adapter, Parallel Port, Serial Port and Other. Configure The act of programming a socket and PC Card for use in a system. When a PC Card is inserted, Cardware uses a card definition to recognize the card. Once a card is recognized, associated device definitions are used to determine the system resource required and how the card is configured. Device A term applied to a peripheral in a computer system. Examples are hard drives, serial ports and network adapters. Devices require system resources to perform the function they provide. Device Definition A device definition is a collection of system resources that a PC Card uses when it is configured by Cardware. Device Type The card type the device definition is intended to support. Card definitions may only be associated with device definitions of the same type. Different device types use different combinations of system resources . IDE Acronym for Integrated Drive Electronics. Used to describe hard drives with an on-board controller. The interface to the controller is described in the ATA specification. Generic PC Cards may contain information that allows Cardware to determine the type of functionality they perform. If this information is available, Cardware does not require that a specific card definition be developed to allow the card to be used. Instead, Cardware configures the card based upon a generic card definition appropriate to the card's type. Generic card recognition greatly reduces the number of specific card definitions required and allows a class of devices to be handled in a standard manner with automatic configuration from the first insertion. Currently, Cardware recognizes two types of cards generically. These are ATA hard drives and serial ports. All PC Cards recognized as ATA drives are automatically configured by Cardware using the device definitions associated with the ATA Drive card definition. A number of PC Cards use a serial port interface. These cards include FAX/Data modems and GPS receivers. If Cardware detects the insertion of a FAX/Data modem, and the card has information identifying it as a serial port, Cardware uses the device definitions associated with the Generic Modem card definition to configure the PC Card. GPS Acronym for Global Positioning System. GPS is a navigational system using satellites. GPS receivers may be implemented as PC Cards . GPS PC Cards are typically built using a Serial Port for an interface. Hot Spot An area on the display screen where clicking with a mouse results in moving to another area of the help file. The cursor changes from an arrow to a small hand when positioned over a hot spot. Hot Swap Inserting a PC Card in the socket while the computer is on is called Hot Swapping. To insert a modem into the expansion channel bus inside your computer requires you to turn off the power (among other things). With most PC Cards, you plug them in and play them, - the HOT SWAP. Interrupts Interrupts are used to get the system's attention. If a PC Card generates interrupts, Cardware configures the card socket to route the card's interrupt signal to an available Interrupt ReQuest (IRQ) level in the system. See also: System Resources I/O Ports Ports have a port number, or address, and are used to pass information to and from peripheral devices. Port address space is separate from memory address space. Cardware configures PC Cards with I/O ports to use unoccupied port address space. See also: System Resources Memory Memory is the place used to store information while it is being worked on. Computer memory is organized as a number on individual locations each identified by an address. Memory address space is all of the locations each identified by an address. The memory address space is often much larger than the actual amount of memory available to store information. Cardware configures PC Cards to use the unoccupied address space in what DOS refers to as the upper memory area. See also: System Resources PC Card Term used to describe cards compliant with the PCMCIA PC Card Standard. About the size of a credit card, but varying in thickness, they plug into a 68-pin socket to expand the capability of your system. PC Cards can add additional storage using memory devices or ATA hard drives. Other types of cards are specialized devices, like modems, network adapters or GPS receivers. Some cards are actually interfaces through which your system can access additional devices . PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association has created and documented a series of specifications to allow you to plug in and use almost any compliant PC Card. The new age of, ... Plug it in - it WORKS! Recognized For Cardware, recognized means the a PC Card may be identified when it is inserted. A PC Card must be recognized before it can be configured using an associated device definition . Socket The 68-pin receptacle into which the PC Card is inserted to make physical and electrical connection to the PC Card adapter. System Resources A system interacts with its world through three resources: Memory, interrupts and I/O ports . Device definitions describe the set of resources used by a PC Card once it is configured . Tuple Significant Card Information Structure Tuples are special fields in the internal memory of certain PC Cards. These tuples describe the configurable characteristics of Memory-Only and I/O Cards. WAV Files A WAV file is a file of digitized sound (like on a CD). Because the extention of the file name (the three characters following the period in the file name) is .WAV (e.g. SOUNDS.WAV) these segments of sound have become known as WAV files. These can be purchased on computer CDs and played through special equipment which can be installed in your computer. More and more computers are being manufactured with this hardware built in. If your computer is so equipped, PC Card Control for Windows gives you the option of playing a WAV file you have selected when it notifies you of an Event.Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.