VIA WCE X86 IDE Driver Installation Guide
1/4/2000
Copyright (C) 1999,2000 VIA Technologies, INC.
1. Release note
This software package release is version 1.1. The IDE driver,
though only operating in PIO Mode, is capable of simultaneously
supporting up to 4 IDE ATA devices including any combination of
hard disk, Disk-On-Module (DOM), and SanDisk.
With VIA's FreeBoot 1.1 or later, the IDE driver is capable of
preventing the primary partition of an IDE booting device from
any file insertion and deletion. This write protection feature
enables OEM's to safely keep essential, read-only system files
on any IDE ATA booting device, without worrying about them being
accidentally altered by end users. In addition, through VIA's
customized IO Control interface, the IDE driver adds extra
flexibility in permitting OEM's to update files in the protected
partition. OEM's may refer to a sample utility program
(source code included) for further customization, such as
persistent registry management, upgrades of system files, and
software package installation.
The driver operates on any Windows CE X86-based platform using
VIA's chipsets or VIA's network controllers. The IDE driver
works properly with Microsoft Windows CE 2.11 & 2.12, and
it should work for later versions of Windows CE.
2. Revision note
Features supported but different from Version 1.0 are
described below:
(1) Add the support for IDE SanDisk device.
(2) Add an write protection option on the primary partition
of a booting IDE storage device when using with VIA's
FreeBoot 1.1 or later.
(3) Add a customized IO Control interface in the IDE driver,
permitting file updates in the protected partition when
using with VIA's FreeBoot 1.1 or later.
3. File descriptions
The package contains 11 files as described below.
\debug\VIAIDE DLL 51,552 12-30-99 11:53 driver debug version
\debug\VIAIDE MAP 37,715 12-30-99 11:53 debug map file
\debug\VIAIDE PDB 217,088 12-30-99 11:53 debug pdb file
\retail\VIAIDE DLL 18,801 12-30-99 11:54 driver retail version
\src\FB_WPROT C 2,085 12-30-99 14:46 write protection utility
source for using VIA's
FreeBoot bootloader
\src\FB_WPROT RC 2,810 01-03-00 18:37 RC source file
\src\RESOURCE H 679 12-30-99 10:44 H source file
FB_WPROT EXE 5,120 01-03-00 18:37 write protection utility
for using VIA's
FreeBoot bootloader
PLATFORM REG 257 08-23-99 18:07 sample platform.reg file
PLATFORM BIB 77 08-13-99 11:08 sample platform.bib file
README TXT this readme file
4. Assume the target platform is named VIACEPC and the Windows
CE 2.12 MAXALL configuration is used for an initial evaluation
of the IDE driver. Step-by-step installation and test instructions
are described below.
5. Copy files to directory \Wince212\release
For a retail build, copy the following two files:
\retail\VIAIDE.DLL
FB_WPROT.EXE
For a debug build, copy the following four files:
\debug\VIAIDE.DLL
\debug\VIAIDE.MAP
\debug\VIAIDE.PDB
FB_WPROT.EXE
6. Update bib file in directory \Wince212\release
To include the driver into NK.bin, in the platform.bib file
add the following three lines:
IF CEPC_IDE
VIAIDE.dll $(_FLATRELEASEDIR)\VIAIDE.dll NK SH
ENDIF
A sample platform.bib file is included for your reference.
For users of FreeBoot 1.1 or later, to include the write
protection utility program into NK.bin, add an extra line:
FBWPROT.EXE $(_FLATRELEASEDIR)\FB_WPROT.EXE NK
7. Update registry in directory \Wince212\release
In the platform.reg file, add the following registry settings:
IF CEPC_IDE
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Drivers\BuiltIn\VIAIDE]
"Dll"="VIAIDE.dll"
"Prefix"="DSK"
"Order"=dword:4
"Entry"="VIAIDEReg"
"Keep"=dword:1
"FSD"="FATFS.dll"
"Folder"="IDEDSK"
ENDIF
The first 6 registry keys are mandatory and you may not modify
them. The last key "Folder" is optional; if you do not use it,
the default folder name is "Storage Card"; you may modify only
this to suit your needs.
A sample platform.reg file is included for your reference.
8. Set the environment variable CEPC_IDE to 1.
9. Execute "Makeimg" to have a binary image.
10. System boot
Two options are available:
(1) Using VIA's FreeBoot 1.1 or later
Refer to "VIA WCE X86 FreeBoot Utility User's Guide"
Ver 1.1 or later for system booting from an IDE ATA device
with the write protection option enabled. The booting device
may locate at primary master, primary slave, secondary
master, or secondary slave, as specified by the BIOS settings.
(2) Using other bootloaders
For example, use "LoadCEPC" to download the binary image
to your target platform with an IDE ATA device attached.
Note the write protection option on the primary partition
of a booting IDE storage device is unavailable.
11. Basic testing
Execute "Windows Explorer" to display "IDEDSK" file folder,
indicating the success on installing the IDE driver.
For users of VIA's FreeBoot 1.1 or later with the write
protection feature enabled, try to delete or save a file in
that folder. An error message of "Error Deleting File" or
"Error Copying File" will pop up, indicating the write
protection feature is enabled. Run the "FBWPROT" utility
and press the "OFF" button to disable the write protection
feature; confirm you could delete or save any file in that
folder. Press the "ON" button to enable the write protection
feature; confirm you could no longer delete or save any file
in that folder.
12. Known limitation with PCMCIA ATA cards
As a standard PCMCIA card specification, an X86-based target
platform is limited to two PCMCIA ATA cards. The PCMCIA ATA
driver will first use the secondary I/O port range in order
to avoid conflicts with the primary IDE drive(s) already in
your system. Therefore, three options are possible:
(1) Up to two primary IDE drives and one PCMCIA ATA card
(2) Up to four primary and secondary IDE drives and no
PCMCIA ATA card
(3) No IDE drives and two PCMCIA ATA cards
Note if your system has at least one secondary IDE drive and
you insert a PCMCIA ATA card, collision will not be detected.
Such a collision may result in data loss on your secondary
IDE drive(s) or the ATA card.
13. Trouble shooting
In case you encounter any problem, first connect the debug
port in your target Windows CE platform to a serial port in
your PC-based NT development platform, e.g. with communication
parameters {38400, n, 8, 1}. Make a debug build binary image
and download it to your target platform. Dump related debug
messages and then contact VIA's representatives for further
technical assistance.
14. Quality assurance
The software package has been tested by the RWTEST program,
shipped along with Windows CE 2.11. The RWTEST program performs
stress tests for disk reads and writes. This release passed all
the tests.
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.