[Louisda16th]

I upgraded to Windows 7 a few days back. Now I have this software which is used to burn programs to an 8051 microcontroller. It used to work perfectly in Windows XP but now it won't work in Windows 7. The software can be downloaded here (187KB): http://www.kmitl.ac....eb/Pgm89v31.zip

In windows XP, the file PORTTALK.SYS must be copied to Windows\System32\drivers\ and you need to use the batch file to run the program. This doesn't work for Win 7.

I've tried using compatibility mode and run the programs as administrator as well. This does not solve the problem either. Also, the following messages are displayed if I run the batch file in DOS:

Quote

AllowIO for PortTalk V2.0
Copyright 2002 Craig Peacock
http://www.beyondlogic.org
PortTalk: You do not have rights to access the Service Control Manager and
PortTalk: the PortTalk driver is not installed or started. Please ask
PortTalk: your administrator to install the driver on your behalf.
PortTalk: Couldn't access PortTalk Driver, Please ensure driver is loaded.

Is there any way I can get this to work?

Thanks!

This post has been edited by Louisda16th: 06 September 2009 - 11:49 AM

[RudiVisser]

Have you tried using the Windows XP Compatibility Mode (I mean the actual emulator not just in properties).. I'm not sure if it applies to drivers or not, but worth a shot

[Louisda16th]

My processor isn't capable of hardware virtualization. Its an AMD Athlon 3200+ (939 Socket)

[Louisda16th]

Another idea...
Is there any Virtualization software that has a parallel port interface in it. I know that VirtualBox and Virtual PC don't support it. Is there any other software which has a parallel port interface?

[RudiVisser]

Wait what?? I don't think the XP Compatibility thing requires virtualisation does it?

[ccubed]

Steps to reconcile the problem:

1. Turn off UAC
2. Now Try Again
3. You should be good

Alternative:
1. Run as admin

UAC is an annoyance still in 7. The only thing they did was tone it down and give it a pretty new interface.

If that doesn't work, then you might need to register the driver. I imagine Windows wouldn't let just ANY driver run when it's placed in system32 as a precaution. Basically, it's a UAC problem. Just turn it off though. Windows Firewall is generally good and as long as you have good Virus/Spyware protection you'll be fine without it.

[Louisda16th]

@MageUK I believe so. This is what Help and Support says:

Quote

Windows XP Mode requirements
Running Windows XP Mode requires:

Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions.

A computer capable of hardware virtualization. This means your computer has a central processing unit (CPU) with either Intel-VT or AMD-V virtualization features.

Virtualization features turned on in your computer’s basic input/output system (BIOS).

@ccubed Disabling UAC didn't work either

[Louisda16th]

To add to that, the messages are now different (i.e. when I run Pgm89XP.bat in DOS)

Quote

AllowIO for PortTalk V2.0
Copyright 2002 Craig Peacock
http://www.beyondlogic.org
PortTalk: Unknown error while starting PortTalk driver service.
PortTalk: Does PortTalk.SYS exist in your \System32\Drivers Directory?
PortTalk: Couldn't access PortTalk Driver, Please ensure driver is loaded.

[ccubed]

Try this. Put porttalk.sys in the directory where the exe is, then put it in that system32/drivers one and then put it in system32. If it doesn't find it then, well, give up. Sorry.

Also, as a minor aside, you /are/ running 32 bit right?

This post has been edited by ccubed: 08 September 2009 - 02:17 PM

[Louisda16th]

Tried. Didn't work. I'm using 64-bit.

Even Xilinx doesn't work. It can't burn programs to my CPLD board. I'm downloading the latest version now. Will have to check with that.

Im sure there should be some sort of virtualization software in which I could install Win XP. Maybe in linux?

[ccubed]

Louisda16th, on 8 Sep, 2009 - 06:26 PM, said:

I'm using 64-bit.

In that case, we have a whole slew of options.

1) The program doesn't even support 64 bit.
2) For whatever reason, the program isn't looking where it says it is.
3) Tough luck?

If you're lucky, it will use a registry value to point to the driver, otherwise it may just not work. What does it do though? I bet I can name an alternative. Also, if you want CD/DVD iso making software go take a look at ImgBurn, it's pretty amazing.

Also..Uhm...Xilinx? I thought we were talking win 7 64bit?

[Louisda16th]

Well both Xilinx and this software use my parallel port. Xilinx programs my CPLD board and the other software (link in post #1) burns HEX files to my 8051 (actually AT89C51) microcontroller. The programming hardware's circuit is also in that link. I need both of these to work.

Meanwhile, I'm going to try installing windows xp in qemu or use WINE and see if that works. I've read that I can access the parallel port through them.

This post has been edited by Louisda16th: 09 September 2009 - 09:40 AM

[RudiVisser]

http://download.micr...PMode_en-us.exe

I still don't see why you can't use that, I don't believe your processor doesn't support virtualisation, it's been around since P4.

This post has been edited by MageUK: 09 September 2009 - 05:31 AM

[Louisda16th]

The help and support in Windows says so. But I'll give it a shot. I hope it works. Thanks

[Louisda16th]

Aaaargh! 400+ MB download. This is going to take some time