Posted By
SVS
on 2004-10-26
11:49:53
 |  X1541 cable and WinXP
Is existing a way to make working the cable (any version) under Win XP, or you almost need to run DosBox?
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Posted By
Nightbird
on 2004-10-26
13:45:27
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Hi SVS!
To the best of my knowledge and tests regarding several .sys files to enable communication between the LPT port using low level IRQ, there is no way to use the cable under Windows XP because of internal security issues (even without Service Packs).
The files you could try are documented in the program -which name I don't remember now-, but you use it too under DOS...Sorry, I hope you know what program I'm talking about...
Ciao!
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Posted By
Crown
on 2004-10-26
17:56:29
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Wait till cbm4win comes out, could be pretty soon actually...
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2004-10-26
21:46:51
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
What's that? Google returns only one hit for the term cbm4win, googlewhack! Seriously, do you have a link to provide, or some further info?
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2004-10-27
04:33:00
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Csabo: That's the Windows port of cbm4linux plus the necessary kernel level drivers to get things going under Windows NT based operating systems. It's currently in a non public alpha stage.
SVS: you will not be able to use the cable under DOSBox or any other DOS emulators for that matter. Even if you solve the problem of the inaccessible parallel port, the serial disk I/O requires very accurate timing which can not be guaranteeed for any programs running in user mode. So the only solution is to write a kernel level driver running in ring 0 mode of the processor.
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Posted By
SVS
on 2004-10-27
05:01:01
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
StarCommander has an "asynchronos mode" to operate that I was able to use under Win98 SE without to run a true DOS restart. With any application running and switching to fullscreen I had little problems to read/write CBM disks (the same one with 64HDD).
Of course I had an SPP parallel port and a X1541 cable. Pls confirm me if THIS is the ramaining problem after I have connected a XE1541 cable.
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Posted By
Gaia
on 2004-10-27
05:41:07
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Win98 and XP are working totally differently inside, so that's no indication if you had the cable working under Win98. You could indeed get Star Commander going under Win98 but it's usually just too unstable under XP even with the tweak package. On a sidenote, using an Ethernet card just makes things even more unstable as the card interrupts the OS way too often for any realtime app to work reliably. You could possibly try disabling your Ethernet card (if applicable) and see if it gets better, but I sill have my doubts.
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Posted By
TLC
on 2004-10-27
07:16:10
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
SVS:
There are several different problems regarding either the parallel ports of the new(er) pc's or the operating systems (or both).
On the operating system's side: SC was originally designed for DOS. It simply needed the single task/single user environment for its realtime tasks. Later, async transfer modes were introduced that are mostly able to work even in a dos window of Win95 or '98 (they're less / not dependent on precise timing). With NT, 2k and XP there's another problem, however: these forbid DOS programs to use direct hardware access. With some utilities, it's possible, though.
The cables have more to do with the parallel ports. Back in the old days  most pins of the parallel ports, if not all were bidirectional. X1541 depends on this feature. Later, the pins used in the X1541 cable became unidirectional, that's why the X1541 mostly won't work on anything later than different P1 models, in any parallel port modes. XE1541 was introduced as a work-around for this.
Someone then figured out (I don't remember the author) that it could be possible to make the 1541 handler at least partly interrupt driven, and for that, he modified the XE1541 so that the CLK line will be connected to a pin that can generate interrupt requests. This is XM1541.
Finally, there were parallel ports that were "weak" in the electronic sense so they can't even sufficiently drive the 1541 serial bus. For those, the XA1541 was introduced. (In these, the lines are driven by transistors; in previous cables, the active components are schottky diodes).
So... If your computer was physically able to drive an 1541 with an X1541 cable, then you could use that one, after you "hacked" the XP to allow SC to see the parallel port. (But I'm afraid, it's not).
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Posted By
SVS
on 2004-10-27
08:34:48
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Many thanx to all you, pals.
So the lone chance I have seems to be to format a partition with Win98 (or even DOS). In this case, will the XE1541 cable be able to manage a "modern" parallel port?
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Posted By
TLC
on 2004-10-27
08:53:00
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Yes, most probably. (The only exception would be if your computer featured an "electrically weak" parallel port; but AFAIK those are pretty rare; so the answer is 99% "yes").
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Posted By
Nightbird
on 2004-10-27
09:15:02
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
If there are some volunteers to write a ring 0 driver under NT systems, a good start would be the look at the source of Icedump for SoftIce...Perhaps one could try it :D
See you!
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Posted By
Luca
on 2004-10-27
09:21:59
 | Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
OMG ppl, no jokes! 
I'd just installed Windows XP, 'cause I need a DVD dl (R+) recorder, that won't work on my beloved 98SE. This because you can add a Windows NT/2000/XP tweak package for the famous Star Commander, in order to use it in XP.
I'll try in few days, hope I won't have an heartache! 
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Posted By
SVS
on 2004-10-28
02:45:38
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
People, I've just received a reply from Joe F (StarCommander) where he tells me that the combo of last beta 0.83 of SC and the Tweak package, allows good probabilities to well operate under XP 
[Luca] what cable do you own?
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Posted By
Luca
on 2004-10-28
07:23:34
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Eheheh.
My old X1541, a very simple one I built by myself in 1994.
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Posted By
Ulysses777
on 2004-10-28
14:33:35
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
You have a computer that can handle an X1541 and is powerful enough to run WinXP?
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Posted By
SVS
on 2004-10-29
08:48:17
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
>>Gaia >> So the only solution is to write a kernel level driver running in ring 0 mode of the processor.
You, and other ppl, will be happy to know that a driver is already existing. It's named "UserPort" and its author (Joe F.) is coding the version 2.
Be patient
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Posted By
Luca
on 2004-10-29
20:09:07
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
I'd just upgraded my 98SE to XP, and I'm efforting 1strun trojans, malware and the complete loss of windowing after few minutes of netsurfing. I hope in SP2 installation...
But! Before being blocked as any of my executables, my 1541 friendly talks with my peecee via X1541 and StarCommander+tweaking!
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Posted By
Luca
on 2004-10-31
12:35:56
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Ok, the 1541 is connected via X1541. But there are serious problems with the DOS emulation in XP: after some moves, the program itself freezes.
At the moment, I'm able to copy short single files, with a bit of luck, but disk copies stop after few tracks.
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Posted By
Csabo
on 2004-10-31
13:42:20
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
That sounds about right to me: that's all I was ever able to achieve with Star Commander and XP. Did you set the transfer to async? Did you give access to those ports?
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Posted By
Luca
on 2004-10-31
18:22:54
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Obviously yes. The problem is not the cable, but the XP/DOS timing emulation, I think.
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Posted By
SVS
on 2004-11-02
02:37:38
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
Luca:
a) what tweak-drive have you installed? (UserPort or the other one?)
b) Had tried with DosBox?
Bye
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Posted By
Luca
on 2004-11-02
18:16:25
| Re: X1541 cable and WinXP
UserPort (GiveIO is generally dedicated to NT systems).
DOSbox? Maybe the best attempt we can do is to use a nice DOS bootdisk!
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