OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - Technical > Hardware

Quatech SSP-100 Serial Port PCMCIA in ArcaOS

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ExPLIT:

--- Quote from: Doug Bissett on March 16, 2021, 05:55:11 pm ---I have been sort of following this, but it is not entirely clear what you are really trying to do.

I have two PCMCIA modems, that do work fine (well, I no longer have a telephone line to connect them to, but ZOC communicates with them), when I take the time to set it up properly (they are just serial ports, with a modem attached). PCMCIA is very sensitive to the order of the lines in CONFIG.SYS, and you probably need the /VW switch on the ACPI.PSD line (if you use ACPI.PSD, which you probably should). You would need the proper PCMCIA driver (sounds like you might have that, but see below), and the COM driver (use PSCOM.SYS). All that does (is supposed to do) is create a normal COM port. Check that with the MODE command. Then, if you need software (if any) for the attached device, you need the OS/2 version (a windows driver isn't going to work).

That may be a "pretend" PCMCIA adapter. I found this information for IBM Thinkpads: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Ricoh_R5C476. Since your machine is actually quite new (in the life span of PCMCIA), you may have one of them (which would require it's own driver, probably not available for OS/2). In ArcaOS go to a command and run C:\sys\install\DETECT\pci.exe to get a list of what is actually attached (be sure to attach everything, then boot, then run the program). That should tell you which PCMCIA controller you actually have. Redirect the output to a file, and post it here.

ArcaOS does not install everything that you will need, but they do supply what is available for supporting the base PCMCIA. You need to supply any other OS/2 drivers that may be required, and add appropriate lines to CONFIG.SYS. It is in the DOCS, but the DOCS are ancient, and they don't tell you the whole story. I suggest getting my LCSS (Logical Config.Sys Sort - it is at HOBBES) to be sure that the lines are in the proper order, and position, in CONFIG.SYS. Also be aware, that "old notebooks" may have more than one serial port built in (possibly only used when attached to a dock). You may also need to have it all connected when you boot so it can do a proper configuration.

You might have better luck (and better performance) with a USB serial adapter, but be sure to get one that is known to actually work. I have a Belkin branded one, that almost works, but it depends on what you actually use it for. Years ago, I was able to operate a modem, but it didn't work with my UPS, or when trying to do a serial port trace.

--- End quote ---

Thank you for the answers. I will check your LCSS and post afterwards. Thanks for your advices, pretty all of them are solved, ton of the showstopper might be the propper order of the lines in the config.sys

Mark Szkolnicki:
Hi There ExPLIT


--- Quote from: ExPLIT on December 13, 2021, 03:20:45 am ---Hello guys. Need to reopen this topic again. After Update to ArcaOS 5.0.7.7 my PCMCIA Configuration is somehow back to default, and i am not able to activate my SSP-10 again the same way i did it before.

I know PCMCIA and OS/2 / ArcaOS is pain in the ass, but maybe someone can just point me out the main things.

My questions are rather simple:
As i found out earlier, the standard ArcaOS PCMCIA Driver (PCMCIA.SYS) is not the newest.I think its IBM Card Services Version 5.0.
Read somewhere, that the "CardBus Socket Services Version 8.0" ffrom IBM from the Yar 2004 are somehow "broken"
Is that the case, why ArcaOS didnt implement them?



After PCMCIA Installation many drivers are loaded in the config.sys, what thees drivers do, where i can read, what are they for, which parameters theu use etc.

BASEDEV=PCMCIA.SYS /V /R:500

REM (Intel PCMCIA Driver, which recognize my Ricoh Ricoh R5C476(II) just fine
REM BASEDEV=SS2PCIC1.SYS

REM (Intel PCMCIA Driver, which is also compatible with my Ricoh Ricoh R5C476(II)
BASEDEV=SSPCIC.SYS /E /AP:ON /BE:AUTO /VS:AUTO /II:OFF /IN:ON

BASEDEV=AUTODRV1.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\VPCMCIA.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\PCMSSDIF.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\PCM2SRAM.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\PCM2FLSH.SYS

BASEDEV=PCM2ATA.ADD /S:2 /!DM / NOBEEP
BASEDEV=OS2PCCARD.DMD



PS: At the moment my Quatech SSP-100 Serial Port PCMCIA Card got the Power, but is recognized as Memory card and not as SSP-100 and i think, the Bridge (or Socket) didnt get the IRQ.
On Windows i got IRQ 20 and 21 for my CardBus Controller (Slots)
IRQ 20 is shared with Realtek LAN Chip.

How i can force the driver to get IRQ 20 and 21?

Thanks

--- End quote ---

I'm coming into this conversation very late, but will provide some thoughts on this.

First of all, I have installed and used a Quatech ESC-100D card about twelve years ago. It is an internal PCI card which added extra Com Ports in the system (as many as eight) and could be used in addition to the serial ports which may have been installed already - at one point I had COM 1 to 11 available in one computer, all still working now (as to the reason originally  - don't ask).

ArcaOS is based on OS/2 and is really a very old OS - it does not play around with IRQ's very well and does not address the high numbered ones available on newer Windows versions, especially for many of these legacy items (like old communication ports) - it usually expects to see IRQ's in the classical places from the 80's.

Being a troubleshooter by nature and profession, I think this problem needs to be addressed methodically, from the beginning as I think we're going all over the board here.

First of all, about the computer your doing this on .............. whats in it?

1) Are you sure it doesn't have a serial port or ports already present? (up to just a few years ago, there was always built-in serial ports still present)

2) If so, what IRQ's are they using? (usually 3 or 4)

I ask because with the ESC-100D, the QCOM.SYS and QVCOM.SYS drivers are direct replacements for ArcaOS/eComstation/OS2 COM.SYS (Host System) and VCOM.SYS (DOS emulation) - the parameters you were describing, if they are for a serial port implementation seem weird to me - my memory may be foggy, but  I seem to recall IRQ 11 was used by parallel ports, not serial (correct me if I'm wrong guys). That may be giving ArcaOS indigestion.

These are the parameters I used in my config.sys for the Quatech ESC-100D
(And only after I REMMED out COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS)

I will use X to specify the drive - your X may be different than mine:

Device=X:\OS2\BOOT\QCOM.SYS (1,3F8,4) (ESC-100D,5)
Device=X:\OS2\MDOS\QVCOM.SYS

These statements on my system were added directly after the place where COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS statements were in CONFIG.SYS. If you place the substitute Quatech drivers in those same directories and use the CONFIG statements above, they should load fine. I actually have third party drivers in other locations on my systems, so I will not go into the statements I normally use myself.

The first parameter (1,3F8,4) is I suspect the only one you need, as it addresses the legacy COM 1-4 for the Quatech driver QCOM - the second parameter asks the ESC-100D to also address the additional COM ports for that specific Quatech board, which is not applicable here.

I think if PCMCIA identifies your card correctly, then it will load as one of COM 1-4 as the Quatech card.

To my knowledge you do not need to have a parameter to address either VCOM or QVCOM, as the driver is emulating what you placed in COM or QCOM - if you are not planning to use ArcaOS DOS sessions, I suspect that can be REMMED out as well.

However, I think you definitely need to get PCMCIA working, and loaded correctly first - you listed many statements in your CONFIG.SYS above for PCMCIA but, unless you have wide variety of cards (Hard Drives, Extra Memory, etc. etc) your going to use, then essentially you don't need all of them and they can be REMMED out.

PCMCIA has become somewhat of a dinosaur, and your SSP-100 is responding in all those different ways, I suspect, because of those extra loaded drivers wanting to claim that card, when plugged in, thinking it applies to them - as Doug mentioned you probably need to just load base PCMCIA and either a generic or perhaps the specific Quatech driver that addresses just your card.

Its been quite a while since I last configured PCMCIA but if you have no other serial ports on the portable, PCMCIA may need to be loaded before QCOM or QVCOM. Not sure about that, and would have to look it up.

I am going to spend some time having a look at PCMCIA v5 tomorrow, as I have more things to do today - but perhaps some of these suggestions will help get your Quatech serial card both identified and running.

Best to you!

Mark

Mark Szkolnicki:
Good Morning ExPLIT!


--- Quote from: ExPLIT on December 13, 2021, 03:20:45 am ---
Hello guys. Need to reopen this topic again. After Update to ArcaOS 5.0.7.7 my PCMCIA Configuration is somehow back to default, and i am not able to activate my SSP-10 again the same way i did it before.


--- End quote ---

I assume you chose the option to update your previous installation to the most current version of ArcaOS (5.0.7).

Doing that, the installer will install what it "believes" is the most "current" upgrades, based on what was installed previously. It sounds like the installer found the PCMCIA installation you did manually, and which worked, and overwrote those drivers, with the ones in its package, essentially putting you back in the same situation you were in when you previously installed the ones provided by ArcaOS (and which did not work).

I would reinstall what previously worked for you (the v5 drivers from Hobbes) that allowed the card to be recognized as CardBus and then try the parameters I suggested in CONFIG.SYS for QCOM.SYS, in my previous post.

After installing the upgrade to 5.0.7 I too had some problems but with the UniAud upgrade, which meant I had no sound. Reverting to what worked previously (an earlier version of UniAud) solved the problem.

The ArcaOS Upgrade Installer is only doing what it is programmed to do (ie. making sure everything is the most current). Sometimes that doesn't necessarily mean its "better".

Best!

Mark

ExPLIT:
Thanks for the info, will try!

ExPLIT:

--- Quote from: Mark Szkolnicki on December 27, 2021, 11:45:23 pm ---Hi There ExPLIT


--- Quote from: ExPLIT on December 13, 2021, 03:20:45 am ---Hello guys. Need to reopen this topic again. After Update to ArcaOS 5.0.7.7 my PCMCIA Configuration is somehow back to default, and i am not able to activate my SSP-10 again the same way i did it before.

I know PCMCIA and OS/2 / ArcaOS is pain in the ass, but maybe someone can just point me out the main things.

My questions are rather simple:
As i found out earlier, the standard ArcaOS PCMCIA Driver (PCMCIA.SYS) is not the newest.I think its IBM Card Services Version 5.0.
Read somewhere, that the "CardBus Socket Services Version 8.0" ffrom IBM from the Yar 2004 are somehow "broken"
Is that the case, why ArcaOS didnt implement them?



After PCMCIA Installation many drivers are loaded in the config.sys, what thees drivers do, where i can read, what are they for, which parameters theu use etc.

BASEDEV=PCMCIA.SYS /V /R:500

REM (Intel PCMCIA Driver, which recognize my Ricoh Ricoh R5C476(II) just fine
REM BASEDEV=SS2PCIC1.SYS

REM (Intel PCMCIA Driver, which is also compatible with my Ricoh Ricoh R5C476(II)
BASEDEV=SSPCIC.SYS /E /AP:ON /BE:AUTO /VS:AUTO /II:OFF /IN:ON

BASEDEV=AUTODRV1.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\VPCMCIA.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\PCMSSDIF.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\PCM2SRAM.SYS
DEVICE=D:\OS2\MDOS\PCM2FLSH.SYS

BASEDEV=PCM2ATA.ADD /S:2 /!DM / NOBEEP
BASEDEV=OS2PCCARD.DMD



PS: At the moment my Quatech SSP-100 Serial Port PCMCIA Card got the Power, but is recognized as Memory card and not as SSP-100 and i think, the Bridge (or Socket) didnt get the IRQ.
On Windows i got IRQ 20 and 21 for my CardBus Controller (Slots)
IRQ 20 is shared with Realtek LAN Chip.

How i can force the driver to get IRQ 20 and 21?

Thanks

--- End quote ---

I'm coming into this conversation very late, but will provide some thoughts on this.

First of all, I have installed and used a Quatech ESC-100D card about twelve years ago. It is an internal PCI card which added extra Com Ports in the system (as many as eight) and could be used in addition to the serial ports which may have been installed already - at one point I had COM 1 to 11 available in one computer, all still working now (as to the reason originally  - don't ask).

ArcaOS is based on OS/2 and is really a very old OS - it does not play around with IRQ's very well and does not address the high numbered ones available on newer Windows versions, especially for many of these legacy items (like old communication ports) - it usually expects to see IRQ's in the classical places from the 80's.

Being a troubleshooter by nature and profession, I think this problem needs to be addressed methodically, from the beginning as I think we're going all over the board here.

First of all, about the computer your doing this on .............. whats in it?

1) Are you sure it doesn't have a serial port or ports already present? (up to just a few years ago, there was always built-in serial ports still present)

2) If so, what IRQ's are they using? (usually 3 or 4)

I ask because with the ESC-100D, the QCOM.SYS and QVCOM.SYS drivers are direct replacements for ArcaOS/eComstation/OS2 COM.SYS (Host System) and VCOM.SYS (DOS emulation) - the parameters you were describing, if they are for a serial port implementation seem weird to me - my memory may be foggy, but  I seem to recall IRQ 11 was used by parallel ports, not serial (correct me if I'm wrong guys). That may be giving ArcaOS indigestion.

These are the parameters I used in my config.sys for the Quatech ESC-100D
(And only after I REMMED out COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS)

I will use X to specify the drive - your X may be different than mine:

Device=X:\OS2\BOOT\QCOM.SYS (1,3F8,4) (ESC-100D,5)
Device=X:\OS2\MDOS\QVCOM.SYS

These statements on my system were added directly after the place where COM.SYS and VCOM.SYS statements were in CONFIG.SYS. If you place the substitute Quatech drivers in those same directories and use the CONFIG statements above, they should load fine. I actually have third party drivers in other locations on my systems, so I will not go into the statements I normally use myself.

The first parameter (1,3F8,4) is I suspect the only one you need, as it addresses the legacy COM 1-4 for the Quatech driver QCOM - the second parameter asks the ESC-100D to also address the additional COM ports for that specific Quatech board, which is not applicable here.

I think if PCMCIA identifies your card correctly, then it will load as one of COM 1-4 as the Quatech card.

To my knowledge you do not need to have a parameter to address either VCOM or QVCOM, as the driver is emulating what you placed in COM or QCOM - if you are not planning to use ArcaOS DOS sessions, I suspect that can be REMMED out as well.

However, I think you definitely need to get PCMCIA working, and loaded correctly first - you listed many statements in your CONFIG.SYS above for PCMCIA but, unless you have wide variety of cards (Hard Drives, Extra Memory, etc. etc) your going to use, then essentially you don't need all of them and they can be REMMED out.

PCMCIA has become somewhat of a dinosaur, and your SSP-100 is responding in all those different ways, I suspect, because of those extra loaded drivers wanting to claim that card, when plugged in, thinking it applies to them - as Doug mentioned you probably need to just load base PCMCIA and either a generic or perhaps the specific Quatech driver that addresses just your card.

Its been quite a while since I last configured PCMCIA but if you have no other serial ports on the portable, PCMCIA may need to be loaded before QCOM or QVCOM. Not sure about that, and would have to look it up.

I am going to spend some time having a look at PCMCIA v5 tomorrow, as I have more things to do today - but perhaps some of these suggestions will help get your Quatech serial card both identified and running.

Best to you!

Mark

--- End quote ---

Thanks for the info Mark, the main Problem is, that the CardBus does not getting an IRQ.
Will look what is the case for this bug.

Under Windows the cardbus adapter is using IRQ 20 and 21 for every Socket. I have only one PCMCIA socket on my JVC MP-XV941, but the SD-Card-Slot is hanging on the same Ricoh CardBUS Controller and is initialized as a second cardbus slot.

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