LAVA: Forums - Serial & Parallel Cards

DSerial-PCIe/LP Port lockup/unresponsive

Fri, 13 May 2016 02:47:26 +0000

Hi all,

I've got a bit of an issue with a pair of DSerial-PCIe/LP cards i have installed in a Dell OptiPlex 7020 SFF with Windows 7 x64 Pro. In a bit of a pinch i had to put something together that could work as a bit of a console server on short notice. LAVALink and Memory Express to the rescue . I had no issue installing the cards and connecting them up to the switches and routers i needed to console into. I am using PuTTY as a terminal emulator as Windows 7 is devoid of the good 'ol handy HyperTerminal.

Here's the problem:

After a short period of time following boot and logon (sometimes as short as 5 minutes), I run into one of two issues on some or all of the COM ports - assigned COM11,12,13,14. (I had the same issues when the ports were assigned their default assignments of COM4-7)
1. I am able to 'connect' or open the serial port, but i can't get anything to echo back, even after pounding the enter key many times (which should bring up a new command prompt line on Cisco iOS). The first time i noticed this was after first boot up after installation and driver load for both ports on one of the cards (at first i was thinking a hardware issue, but managed to get 'er to go after a reboot.
2. I get an "unable to open port COM#" from PuTTY when trying to open a line to the ports, i just had this happen on all four ports (both ports on both cards). Changing the COM port assignment (to something like COM4,5,6,7 for example) does not correct this behavior, i just get the new port number/name in the error message.

DSerial_WDM.png (Size: 41 KB / Downloads: 0)

For troubleshooting purposes, i have managed to temporarily correct this through one of the two following actions:
1. Reboot the computer and log back in.
2. Delete the device from Device Manager and do a "Scan for hardware changes" to reload the devices and the driver assignment.

I am using the driver package available on 05/11/2016, file name "Lava_2014_07_15.zip". I've switched the cards between slots (board has 2 x16 slots) and the issue doesn't follow a single card or slot consistently, but it is always two or four ports at a time, when only two, they are both on the same card. I have no issues with the on board port, which is assigned COM1. I can't find anything about device power management in Device Manager to rule out some sort of bus shutdown for the cards, so i am at a bit of a loss.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Lava Dserial that show random letters

Sat, 06 Feb 2016 22:31:50 +0000

I have a PCI card Lava Dserial that show random letters and symbols when i write a command using the hyperterminal in Windows XP, i am using drivers from Lava web site (this web site). What can cause that and how can i fix this issue.

Thank you in advanced for your help.

"The system cannot find the path specified" (Windows 8.1 64 bit)

Sun, 01 Nov 2015 21:05:57 +0000

Quick background: I'm setting up a new Windows 8.1 (64 bit) system for a client who has an old HP LaserJet 4 that's still doing excellent work. The new computer doesn't have a parallel port, so I purchased Lava single Parallel port PCIe card. I've confirmed the card works by getting it to run on a different computer under Linux:

Code:
[root@testing ~] modprobe parport_pc io=0xcc00 irq=10

[root@testing ~] modprobe lp

[root@testing ~] dmesg | tail

parport0: PC-style at 0xcc00, irq 10 [PCSPP,EPP]

parport0: Printer, Brother HL-1250 series

lp0: using parport0 (interrupt-driven).

When I attempt to install the card on the Windows 8.1 computer, the Device Manager finds the card and says it needs drivers. I start a manual setup process and point it to the root of the directory where I've extracted the Lava_2014_07_15.zip file. Windows the says "The system cannot find the path specified."

The card's properties match the following description in PCIePorts_CC.inf:
%PCIe.ParallelPort%=LptCard,PCI\VEN_1407&DEV_A000&SUBSYS_2000A000&REV_00

That INF file contains references to StnPPort.sys and PCIePorts.dll. A search of the file system turned up the PCIePorts.dll, which appears to be a Microsoft file because its Properties tab incluides a Microsoft copyright statement. The StnPPort.sys file is not found on the system.

Following a tip from a web search, I tired staging the driver:

Code:
cd C:\Users\\Downloads\Lava Computer Mfg\Windows

pnputil.exe -a PCIePorts_CC.inf

I got a message the copy/installation was successful, but another attempt to install the driver failed.

I also tried the following, based on another web search:

Code:
pnputil.exe -i -a PCIePorts_CC.inf

Processing inf :            PCIePorts_CC.inf

Failed to install the driver on any of the devices on the system : No more data is available.

Total attempted:              1   

Number successfully imported: 0

Ideally I'd like to be able to install the device driver by following the proper Windows procedure. However, if all the installation does is copy a couple of files and update the registry, I suspect I could get the card going by knowing where to copy the StnPPort.sys file and importing the appropriate registry entries.

Any insights and assistance you can provide would be greatly appreciated, and I'd have a happy customer.

Regards,
Brad

PCI serial cards and Windows 7

Fri, 28 Aug 2015 10:46:55 +0000

Greetings and my apologies if this is a silly question. I've looked around the forum and elsewhere but can't find an answer.

I use an elderly Dell PC for amateur radio purposes. This contains two Lava PCI dual-port serial cards which worked very well under Windows XP. I recently migrated to Windows 7 but unfortunately it can’t find drivers for either card. The hardware IDs are PCI\VEN_1407&DEV_0110&REV00 and PCI\VEN_1407&DEV_0A00&REV00.

I know these are 'legacy' cards now but they've worked very well for a long time. Are any suitable drivers available please?

Many thanks.

John

Driver for Old Serial Card

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 20:55:37 +0000

I can not find the driver for a card I have installed in computer. Card is a PCI adaptor to serial port.

This card was working fine with my old motherboard and operating system (winxp pro)

Im now using win7 pro

SSerial-PCI/LP Card OS compatibility

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 20:53:48 +0000

I was looking to purchase this serial port card but I need to know some details before I do.

Is the connector on it is a 25 pin male connector?
Is this card compatible with windows 7. If so, is it compatible with 64 bit windows 7?

Thank you.

PCIe parallel port .... Changing I/O Resources?

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 18:47:52 +0000

We are trying to use the PCIe parallel port card on a application which requires to have the I/O ressource adress of the card. The PC runs WIn 7 and the drivers were installed succesully. Unfortunately the I/O ressource range associated with the card changes every times we reboot the computer.

Can you help me on this?

PCI Parallel EEP Driver for W7

Mon, 27 Jul 2015 18:39:50 +0000

Some time ago I purchased a Lava parallel PCI port card. I'm finally installing the port in an HP window 7 home premium 64 bit computer. My goal is to be able to use an older (legacy) 24 pin dot matrix wide carriage printer with this computer, but I can find no driver with the cd that came with it or on your website. I see adds for some from 3rd party venders, but there is much caution for them about malware etc.

Do you have a driver for this item that will work with windows 7 64 bit.

Octopus 550 PCI installing drivers

Fri, 24 Jul 2015 14:40:57 +0000

Trying to get Octopus550 to work. It is in slot and octopus cable connected.

Windows device manager sees that PCI card is there but when trying to load drivers I get error saying, "Windows found driver software but encountered an error while attempting to install it. Lava Octopus PCI ports 1-4, A service installation section in this INF file is invalid.

Please help, I am on a short deadline to get this working.

Is DSerial-PCIe card PCIe 2.0 compatible?

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 20:12:30 +0000

I am having trouble with a different manufacturer's serial cards in PCIe slots on two computers.

The specifications of this card state that it is "Compliant with PCI-Express Revision 1.0a" but the motherboard of my PC appears to be PCIe 2.0. I will purchase two of your DSerial-PCIe cards if you can confirm that they are PCIe 2.0 compatible.

quad serial PCI LP not found as new hardware

Thu, 23 Jul 2015 15:22:35 +0000

Problem: quad serial PCI LP not found as new hardware.

Device manager / Multifunction adapters: shows 2 unknown PCI serial ports
Device manager / Ports: shows only COM1

After updating driver i get message:
"Windows has determined the driver software for your device is up to date" !!!
Lava Quattro PCIv4 A&B
But it isn't working !

System information:
Processor: Intel Xenon CPU e5_1620 3.6 GHz
64-bit operating system
windows 7 enterprice (service pack 1)

Thank you for your help

looking for driver for old parallel PCI

Wed, 22 Jul 2015 14:06:27 +0000

Hello. I am looking for a driver for an old Lava Parallel PCI card that I am trying to use on a Windows XP machine. Printed on the board is:

LAVA COMPUTERS
PTC-IV-0 9940
MADE IN CANADA
P.N. MOKO L72.1

on the back is says:
COPYRIGHT 1998 LAVA COMPUTER

Many thanks.

Lava Port-PCI Lockup Issues

Mon, 18 Aug 2014 21:36:05 +0000

If you're experiencing instability and/or lockup issues with your Lava Port-PCI card, then depending on the hardware revision of your card there are some alternate drivers that may resolve your issue.

You can determine the hardware revision by looking at the card's MOKO number, which is silk screened in white on the face of all our cards, and will be along the lines of L66.x.

For modern versions of the Lava Port-PCI card (MOKO L66.6 and higher) there is no need to use an alternate as these alternate driver address specific hardware issues with the older cards.

DO NOT use these alternate drivers with newer cards.

MOKO L66.5 (Circa April 1998 - 2001)

Windows 2000 and XP

MOKO L66.4 (Circa Nov 1997 - Mar 1998)

MOKO (Pre-Nov 1997)

Windows 95/98/ME
Windows NT 4.0 (Install using setup.exe)

For all modern cards simply use the standard drivers listed below.

Windows 2000 and later
Windows 95/98/ME
Windows NT 4.0 (starting at COM 3)
Windows NT 4.0 (with Port assignments starting at COM 5)
Windows 3.x

This device cannot start. (Code 10)

Fri, 15 Aug 2014 20:23:51 +0000

Hello brain trust!

I have a DSerial PCI in an XP box that gives the error: This device cannot start. (Code 10)

I've gone in to the bios and disabled the on board serial and parallell port to no avail.

Suggestions?

Installing Parallel-PCIe in CentOS 5.7

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:18:08 +0000

Installation of our Parallel PCIe and Parallel PCIe/LP cards does occur automatically in CentOS 5.7, so in order to install these PCIe cards you will need to issue several commands from the terminal.

However, before we issue those commands we will need to determine the IO Address and IRQ assigned to the PCIe card. This can be done by executing the lspci command.

Code:
lspci -vk

The lspci command probes the PCI and PCIe buses, displaying extensive information on all hardware detected. In our case we are looking for an entry similar to the following:

Code:
04:00.2 Parallel controller: NetMos Technology PCIe 9901 Multi-I/O Controller (prog-if 03 [IEEE1284])

    Subsystem: Lava Computer mfg Inc Device 8000

    Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, [u]IRQ 9[/u]

    [u]I/O ports at 1000 [size=8][/u]

    I/O ports at 1008 [size=4]

    Memory at 50001000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]

    Memory at 50000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]

    Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 3

    Capabilities: [88] MSI: Enable- Count=1/32 Maskable- 64bit+

    Capabilities: [c0] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00

    Capabilities: [100] Power Budgeting 

    Capabilities: [200] Device Serial Number 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00

From this entry we can easily see that our card is located at IO Address 0x1000 and IRQ 9.

With this information we can install our card using the following commands.

Code:
modprobe -r lp

modprobe -r parport_pc

modprobe parport_pc io=0x1000 irq=9

modprobe lp

Once all the commands have been executed an lp# entry should be created in the /dev/ folder.

For example:

Code:
ls /dev/lp*

will return:

Code:
/dev/lp0

Alternatively, to have the the port created at boot you could also modify the /etc/modprobe.conf file by adding the following line:

Code:
options parport_pc io=0x1000 irq=9

This will append the IO Address and IRQ of our PCIe everytime the parport_pc module is loaded, forcing the creation of a port associated with our Parallel PCIe card.