Old software/new pc com problems

[Alan22]

Ya, that's were I fall short on experience. As an electrician I've always had a laptop setup in the shop so all I had to do was plug it in and go. An IT guy did all the setup and initial programing. I kind of feel bad about bothering people about this, so thank-you for your time. If our IT person wasn't a contractor that's never around, I'd ask them.

 

[Operaghost]

FYI, free members should still be able to post screenshots. Unless something changed that I'm not aware of. Once you are registered, you should be able to attach an image.

OG

 

[Alan22]

The computer in question is a stand-alone in my basement. The forum won't let me attach the photos.

 

[OkiePC]

The computer in question is a stand-alone in my basement.

Does it have a USB port? I would take screen shots on that machine (ALT+PrtScrn to capture the current window, just PrintScreen for the whole desktop), then paste that clipboard image in your favorite bitmap editor). Use a thumb drive to get them to a machine with internet access.

The forum won't let me attach the photos.

There is a limit to the file size and pixel dimensions when attaching bitmaps. It is a good idea when capturing screen shots to make them narrow as possible, and it is quite easy to learn how to use paint.net to crop them or resize them to fit within the pixel limit (800w x 600h). If they can't be cropped enough, you can always zip them and attach them. If they are <=800 x 600, they will appear inline and won't have to be opened separately which is nice.

 

[dmroeder]

He sent me the pics Paul. There were 5, 1.4MB each.

One was a screen shot of an error that said "StartService Error: Unable to start Kernal Mode PIC Driver". The other error was the ol' "Failed to Initialize PIC device driver"

 

[Alan22]

It is communicating, but not with the old 5/03. I tried everything you guys suggested with no luck. The UPS truck had left a package with a trainer kit in a suitcase that I had Ebay'd for a spare. After trying all, I thought what the hell and pulled the 5/03 from the trainer. It worked the first time! I could not get the 1747-PIC to work, but the serial cable hooked up immediately. I've learned not to believe the "removed from working unit" comment on Ebay! Anyone want a used 5/03, free of charge?
Thanks to everyone for the advice.

 

[OkiePC]

It is communicating, but not with the old 5/03. I tried everything you guys suggested with no luck. The UPS truck had left a package with a trainer kit in a suitcase that I had Ebay'd for a spare. After trying all, I thought what the hell and pulled the 5/03 from the trainer. It worked the first time! I could not get the 1747-PIC to work, but the serial cable hooked up immediately. I've learned not to believe the "removed from working unit" comment on Ebay! Anyone want a used 5/03, free of charge?
Thanks to everyone for the advice.

Don't throw in the towel on the old SLC just yet. Now that you have a working 5/03, you have a few more test options.

The PIC driver not working can be due to several things, but start at the beginning with the LED indicators on the front of the 5/03. What do they do when you apply power to the rack?

If you get a normal start sequence, even if it ends with a red fault LED on, that is a good sign...perhaps the serial port defaulted to 2400 baud (really old firmware), but you never said whether you tried removing the battery and shorting vbb to ground on the unit...

It is quite possible that the serial port is configured in such a way that your serial driver did not detect it.

Note the LED sequence on power up and report back, and also try the serial port again and autoconfigure the df1 driver to see what happens.

And, you can fully test your PIC, provided that your "good" 5/03 has a good DH485 port, but you will have to stop and start drivers to avoid a conflict unless you get a 2nd PC to use for the serial DF1 connection.

He sent me the pics Paul. There were 5, 1.4MB each.

One was a screen shot of an error that said "StartService Error: Unable to start Kernal Mode PIC Driver". The other error was the ol' "Failed to Initialize PIC device driver"

That sounds like errors I have seen when RSLinx is set to start as a service. I have one laptop that will give me that error every other time it gets booted up, even though RSLinx is running as an application. If I haven't used the PIC driver in a while, I know I have a 50/50 chance of having to reboot, so I fire up the PIC driver before wasting time setting up any other software.

The PIC driver will not run on my desktop, even before the SP3 release and subsequent workarounds. Luckily we have two 1784-PMCK cards and two sets of cables for both DH+ and DH485.

 

[Alan22]

Okie inspired me to give it another go,but no luck. As before, I tried all. Set to default, even with the battery removed overnight. There are lots of lights in different sequences on it, so I won't get into that. The 1747-PIC doesn't work on the good one either. All I had to do with the good processor was connect the serial cable and select 'autoconfig'. It set everything up. Anyhow, I'm happy with the serial. I'm able to program and do everything I want with this. The bad one has caused me more than the $150 I paid for it in time and frustration! It's going out with the garbage, unless someone wants it.