Post by thread:PICMASTER and NT4.0

Dear Scott, > My PICMASTER has been sitting in my office, uninstalled for an > embarrassingly long time. I installed it. It didn't work. Hmmm. > I recall some mumblings about NT/PICMASTER incompatibilities. > I was unable to find any reference to this in the archives though. > So are there any NT/PICMASTER incompatibilities? Should I continue > to strive to write perfect code so I don't ever need an emulator? :) > > Scott Yes there are incompatibilities regarding MPLAB and NT! From my experience I can tell you that MPLAB seems to be working under NT e_x_c_e_p_t for the communication with the PICMASTER. This is because NT rejects any direct hardware access from MPLAB to the PICMASTER interface card. According to a statement of Microchip on 17 Jun 1997 they have ... > No solutions at the present. We have done no testing with MPLAB and > NT. > > We are aware of the need and support will be provided in the future. > There has been no set time frame for support as of yet. The only way out I know is a shareware driver TotalIO.sys which enables the access of any NT-process to ports up to 0xF00. But as far as I know this shareware driver can make the NT system unstable! So I would recommend you (and everybody else who wants to work with NT) asking Microchip again and again for NT support. Maybe we will then receive NT support in this millenium. Best regards Marc Schmaeche ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ZENTRUM FUER ANGEWANDTE MIKROELEKTRONIK UND NEUE TECHNOLOGIEN DER BAYERISCHEN FACHHOCHSCHULEN E.V. Dipl.-Ing. M.Schmaeche Tel.: +49 (0)9131 691145 ZAM-Anwenderzentrum Nbg. Fax: +49 (0)9131 691166 Am Weichselgarten 7 E-Mail: spam_OUTmsTakeThisOuTzam.nf.fh-nuernberg.de 91058 Erlangen, Germany (Ger/Eng/Spa welcome) -----------------------------------------------------------------------

M.Schmaeche wrote: {Quote hidden}> > Dear Scott, > > > My PICMASTER has been sitting in my office, uninstalled for an > > embarrassingly long time. I installed it. It didn't work. Hmmm. > > I recall some mumblings about NT/PICMASTER incompatibilities. > > I was unable to find any reference to this in the archives though. > > So are there any NT/PICMASTER incompatibilities? Should I continue > > to strive to write perfect code so I don't ever need an emulator? :) > > > > Scott > > Yes there are incompatibilities regarding MPLAB and NT! From my > experience I can tell you that MPLAB seems to be working under NT > e_x_c_e_p_t for the communication with the PICMASTER. This is because > NT rejects any direct hardware access from MPLAB to the PICMASTER > interface card. > > According to a statement of Microchip on 17 Jun 1997 they have ... > > No solutions at the present. We have done no testing with MPLAB and > > NT. > > > > We are aware of the need and support will be provided in the future. > > There has been no set time frame for support as of yet. > > The only way out I know is a shareware driver TotalIO.sys which enables > the access of > any NT-process to ports up to 0xF00. But as far as I know this shareware > driver can make the NT system unstable! > > So I would recommend you (and everybody else who wants to work with NT) > asking Microchip again and again for NT support. Maybe we will then > receive NT support in this millenium. > > Best regards > > Marc Schmaeche > > I suppose If one was really tired of the quagmire of support, one could start mailing one's complaints directly to the big knobs. The 'press resleases' section one the web site kindly supplied us with the following names : .....matthew.chapmanKILLspam@spam@microchip.com steve.drehoblKILLspammicrochip.com .....lanny.flessasKILLspam.....microchip.com EraseMEgeorge.riggspam_OUTTakeThisOuTmicrochip.com adrian.kuzdasspam_OUTmicrochip.com @spam@steve.sanghiKILLspammicrochip.com KILLspamrich.simoncicKILLspammicrochip.com These are all big names, so mind your P's and Q's. -- Friendly Regards Tjaart van der Walt RemoveMEtjaartTakeThisOuTwasp.co.za _____________________________________________________________ | WASP International http://www.wasp.co.za/~tjaart/index.html | | R&D Engineer : GSM peripheral services development | | Vehicle tracking | Telemetry systems | GSM data transfer | | Voice : +27-(0)11-622-8686 | Fax : +27-(0)11-622-8973 | | WGS-84 : 26010.52'S 28006.19'E | |_____________________________________________________________|

Scott Dattalo <spamBeGonesdattalospamBeGoneunix.SRI.COM> wrote: > My PICMASTER has been sitting in my office, uninstalled for an > embarrassingly long time. I installed it. It didn't work. Hmmm. I > recall some mumblings about NT/PICMASTER incompatibilities. I was > unable to find any reference to this in the archives though. So are > there any NT/PICMASTER incompatibilities? Scott: The PIC-Master CAN'T work under NT, because there are no publicly-available NT drivers for the PIC-Master interface card. The new emulator, MPLAB-ICE, doesn't need a special interface card; it plugs right into the PC parallel port. However, reliable sources have stated that MPLAB-ICE will ALSO not run under NT, since Microchip have decided to use a non-standard method to communicate over the parallel port. If, like me, you think that NT-compatibility should be an absolute REQUIREMENT for any new development tools from Microchip, call your local Microchip rep or FAE and tell him so... Maybe if they hear it often enough, they'll actually do something about it. > Should I continue to strive to write perfect code so I don't ever > need an emulator? :) Uh, yeah. -Andy === Andrew Warren - TakeThisOuTfastfwdEraseMEspam_OUTix.netcom.com === Fast Forward Engineering - Vista, California === http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2499

Christof wrote: {Quote hidden}> > On 16 Oct 97 at 9:59, Tjaart van der Walt wrote: > > > > I suppose If one was really tired of the quagmire of support, one could > > start mailing one's complaints directly to the big knobs. The 'press > > resleases' > > section one the web site kindly supplied us with the following names : > > > > These are all big names, so mind your P's and Q's. > > > > Friendly Regards > > > > Tjaart van der Walt > > > Dear Tjaart > > If you have got a problem with the high cost of your electricity bill or > your telephone is cut off for the x... time with no reason, do you really want > to complain to Nelson Mandela? > > (You really have to mind your P's and your F's!) > > Regards, > Christof Seeing as you didn't post it privately, I will answer it in public. I think you misunderstood me. I have previously (before you subscribed) stated clearly that the FAE and distributor support in this country is excellent. We also get very good prices compared to other countries. The effort and time you have spent here did not go unnoticed. (For the benefit of rest of the list, Christof is the FAE for PACE Electronics who are distributors of Microchip in SA.) I have also stated that the factory support stinks. Period. We forked out a lot of money for MPLAB-C on the premise that we would get free upgrades ad infinitum. Not so. Microchip has made their problems mine with the obvious lack of interest in supporting *paying* customers. I can only offer them the same answers that our customers give us when we have a problem : I don't give a shit. Sort out your problems. I don't care. Just do it. Get your act together. Hire more people. Cancel your vacation. The truth is Microchip is unable to support MPLAB-C because : 1) The (nonexistent) interrupt service routine context saving code that I have been licking Microchip's ass for since last year, doesn't work. I had to use code hacked from Bytecraft. 2) The so-called header files to support (hahahaha) the 8k devices, actually DOWNGRADES the 8K to 4k. This is preposterous! How the hell can Microchip stay in business with this kind of practise? The local factory rep have been promising me upgrades for MPLAB-C for 10 months. Where is it? Oh sure the 17CXXX will be available 'soon', but this wasn't explained to me when we paid good money for it. To solve our problem, we had to buy MPC (from PACE) too. One compiler for the price of two. Is anybody interested in buying our copy of MPLAB-C? <G> My only consolation is that Microchip will feel the heat now. Scenix and Atmel (AVR) will break the monopoly on the low-ends. Motorola offers chips with an order of magnitude more functionality+flash+on-board-ICE for about 20% more. PS : to answer your question about the electricity bill - of course. -- Friendly Regards Tjaart van der Walt RemoveMEtjaartTakeThisOuTwasp.co.za _____________________________________________________________ | WASP International http://www.wasp.co.za/~tjaart/index.html | | R&D Engineer : GSM peripheral services development | | Vehicle tracking | Telemetry systems | GSM data transfer | | Voice : +27-(0)11-622-8686 | Fax : +27-(0)11-622-8973 | | WGS-84 : 26010.52'S 28006.19'E | |_____________________________________________________________| -- Friendly Regards Tjaart van der Walt tjaartEraseME.....wasp.co.za _____________________________________________________________ | WASP International http://www.wasp.co.za/~tjaart/index.html | | R&D Engineer : GSM peripheral services development | | Vehicle tracking | Telemetry systems | GSM data transfer | | Voice : +27-(0)11-622-8686 | Fax : +27-(0)11-622-8973 | | WGS-84 : 26010.52'S 28006.19'E | |_____________________________________________________________|

Christof wrote: {Quote hidden}> > On 16 Oct 97 at 9:59, Tjaart van der Walt wrote: > > > > I suppose If one was really tired of the quagmire of support, one could > > start mailing one's complaints directly to the big knobs. The 'press > > resleases' > > section one the web site kindly supplied us with the following names : > > > > These are all big names, so mind your P's and Q's. > > > > Friendly Regards > > > > Tjaart van der Walt > > > Dear Tjaart > > If you have got a problem with the high cost of your electricity bill or > your telephone is cut off for the x... time with no reason, do you really want > to complain to Nelson Mandela? > > (You really have to mind your P's and your F's!) > > Regards, > Christof Seeing as you didn't post it privately, I will answer it in the same manner. I think you are misunderstanding me. I have previously (before you subscribed) stated clearly that the FAE and distributor support in this country is excellent. We also get very good prices compared to other countries. The effort and time you have spent here did not go unnoticed. (For the benefit of rest of the list, Christof is the FAE for PACE Electronics who are distributors of Microchip.) I have also stated that the factory support stinks. Period. We forked out a lot of money for MPLAB-C on the premise that we would get free upgrades ad infinitum. Not so. Microchip has made their problems mine with the obvious lack of interest in supporting *paying* customers. I can only offer them the same answers that our customers give us when we have a problem : I don't give a shit. Sort out your problems. I don't care. Just do it. Get your act together. Hire more people. Cancel your vacation. The truth is Microchip is unable to support MPLAB-C because : 1) The (nonexistent) interrupt service routine context saving code that I have been licking Microchip's ass for since last year, doesn't work. I had to use code hacked from Bytecraft. 2) The so-called header files to support (hahahaha) the 8k devices, actually DOWNGRADES the 8K to 4k. This is preposterous! How the hell can Microchip stay in business with this kind of practise? The local factory rep have been promising me upgrades for MPLAB-C for 10 months. Where is it? Oh sure the 17CXXX will be available 'soon', but this wasn't explained to me when we paid good money for it. To solve our problem, we had to buy MPC (from you) too. One compiler for the price of two. Is anybody interested in buying our copy of MPLAB-C? <G> My only consolation is that Microchip will feel the heat now. Scenix and Atmel (AVR) will break the monopoly on the low-ends. Motorola offers chips with an order of magnitude more functionality+flash+on-board-ICE for about 20% more. PS : to answer your question about the electricity bill - of course. -- Friendly Regards Tjaart van der Walt EraseMEtjaartwasp.co.za _____________________________________________________________ | WASP International http://www.wasp.co.za/~tjaart/index.html | | R&D Engineer : GSM peripheral services development | | Vehicle tracking | Telemetry systems | GSM data transfer | | Voice : +27-(0)11-622-8686 | Fax : +27-(0)11-622-8973 | | WGS-84 : 26010.52'S 28006.19'E | |_____________________________________________________________|

Christof wrote: {Quote hidden}> > On 16 Oct 97 at 9:59, Tjaart van der Walt wrote: > > > > I suppose If one was really tired of the quagmire of support, one could > > start mailing one's complaints directly to the big knobs. The 'press > > resleases' > > section one the web site kindly supplied us with the following names : > > > > These are all big names, so mind your P's and Q's. > > > > Friendly Regards > > > > Tjaart van der Walt > > > Dear Tjaart > > If you have got a problem with the high cost of your electricity bill or > your telephone is cut off for the x... time with no reason, do you really want > to complain to Nelson Mandela? > > (You really have to mind your P's and your F's!) > > Regards, > Christof Seeing as you didn't post it privately, I will answer it in the same manner. I think you are misunderstanding me. I have previously (before you subscribed) stated clearly that the FAE and distributor support in this country is excellent. We also get very good prices compared to other countries. The effort and time you have spent here did not go unnoticed. (For the benefit of rest of the list, Christof is the FAE for PACE Electronics who are distributors of Microchip.) I have also stated that the factory support stinks. Period. We forked out a lot of money for MPLAB-C on the premise that we would get free upgrades ad infinitum. Not so. Microchip has made their problems mine with the obvious lack of interest in supporting *paying* customers. I can only offer them the same answers that our customers give us when we have a problem : I don't give a shit. Sort out your problems. I don't care. Just do it. Get your act together. Hire more people. Cancel your vacation. The truth is Microchip is unable to support MPLAB-C because : 1) The (nonexistent) interrupt service routine context saving code that I have been licking Microchip's ass for since last year, doesn't work. I had to use code hacked from Bytecraft. 2) The so-called header files to support (hahahaha) the 8k devices, actually DOWNGRADES the 8K to 4k. This is preposterous! How the hell can Microchip stay in business with this kind of practise? The local factory rep have been promising me upgrades for MPLAB-C for 10 months. Where is it? Oh sure the 17CXXX will be available 'soon', but this wasn't explained to me when we paid good money for it. To solve our problem, we had to buy MPC (from you) too. One compiler for the price of two. Is anybody interested in buying our copy of MPLAB-C? <G> My only consolation is that Microchip will feel the heat now. Scenix and Atmel (AVR) will break the monopoly on the low-ends. Motorola offers chips with an order of magnitude more functionality+flash+on-board-ICE for about 20% more. PS : to answer your question about the electricity bill - of course. -- Friendly Regards Tjaart van der Walt RemoveMEtjaartEraseMEEraseMEwasp.co.za _____________________________________________________________ | WASP International http://www.wasp.co.za/~tjaart/index.html | | R&D Engineer : GSM peripheral services development | | Vehicle tracking | Telemetry systems | GSM data transfer | | Voice : +27-(0)11-622-8686 | Fax : +27-(0)11-622-8973 | | WGS-84 : 26010.52'S 28006.19'E | |_____________________________________________________________|