[Coco] DriveWire with modern laptop?

[Roger Merchberger]

Rumor has it that Roger Taylor may have mentioned these words:
>At 11:09 PM 3/4/2008, you wrote:
>>I'm trying to find out if anyone uses the DriveWire system with a laptop 
>>having no built-in serial port, using a USB to Serial adaptor.
>>
>>My IOGear adaptor seems to insert COM5 into the ports instead of a 1,2,3, 
>>or 4.  I haven't found a way to disable those ports in hopes that the 
>>adaptor will appear as a typical COM #1-4 that older software can 
>>use.  Some modern software only allows using 1-4 as well.  I'd like to 
>>know if the PC side DriveWire server can use COM ports above 4 before 
>>purchasing the product.  The adaptor itself works just like a COM port, 
>>and claims to be compatible with anything.

I have a Prolific chipset adapter, but it's at work. I have the latest 
Prolific as well, and *somewhere way down deep* in the driver settings you 
can tell it to be any "unused" COM port which on your lappy should be "all 
of 'em." ;-) (Watch out for bluetooth dongles - those seem to add a metric 
buttload of COM ports to the mix!)

I can get the driver & instructions for you if you want them on Monday. 
Warning: I've never used this adapter for Drivewire.

>>This was aimed at the list for a reason since I know there are lots of 
>>users of DriveWire out there who might have different setups.
>
>I see now in the DriveWire 2.0 docs that you can choose COM1-COM6 on the PC.

Glad to see you got it worked out.

I've got a Belken <mumble> [[ runs over to lappy bag ]] F5U109 adapter, and 
on my Transmeta Crusoe processor laptop under Linux I've never had an 
issue, and used it on some really wacko stuff. However, under Winders XP, 
especially using Drivewire (but with other things as well) it would 
randomly bluescreen. I think the adapter's OK, but I think the Windows 
driver had issues with being run on an emulated x386. [[ The emulation's in 
hardware in the CPU - it translates the x86 CISC instruction set to it's 
own internal VLIW RISC-type instructions. ]]

Oddly enough, the box would *never* bluescreen other than using that dongle 
- I was quite surprised that the Transmeta CPU was amazingly stable; albeit 
slow if stuff wasn't compiled with the right flags for it. Linux rocked 
(but took literally a month of spare-time compiling to get it just right); 
Winders worked OK but wasn't awe-inspiring by any means. ;-)

HTH,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger

--
Roger "Merch" Merchberger -- SysAdmin, Iceberg Computers
zmerch at 30below.com

What do you do when Life gives you lemons,
and you don't *like* lemonade?????????????