[WriteLog] More re XP Upgrade Issues

[Steve Baron - KB3MM]

I'm a little confused by what you say.

Some clarification might help some of us.

In-line comments.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jon Harder" <jon@praxisworks.org>
To: <writelog@contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 21:21
Subject: [WriteLog] More re XP Upgrade Issues


> In running the various web-site pre-tests ( like www.PCPitStop.com ) to
> ensure hardware/software compatibility before taking the plunge, and
getting
> reliable-looking OKs of my hardware and overall no serious surprises,  I
had
> finally decided to move up from Win98 to XP (Home Edition) in a dual-boot
> configuration.  And then ......

Thought MS still published a Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

The XP HCL does not say that something will not work with XP, but rather
that XP does not have the drivers for the hardware.

>
> Before opening the XP upgrade packaging I decided to run one last round of
> tests using MS's own UpgradeAdvisor  which came free on a little CD tucked
> into the outer box from Staples.Com.  (.I had looked for it earlier on the
> MS site with no success.)
>
> Very glad I did!    << OUCH >>     -- It revealed that XP absolutely won't
> support some older plain vanilla ISA serial port add-ons I've used for
years

Are you refering to 8250 type UARTS ?
Non-PnP?
What do you define as 'older plain vanilla'?

> as Comm 3 and 4.  My SIIG PCI Comm 5 and 6 ports would require an easy and

DOes that card have separate port and IRQ for each serial port ?  ISA ?
PnP?

> free driver update from SIIG - no problem there.

Anything not on the HCL would have to have drivers supplied by the mfgr.  In
fact, if a device is not directly supported by P, that simply means that the
mfgr did not supply MS with a driver or at least not by the cutoff date.


> But no more "real"

What does 'real' mean ?

> legacy serial port support!  While I had followed earlier threads here
about
> LPT port problems, and had already changed CW keying over from LPT2 to a
> serial port,  I had not realized that legacy serial ports are also now
> rendered unusable without something like the Direct-IO.com driver.

Something scrambled here.  Real OS's do not permit applications to talk
directly to the hardware.  Been that way for millions of years.

Direct-IO appears to simply virtualize hardware access as did WIN95/98/ME
for years..
user assumes responsibility for use.

Now, how does that fit in with what you say about legacy serial ports ?  The
implication is that legacy serial ports have the problem but non-legacy
ones....but the application does business the same way no matter what the
ports are...the app either talks directly to the hardware or does not by
going thru a standard OS API.

Very confusing ?

>  (Or a
> future addition to WL?)  Upgrade Advisor also said NO to my trusty HP
> OfficeJet printer/FAX/scanner, though no doubt HP has a driver
upgrade....?

That probably simply says that HP did not supply updated software....

>
> So -- back goes the sealed XP package to my friendly software vendor, just
> as Win2K Professional did before it.   Maybe later, Big Bill,  but not
now.
> I'll save the $100 bucks for my grandkids'  Christmas.   For the
forseeable
> future, this WL user sticks with Win 98, which has been stable and solid
on
> a little BioStar board with 400 mHz K6 and 256mB of SDRAM.

Nothing wrong with that computer hardware...

>
> 73 to all,
>
> Jon         K1US
>
> Also appears Intel plans to finally kill off RS-232 ports, PS/2 ports  and
> 1.44mB floppy drives within two years -- see www.BeyondLogic.com .
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> WriteLog mailing list
> WriteLog@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/writelog
>
>