Appendix C Using SI_SCOPE in Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Vista

This section details specifics to running SI_SCOPE with SIDRVR under Windows NT, 2000, and XP. When running under any of these platforms SI_SCOPE will use the driver SIDRVR.SYS. The version of SIDRVR.SYS that was installed on your system depends on which operating system you are using. If you are using Windows NT then the driver that was installed is a legacy NT driver. Under Windows 2000/XP the version of SIDRVR installed is a WDM driver that supports the new Windows Driver Model. Regardless of which platform you are using you will need administrative rights to your machine in order to install and configure the software. The command line parameters to launch the program are automatically handled for you by the program SCOPECFG.

Determining your IO address and IRQ under NT 4.0

1. Double click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop.
2. Double click on the "Control Panel" icon.
3. When inside Control Panel double click on the "Ports" icon
4. Click on the port you want to use and then click on the "Settings" button.
5. From the Settings dialog click on the "Advanced" button.
6. Note the values for the "Base I/O Port Address" and "Interrupt Request Line"

Determining your IO address and IRQ under Windows 2000

1. Double click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop.
2. Double click on the "Control Panel" incon.
3. When inside Control Panel double click on the "System" icon.
4. From the System Properties dialog click on the "Hardware" tab.
5. Click on the "Device Manager" button.
6. Double click on the "Ports (COM & LPT) icon.
7. Right click on the port you want to use and select the "Properties" option.
8. Note the values for the "Interrupt Request" and "Input/Output Range".

Determining your IO address and IRQ under Windows XP

1. Open the "Control Panel" applet from the start bar.
2. Click on the "Printers and Other Hardware" icon.
3. Click on the "System" icon in the "See Also" list.
4. Click on the "Hardware" tab in the "System Properties" dialog box.
5. Click the "Device Manager" button.
6. Double click on the "Ports (COM & LPT) icon.
7. Right click on the port you want to use and select the "Properties" option.
8. Note the values for the "Interrupt Request" and "Input/Output Range".

Determining your IO address and IRQ under Windows Vista

1. Open the "Control Panel" applet from the start bar.

2. Click on "Hardware and Sound".

3. Select "Device Manager".

4. Double click on the Ports (COM & LPT) icon.

5. Right click on the port you want to use and select the "Properties" option.

6. Click on the "Resources" tab and note the values for "IRQ" and "I/O Range".

Pre-Allocating Hardware During O/S Load

You may need to have SI_SCOPE's drivers claim the hardware resources from the operating system when they load. The reason for this is that the operating systems serial driver included with WinNT,2000,XP, and Vista do not allow another driver to share a serial resource. If you are using an ISA card that is not detected by the operating system then there is no conflict and you can skip this section. Otherwise it is recommended that you turn this option on. If you are receiving an error "Unable to Virtualize Irq" when loading SI_SCOPE then you must turn on the hardware pre-allocation option.

To have SI_SCOPE pre-allocate your serial ports choose the "Configure Virtual Device Driver" option off the "Settings" menu inside SCOPECFG. You will see an option to "Claim Hardware During O/S Load". Enabling this option will give SI_SCOPE exclusive access to your hardware. Please note that while SI_SCOPE has your ports claimed you cannot use those ports for any other application even if you are not running SI_SCOPE. When you want the operating systems serial driver to be able to use those ports again turn this option off and reboot. Note that you may see warnings in the System Event Log with this option on. These warnings are from the serial driver stating that another driver (SIDRVR) has claimed its resources.