ToToTEK.COM

[Yabier]

I have purchased this one because I have many problems that I won't explain here. Seller says that the laptop has LPT port and can be set as EPP.

Does anybody know if ToToTeK products work with this model?

THANKS

[rbudrick]

I wouldn't try it with any compaqs. If it has a soft bios, forget it.

-Rob

[Yabier]

In that case I'm damned because in my 4 PC's the copier DOES NOT work.

[Yabier]

Next quotes are from the manual, I don't have the laptop yet, but I think the flash cart must work. Please read.

[rbudrick]

In that case you may be in good shape. All I can say is try it and see.

See, I have terrible problems getting older parallel devices (game copiers and such) working in my main PC (a P4 3.0 Ghz Sony Vaio). And I've tried every possible variation of settings, cards, cables, etc. Some stuff works on one PC and not the other. Some things work on friends' PCs, but don't work in any of the 5 PCs in my house.

Some computers just won't work with certain parallel products for any explicable reason. However, most people get Tomy's products working after minimal fiddling, so if all four PCs don't work, that's pretty rare from what I've seen of other's experiences. Why don't the others work?

-Rob

[Yabier]

I have tried in my friend's PC's (P4 and P2) and works. In my P4 doesn't work because its LPT is PCI-ISA bridge. My friends' motherboard, although newer than mine, is compatible because the LPT is ISA (I guess that's the only difference, believe me, I've tried ALL). My second PC is an old laptop that can only be configured to ECP+EPP. Theorically it should work with the latest version of the flashing program, but it doesn't. Anyway, it has a soft BIOS. I have another laptop (modern) without parallel port. Finally, I bough a LTP PCI card for my P4, but it simply does not work with the copier. You may figure how I feel. I bought the flashcart more than one year ago. Tomy was great, he even make a new programmer for me and send it for free, but nothing.

All that's because I've bough this Compaq, so I hope BY THE MERCY OF GOD that the copier works. When the laptop is here and I can test it, I will say something.

[Yabier]

I forgot to mention, most problems with new PC's are due to hardware problems. We all know that XP and NT based OS tend to kill the LPT, but there are ways to solve that. I have tried the copier in another PC's with XP and worked, so the OS is not the problem.

The real problem is that modern motherboards can be equipped with an ISA to PCI bridge parallel port. You can open your PC and see nothing unusual, but you can check it on windows. If in the hardware properties says ISA or standard ISA bridge, your LPT will work for sure. If it says PCI, it won't work 99%. I think that's the only reason because the copier doesn't work in many modern PCs.

[rbudrick]

Yes, it is true that ISA PCI cards are far more compatible. I have found this too. In fact, I intend to revive a piece o crap Pentium 1 pretty soon just to run my MGD1 and CopyNES, since they work on NOTHING else in my house. I know they work though, because I sent them to Skrybe and he got them working perfectly (or maybe it was madman...I forget now).

-Rob

[Yabier]

After a billion years I have my MDPRO working at least! Those who remember my infinite posts will concern about my suffering

Finally, I installed win95 (yes, that CRAP) in my Compaq LTE5400, which I simply bought to make the copier works... but it didn't. One year later, with the laptop dying in a box, I've managed it to work. A true HELL. I discovered that the Compaq's drivers for win95 has a special tool called set SETPORT to configure the LPT mode. From the beginning I was able to set it in EPP mode from BIOS, but no way to make it work. But whith SETPORT the copier is finally working.

I want to recommend anyone who has a Compaq laptop or simply can't make the copier work not to desist. I bought the copier almost 3 years ago. Even Tomy wasn't capable to help me...

I want to share with you my INFINITE MADDENING ATTEMPTS:

1. I bought the Copier. My PIV recognized the card, but there were tons of program errors. My friend's PIV was fully compatible. My bad luck sucked.
2. Tomy helped me. After hours of chatting and testing, he make a new and improved programmer for me in order to reduce the data's noise. He sent it to me for free... But nothing.
3. I tested the copier in my old Toshiba laptop. Unfortunately, it can't be sent in EPP.
4. After thousand tests with strange programs, CMOS configs, etc., I realized that my PIV's LPT will never work, probable because my LPT is not a pure ISA port, instead some kind of modern PCI to ISA bridge.
5. Desperate, I decided to buy an additional internal LPT PCI Card. When it finally arrived, I found (horrified) that it COULD NOT be switched to EPP (although in theory it can). According to the manual, it was only possible in Windows NT. But I didn't trust the damn manufacturer and doubted NT would run in my PIV.
6. More desperate tests, this time with the Toshiba Laptop and some programs.
7. One year ago I decided to buy a new laptop to try more. I looked for something old, with LPT and EPP compatible... and I found the Compaq LTE5400. When it arrived, the OS was in German, but I managed to have a try (I'm Spanish, but probably you won't understand that rude language neither). No way. My hope was gone. I could not make it work in a trully (not virtual) EPP compatible LPT port!!!!!!!

You know the rest. Yesterday I decided to try again with really not much hope. But it worked.... And it "only" took me three years.

I want to thank Tomy and all of you who helped me. I will post this in the topics I started in the past. I hope it can help some of you.

Bye!