CompuServe Thread

Paul – <<How would I go about solving this problem.>> Just happened to ask a similar question regarding my current 3DS installation. Here's the info I got – you might want to reference the "hwlock" file referred to as well. Good luck! Robert, << Dongle Blues.. >> Download hwlock.txt from the 3D Studio Library section. Also, here is a posting regarding dongles. This is a repost from Gus. >> Also, check that your parallel port is set for bi- directional data >> flow, as opposed to unidirectional data flow. (A few parallel ports can >> only SEND data. 3D Studio requires a parallel port to be able to both >> SEND and RECEIVE data. If your systems CMOS allows different settings, >> try other settings. The description could be confusing. For example, >> DELL systems CMOS describes AT mode as uni- directional, and PS/2 mode as >> bi-directional. ) Sorry for making this even messier than it is but… What makes a parallel port "enhanced" is exactly the opposite of what is stated above. A "normal" parallel only sends information in one direction. Out. That's being "uni-directional". That's what the Sentinel things wants. Along with the 8 data ports going OUT, you have 4 data ports coming back in. Those are the status ports such as "Out of Paper", "Printer Busy", etc. When you use a software that transfers data through the parallel port, such as LapLink, Parallel -> SCSI adapters, Parallel LAN Adapters, etc. a hack is done in order to receive data in a "write only" port. Those "status" lines are used instead. That's, by the way, how the Sentinel reads back its thing. That's why you cannot use any of the above products with the Sentinel installed. Now come the "enhanced" ports. These are ports where the 8 bit data lines can be used for both read and write operations. Data goes in either direction and that's what's called "bi-directional" parallel port. The Sentinel dongle does not like that. Some of the status lines are used differently (for data flow control for instance) and the Sentinel gets confused when it sees data coming back from places it "normally" doesn't. This is the single most common reason for 3D Studio's dongle not working with newer machines. Newer and faster in this context is redundant. The "fast machine" has nothing to do with the problem. It is not a timing issue. It's just that "normally", faster machines are newer and come with these "enhanced" parallel ports. The great majority of them have an option of disabling this "enhancement" and leave the parallel port alone. In fact, I don't know of any machine or adapter that offers "enhanced mode" and does not give you a way of disabling it. (from Jonas Ruikas of ADESK at 73172,1351)

<< it gives me a Sentinel Pro not connected to parallel port? What does this message mean? >> It means that the HW lock is not plugged into the back of your computer. or It means that for some reason, even though the HW lock _is_ plugged into the back of the computer the HW lock and the computer are not communicating properly. <<I've looked at the hwlock.txt file and can't make sense of it. How would I go about solving this problem.>> What don't you understand? The paper is very straight forward in explaining the steps to troubleshooting HW lock problems. Tell me what problems you are having, and I will clarify further what is in the paper. -Brian