Can't reprogram i-Pac

[TheManuel]

I have very old i-Pac, probably the first iteration.  I think I bought it in late 2001

It has worked great for me all these years.  However, I recently upgraded my computer and the new MB has a combo mouse/keyboard port.  The i-Pac works fine with it although it takes some trial and error to get it recognized the first time.  I'm actually using it in USB mode so that I can free up the PS/2 port for my trackball/spinner interface, which is just and old mouse. 

The trouble is that I recently decided to reassign some buttons.  I switched the i-Pac to PS/2 mode and plugged into the PS/2 port because my i-Pac model doesn't support programming in USB mode.  I have the old i-Pac programming software and have the board set up as "old" in settings.  For some reason, I can't get it to program.  It shows that it is programming it, then resetting it but at the end declares the operation as failed.  Luckily, it hasn't messed up my current programming but I would still like to be able to reprogram it.

This are some of the things I've tried:
- Disable legacy USB support in BIOS
- Use slower timers in IPAC settings (down to the slowest)
- Using shorter PS/2 cable since I normally have it connected through an extension cord
- Reinstalling IPAC software
- Setting up IPAC hardware as "new" (for what it's worth)
- Running as admin and compatibility modes from Windows 98 all the way through Win 7)

I'm out of ideas so if anybody has a clue, please let me know.

[Thenasty]

have you set the jumper on the I-pac to ALT?

[TheManuel]

Yes.  It is always set up for alt because I've been using my own mapping for years but with my new computer, I can't seem to be able to reprogram.

[gstav]

I had this problem where I coudl not re-program my ipac2. Remeber doing it on a laptop, which worked. Think I set the progrmmer.exe as run as admin and/or run as win xp mode and the program went trhough. Hope this helps 

Cheers

[TheManuel]

I had tried that but it did not work, unfortunately.

[Thenasty]

I myself use the old original I-Pac. I use my arcade in Pure DOS.

I remember back in the days when I was trying to program the I-Pac and gives me the FAILED programming I-Pac message.

What I did was created a batch file to run the I-PAC program to automatically program it.

The reason I did that was that I get the FAILED message because I still have my keyboard plugin thru the pass thru of the I-PAC.

Anyway, find a way to re-program the IPAC without a keyboard plug in.

Maybe created a BATCH file with timer countdown just enough to unplug the keyboard and see what happens.

[TheManuel]

Well, I haven't used the PS/2 pass-through in my i-Pac for a long time.  I use a USB keyboard instead but you may be unto something here.  Do you think that even a USB keyboard could interfere with the programming?  It can't hurt to try, I guess.  I could set everything up and remove the keyboard before clicking on the program button with the mouse.

[TheManuel]

Disconnecting the USB keyboard did not help either.  Oh well, I'm not complaining. This is 17 years old hardware we're talking about here and works perfectly fine with the currently programmed layout.

[Zebidee]

Those older IPACs were always a bit fussy about USB.

In windows, try finding the failed connection in "device manager" (right-click "My Computer" or "My PC", then "Manage") and then right click/delete it from there, then unplug/replug it in again until Windows recognises it properly and gets it right.

You can also ask device manager to install the unrecognised device automatically, which might work.

Once your PC gets it, it usually sticks.

[TheManuel]

Well, USB is not the problem.  When connected through USB, it always gets detected. However, my i-Pac is old enough that it doesn't support programming through USB, only PS/2.  I do struggle to get PS/2 recognized but I eventually get it.  The big issue is that even once recognize and working, I can't reprogram it.
My goal was to set it to PS/2 mode (it has a jumper for this), reprogram it, then set it back to USB mode which is how I use it.

[Zebidee]

You might have to use an older PC to reprogram the ipac. Sadly, newer PCs/mobos are treating PS2 as old tech and some don't even provide PS2 ports anymore.

[TheManuel]

Mine has a combined mouse/keyboard PS/2 port but I'm guessing that it doesn't talk well with the i-Pac.  Again, it's a consequence of using 17 year old hardware, I guess.

[gstav]

Just remeber that programming it via the Ps2 worked, the usb did not on my pc