Trouble installing my new Ipac

[getoffmyland]

Hi,

I have wired 4 buttons into an Ipac and need to configure the buttons but none of the bits on the software CD seem to work.

Im running XP Pro and its a PS2 Ipac.

Thanks.

[getoffmyland]

Ok ive managed to install the software,

Ive set up the buttons how i want them and when i press 'Program' it times out.

Is this because it cant see the Ipac? Is there more to just plugging it in?

[leapinlew]

I had this problem.

What I did to program it was open notepad and hit key combination to run the utility in notepad. Try that.

Cntrl+alt+P

[getoffmyland]

Hi,

Thanks for the help although i cant seem to get cntrl+alt+p to work.

Is there anything else i need to install?

[leapinlew]

No - you plug the ipac up and use the keyboard passthrough.

In windows, open notepad than hit cntrl+alt+p. It's a text only version of the programming utility. It worked on mine when the program utility wouldn't.

Are you using the passthrough keyboard as it's hooked up to the ipac and computer? Your in windows and have notepad open? You hit all 3 of those keys at the same time (and just for a second).

[getoffmyland]

Ok i get it now.

Im not using the pass though as my keyboard is USB and Ipac is PS2.

I know what to do now, thanks for your help.

M

[leapinlew]

Ok i get it now.

Im not using the pass though as my keyboard is USB and Ipac is PS2.

I know what to do now, thanks for your help.

M

No prob, glad I could help. So... where are the pictures?

[getoffmyland]

Its still not working.

I have an extra keyboard, running through the ipac, i open the ipac software and notepad, press ctrl+alt+p and nothing happens.

The led on the ipac flashes twice to indicate power and that everything's working. I cant think what im doing wrong.

[clhug]

If you open Notepad and press each of the 4 buttons, do you see the corresponding letter appear in the Notepad window?  If not, then I'd say Windows isn't recognizing your I-Pac.

Oh, what are the inputs that you have the 4 buttons wired up to?  The above test assumes the buttons are wired to inputs that produce characters we can actually see and not things like P1 B1 that are a CTRL or SHIFT key type stuff.  Worst case, temprarily wire up a button to one input on the I-Pac that you know creates an actual letter, like Player 1 Coin 1 that produces the number 5 and test it out.

[leapinlew]

Its still not working.

I have an extra keyboard, running through the ipac, i open the ipac software and notepad, press ctrl+alt+p and nothing happens.

The led on the ipac flashes twice to indicate power and that everything's working. I cant think what im doing wrong.

Are you using a ps2 keyboard routing through the ipac?

[wrench]

The cd that comes with the ipac has a couple different apps for programing.You should be using the one called WinIpac.After starting the app click the options tab in the lower right corner,you need to make sure you have the connection set correctly (usb or ps2) to match the way you have your ipac hooked up.You can also adjust the timeout timer here.Ultimarc's website also has detailed instructions on programing the ipac also.

[getoffmyland]

Hi,

Its all PS2, i have the software correctly configured but everytime i press 'Program' it times out. The download time is set to 10 (max).

Nothing happens in Notepad either.

Ive looked at the Ultimarc site and it doesnt have anything that can help.

I thought maybe the pass thru keyboard didnt work properly and i have tested it and it works fine.

Its driving me mad and its for my final University project, which ends this month! Aaaaaaaaaaahh!

[Hoopz]

Have you double-checked all of your wiring?  Does each switch have a ground wire attached?  Did you daisy chain?  Attaching pics may help us look at it and see if anything is off.

Did you look in your device manager and see if the I-Pac is listed?  What OS, etc?

Finally, email Andy at Ultimarc.  He is a great guy who will definitely help you out.

[getoffmyland]

Ive daisy chained the ground and im running XP pro.

However its not actually appearing in my device manager so i guess the pc cant actually see it. Ive tried 'add new hardware' and that doesnt solve it.

The LED is lit which means its being powered but no data is being transferred.

Is there any way of getting the pc to see it? Im going to try a windows update.

[Hoopz]

Do you have a PS/2 to USB adapter that you can use simply to test plugging it in via the USB port?

[getoffmyland]

thats a good idea, i do somewhere in one of my many 'spares' boxes.

[leapinlew]

thats a good idea, i do somewhere in one of my many 'spares' boxes.

Lets cover the basics here.
You have the keyboard plugged into the ipac, and the ipac is plugged into the computer?

When you open notepad and type on the keyboard, it displays your type in notepad?

You hit Cntrl+Alt+P while you have notepad open and nothing happens?

You said you have wiring connected? What happens when you push a button or move a direction using your joysticks?

Any chance you can take a picture of your setup?

[getoffmyland]

Ok ive got it working.. on a different pc.

Luckily the one it works on is the one i am using for the end product.

Thanks for all your help, i think my pc couldnt detect it because of a windows update that the other machine doesnt have.

Very strange, but at least its woking.

 

[AndyWarne]

Glad you got it working, I just received your email (at least I think it was yours).
Just worth mentioning at this point that the I-PAC does not need any software to be installed for it to work. In fact I would generally recommend not trying any custom programming until it is installed and working first.
Andy W

[getoffmyland]

Yeah i think they were my emails. Ive just read yours, thanks for taking the time to advise.

[destructor]

If it's USB cable I-PAC connect to another USB port in PC.

[Tiger-Heli]

Couldn't tell from your posts but wanted to mention -

XP will not install a PS/2 keyboard if it is not found at startup.  In other words -

Under Win98 - Hot-swap the PS/2 I-PAC all you want (There is some inherent danger in this).

Under WinXP - You can plug the I-PAC in with the PC powered down and then start the PC, or plug in a standard PS/2 keyboard and hot-swap it for the I-PAC (some risk), but you cannot start the PC with no keyboard or a USB keyboard and then plug in the I-PAC.

At least the above is true for the KeyWiz, but they are both basically PS/2 Keyboard devices.

[clhug]

That's a good point too.  If you're connecting the I-Pac via PS/2 then it looks to the PC just like a normal PS/2 keyboard.  Back to my original note about whether you see keystrokes appear in Notepad, if you're able to make a DOS bootable floppy disk, boot with that directly to a DOS prompt and see if keystrokes appear at the DOS command prompt when you press the buttons on the I-Pac.  Again, make sure you have at least one button hooked up that generates a genuine character that you can actually see and not something like a CTRL, Shift, or arrow key.  If the characters do not show up, then the PC hardware itself is not recognizing the I-Pac and it has nothing to do with Windows.

This test may or may not work if you hook up the I-Pac via USB depending on whether your PC supports USB keyboards at the BIOS level.