laptop ports not working

[vhelp]

Hi, what do you do when your ports do not work ?

I'm trying to use my ADVC-100 on this laptop but it won't work as soon as I connect it to the firewpire port (4pin from advc-100 -to- 6pin on the pcmcia card).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-1394-USB-2-0-To-ExpressCard-Express-Card-34-Adapter/172295922664
34mm and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-PCMCIA-IEEE1394-Combo-PC-Card-for-Notebooks-Laptop-Fir...r/132003515067
54mm

I have the IBM thinkbad T43 with Windows XP Pro sp3, 32bit, and I have two newly purchased pcmcia firewire cards that appear to work but that when I connect something to them, I get the familiar exclemasion (!) error message. I am currently having two problems. The first is with the ADVC-100 over firewire, and the second is with an i/o card over pcmcia.

First problem: As for the ADVC-100, I am receiving the familiar error code 31. I found this page (below) but it still does not help me. (scroll to code 31) The advc will not work because I can't seem to figure out how to resolve this. (I thought it might be a resource thing, and so I disabled the com port and wifi port, thinking I have free'ed up at least two resources) Thus, I can't resolve this issue. see link below for best guestimate.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/310123/error-codes-in-device-manager-in-windows

Second problem: I am using an i/o card (an laptpo pc expansion card) via a pcmcia 34mm card. When everything is connected, all is working correctly, however, it won't complete due to an error with the i/o driver. Per the seller, it does not require any drivers. However, in device manager, under the "System device" branch, I am getting the audible 3-tone sound when connected, with the (!) error as "PCI standard PCI-to-PCI bridge".

I have been searching all week and am stumped and can't seem to resolve this. Can anyone please help me get these two things working ?

[october262]

did you try updating the drivers ??

[vhelp]

yes, but that did not help. Although I was told that I should not update any drivers for firewire and the "PCI standard pci-to-pci bridge", I researched and found this link and attempted to update them. I could not get any drivers updated, something about the driver not having the necessary info needed to use and install.

http://www.driverscape.com/manufacturers/ibm/laptops-desktops/2687d7u/38583

I'm stumped. How did people with this model laptop survive without firewire or pci-to-pci bridge issues? I don't get it. Didn't people complain the their devices (ie, advc) do not work? Anyway. Am still researching. note, the advc worked fine under my old, old windows 98 gold machine, and that mobo is long dead.

[usually_quiet]

The 34mm card should be fine, but the other card won't work because it is not an ExpressCard. The description says "USB 2.0 PCMCIA IEEE1394 Combo PC Card for Notebooks Laptop - Firewire Adapter". PCMCIA is an older interface for notebook expansion cards and PCMCIA cards are not compatible with an ExpressCard interface.

[edit] Maybe the 34mm card you purchased for $10 is just cheap garbage. It is 1/3 of the price (or less) of Firewire cards from reputable brands.

This Startech card is a good one with a Texas Instrument Chipset: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839158010&cm_re=ExpressCard_Lap...-010-_-Product Note the model number: EC13942. There is a similar Startech card, model EC13942A2, which is less expensive but I don't recommend it because it has a VIA chipset. The Startech cards come with a driver/software disc and a Firewire cable.

[Edit2] Looking at the specs, the T43 has a PCMCIA/CardBus slot as well as an ExpressCard slot. You have been confusing CardBus with ExpressCard 54mm here and in your previous thread about the same laptop where you complained that the "54mm ExpressCard" wouldn't go in all the way until you pushed it in at an angle.

[october262]

Did both cards come with driver CD's ??
Did you try the backwards compatibility mode setting ??
Try going into device manager - slect the device - right click - slect properties - driver then slect update driver or roll back driver.

[Nelson37]

You need the correct drivers. It is unlikely that the correct drivers for a card NOT MADE BY IBM would be found under an IBM listing. Sites that are supposedly dedicated to drivers are often bad, and many times very, very bad. They are ALWAYS the VERY, VERY LAST place I look for functional drivers. The best place for the correct drivers is from the manufacturer of the card. Get the latest version, and also the one before that. If one does not work, take some care to be certain it is uninstalled COMPLETELY. Registry clean, directory removal, reboot and repeat.

You say the cards appear to work, yet nothing you connect to it is functional. What criteria are you using to judge that the card is in working order? My criteria is that a peripheral that is KNOWN GOOD functions correctly when connected. Any other info is not relevant.

Most, if not all, of the issues you are having are related to using the wrong hardware. A laptop by definition is less able to be updated with new hardware than a desktop, choices of available hardware are limited, some simply do not exist, power available is dramatically less, they are meant to be portable and lightweight, upgradeability, functionality, durability, and expansion choices are sacrificed for this. Performance as well.

[usually_quiet]

yes, but that did not help. Although I was told that I should not update any drivers for firewire and the "PCI standard pci-to-pci bridge", I researched and found this link and attempted to update them. I could not get any drivers updated, something about the driver not having the necessary info needed to use and install.

http://www.driverscape.com/manufacturers/ibm/laptops-desktops/2687d7u/38583

I'm stumped. How did people with this model laptop survive without firewire or pci-to-pci bridge issues? I don't get it. Didn't people complain the their devices (ie, advc) do not work? Anyway. Am still researching. note, the advc worked fine under my old, old windows 98 gold machine, and that mobo is long dead.

I did some more research on the driver issue. I mistakenly thought that, unlike Windows 7, Firewire device drivers had to be manually installed from a CD for XP, but XP also supports Firewire natively using built-in drivers.

Maybe this will help: http://ask.adaptec.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10438/~/how-to-restore-1394-drivers-in-windows-xp-%3F

[vhelp]

Thanks, I will give your suggestion a try later.

[stiltman]

Might be dumb question but no one asked you.
Your laptop is a 4 pin firewire, so it's missing the power. Do you have your ADVC-100 connected to the wall wart?
If you're going from 6 pin to 6 pin, you don't need the wall wart most of the time as it gets power from the computer

[vhelp]

on the advc-100, i've always used the front dv (4-pin) port -to the- desktop 6-pin input of the firewire i/o card. that was using a windows 98 pc and external firewire i/o card. i used the same connection setup in this current scenario. basically, i am using what has always worked in previous experience.

[vhelp]

ok. i found the driver cd. and installed it. the card appears to be working. however, when i connect the advc-100 to it, an new device error pops up in device manager and wants me to install the "AV/C Monitor" driver.

i do not have this driver. it must be a unique advc firewire requirement. sometimes its referred to as the "AVC device".

Does anyone know what i need to do now to fix this ?

[vhelp]

ok, i found the "AVC Device" driver, it is a part of windows drivers. I installed it but it failed complete the installation:

---------------------------------------------
Cannot Start this Hardware
There was a problem installing this hardware.
AVC Device

This device cannot start. (Code 10)
---------------------------------------------

per this resource, scroll down to code 10: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/310123/error-codes-in-device-manager-in-windows

This device cannot start. (Code 10)

Note If the device has a FailReasonString value in its hardware key, that string is displayed as the error message. The driver or enumerator puts this registry string value in the error message.

Recommended resolutions

Update the driver

In the device's Properties dialog box, click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver to start the Hardware Update Wizard. Follow the instructions to update the driver.

Note You may be prompted to provide the path of the driver. Windows may have the driver built-in, or may still have the driver files installed from the last time that you set up the device. If you are asked for the driver and you do not have it, you can try to download the latest driver from the hardware vendor’s website.

Run a troubleshooter

If you didn't run the troubleshooters listed under Try these steps first above, do so now.

Manually fix corrupted registry entries (Advanced Users only)

Important These steps are for advanced users, such as IT Professionals, who are comfortable with editing Registry entries. Follow the steps in this section carefully. Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. The troubleshooters mentioned above do most of these steps, so try that first.

Before you modify it, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur. You may also want to create a Restore Point.

This problem may be caused by two Windows registry entries that have become corrupted. To use this method, you must be logged on to Windows as an administrator.

1. Press the Windows logo key+R to open the Run dialog box.

2. Type regedit in the Run dialog box, then press Enter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.

3. In the navigation pane, locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\
You should see a long list of registry subkeys that resemble: {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Note Each 32-digit subkey is unique and corresponds to a particular type, or class, of hardware in Device Manager.

4. Find the correct class GUID corresponding to the type of the hardware device for which you're seeing the Device Manager error code.
Note The following table is not a complete list of device class GUIDs. Devices can generate unique classes based on various variables, which makes it impossible to list them all. For example, if your DVD drive is showing a Code 10 error in Device Manager - according to the list, the GUID for CD/DVD devices is 4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318. When you know this GUID, you can continue to the next step.

5. Click the registry subkey corresponding to the device's Class GUID that you determined in the last step.

6. In the right-hand pane, click UpperFilters.
Note You may also see an UpperFilters.bak registry entry. You do not have to remove that entry. Click UpperFilters only. If you do not see the UpperFilters registry entry, you still might have to remove the LowerFilters registry entry. To do this, go to step 9.

7. On the Edit menu, click Delete.

8. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

9. In the right pane, click LowerFilters.
Note If you do not see the LowerFilters or UpperFilters registry entry, this method is not for you

10. On the Edit menu, click Delete.

11. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

12. Exit Registry Editor, and then restart the computer.

I tried to follow the steps but they were too complicated and I did not see the reference for "UpperFilters" anywhere.

Anyone know what I need to do next ?

[Nelson37]

Did you find the correct GUID? Follow the directions and delete the registry entry. Don't worry about the upper or lower filters. This is the thorough removal of incorrect drivers I mentioned earlier. Disconnect the advc, reboot, run CCleaner on the registry, reboot again.

Important to verify firewire card functionality. It only does one thing, connect a firewire device to the PC. Until that happens, it does NOT "appear to be working". If possible, get an external firewire hard drive and test functionality with that device. This will not require any additional drivers other than those for the firewire adapter. If these are not right, nothing will work. Just for fun, note that is IS possible to have basic drivers that will function with a simple device, but NOT for a more complex one. BUT, you need to know that the adapter is at least functional.

Next is get the correct drivers for the advc device. There are some occassions where the drivers from Microsoft are actually more functional than the drivers from the company that made the product, however, this is exceptionally rare. The Firewire drivers themselves are likely to be a mixture of MS and manufacturer installs, the drivers for the advc device, as separate from an OS enhancement functionality, have an extremely low probability of being addressed correctly by Microsoft.

In short, you need the correct drivers, and you need to get rid of the incorrect ones. It will take some research, some trial and error, and very likely some steps as those posted which you find to be too complicated. There are also specific compatibility issues wherein a particular card in a particular pc just will not function with a particular external device, usually related to chipset. TI is better than VIA in this regard. Motherboard chipset can be a factor as well.

[vhelp]

messing with the registry is not my cup of tea. it was easier to just run an image restore that i made of the T43 before i started messing with it. i made a fresh image prior to doing anything on it so in an event like this, i can just restore it back to ground zero. however, i still beleive it won't resolve my advc-100 issue because last i recall, it wants an "AVC device" driver installed, and that is not something i have on this laptop nor can i find on the web not can the device wizard find on the internet when it connects--i let it do that once before and it did not find the "avc device" driver for this windows xp since M$ no longer provides support. anyway. the restore image should be finished in a minute. then i will try again and reconnect the advc-100 and see what happens.

[vhelp]

ok, after restoring a clean image of a fresh windows xp pro 32bit sp3 i had another go at it.

this time, i got closer to resolving the connection issue. i think i know why. because i was using a cheaper firewire pcmcia card (that one was a 34mm card).

this time i used a different pcmcia firewire card, a 54mm, and it got me closer though not sure of the chipset on it. actually, now that i think about it, i did not install the drivers for it after i restored a fresh image. i probably should have installed the drivers first, and then connected the advc-100, but that probably should not matter at this point.



and after attempting to reinstall the "AVC Device" (labeled "AV/C Monitor" in device mgr) driver, and then allowing windows to search/find a driver over the internet, it fails and i get this final message, below.

[vhelp]

every attempt i tried failed. the 54mm card only has drivers for xp sp1 and my system is sp3 and after several hours of searching to no avail, i give up!

it has to be down to the chipset. it appears that these two pcimcia cards were made by "VIA". anyway.

early this week i ordered two other cards by "TI" chipset cards brands and waiting any day for them to arrive. hopefully, at least one of them will work.

[Nelson37]

The sp1 drivers would likely work. Did you try them?

If you want to get oddball, limited production hardware that is out of date to work with other similar hardware, you are going to have to move a bit out of your comfort zone or really learn to like frustration and failure.

The registry edit to remove non-functional drivers, for instance is often necessary and is one HELL of a lot faster than restoring a hard drive image, which, by the way, is a lot more likely to contain errors or problems than a fresh windows install.

If you regularly rely on Windows to find the driver for you, you are going to experience a LOT of frustration and failure. FIND THE CORRECT DRIVER YOURSELF. THAT IS STEP ONE AND KEY TO THE ENTIRE PROCESS. FIND IT FROM THE COMPANY THAT MADE THE PRODUCT, NOT REPEAT NOT FROM ANYBODY ELSE. ALLOWING WINDOWS TO SELECT THE DRIVER FOR YOU WILL NOT ONLY FAIL ON A REGULAR BASIS, BUT OFTEN INTRODUCE ADDITIONAL ROADBLOCKS TO THE PROCESS THAT WILL MAKE PROPER INSTALLATION SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DIFFICULT. MANY DRIVERS ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT CORRECTLY INSTALL USING THAT WIZARD.

If you learn nothing else this week, learn that concept.