x1k1 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴커 � � � The Norton Commander, V3.0 � � Commander Link and Mail � � Trouble-Shooting Suggestions � � � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴컴켸 If you are having problems with either the Link or the MCI Mail portion of the Norton Commander, the problems may be due to the configuration of your serial communications adapter. These problems could manifest themselves in one of the following ways: Link: Inability to establish connection to other computer: Verify that the connection is to the correct serial port, and is connected through a null-modem cable. Extremely high resend rate: try reducing the line noise (described below), or try switching out of "Turbo" mode. (See "Turbo-mode Notes" below). The error message "The COM# port is not available.": the serial port is not responding. Try using the other setting (COM2: vs COM1:). You may have a serial port in your computer that has been deactivated (perhaps for an internal modem that was later removed), so you may wish to try using a different port. Mail: "Modem did not respond": This is generated when an invalid serial port was chosen. Using a valid serial port with no modem attached leads to a "Session Complete" message instead. Try configuring the program for a different port. ****************************************** * Diagnosing the serial port * ****************************************** The easiest way to determine if the serial port is responding properly is to try using it. If it works, it works. To help with this, we have included a program called Ser-Test.EXE. We suggest you not use it unless necessary because it will reset all of your serial ports, messing up whatever mouse drivers are present. This program will tell you how many serial ports your computer thinks it has, their allocated addresses, and if they are responding. It also makes a stab at determining where there are active modems, but due to the many different ways modems can be set up and the other types of serial equipment out there, this is not to be considered definative. This program will NOT tell you whether the IRQs are properly matched to the COM numbers. If you have a diagnostics disk for your PC or AT, and if you have problems using or accessing the serial ports, you should run the diagnostics. (Alternatively, you may see one of the following messages at boot-up, but this is unlikely since serial ports are counted at boot-up, rather than before in hardware the way video and disk drives are). The error messages to look for span from 1100 to 1157 for COM1: and from 1200 to 1257 for COM2:. They include: XX00: Everything seems to be O.K. XX01: Adapter failure XX42: Problem with IRQ4 XX43: Problem with IRQ3 There are many other messages, but these are the most likely serial-port specific errors you may run into. Other error messages, such as XX11 and XX14, may occur if you have a modem attached (those are "Ring Detect" and "Data Signal Ready".) If you run into any other error numbers, either look them up in a Technical Reference Manual or ask your service person- there may be a problem with some other area of your system. If you receive either a 4800 or a 4801 (or 4900/4901), you have an IBM modem. The 4801 would indicate that this modem is in fact not working properly, which is a moot point at best. Most programs, including the Commander, are preconfigured to work only with Hayes compatible modems (of which this is not one), so we suggest you purchase a new modem if you wish to use the MCI Mail portion of the program. (480X would be on COM1:, 490X would be on COM2:) **************************************************** * Non-serial-port problems with MCI Mail: * **************************************************** "Session Complete" before anything has been done: the modem setting may be too fast for the modem: i.e. you may have configured the program to send characters at 2400 baud to a 1200 buad modem. Also, modem may not be properly attached to the computer, may not be turned on, or simply may be misconfigured so as not to be recognized. Dials and then "No Carrier or Busy.": the telephone line may be busy, it may not have reset from the last call (if it was not properly hung up), or the modem may not be properly attached to the phone line. If all of these have been checked, try a different phone number for MCI, and then go to the "minimizing noise" section of this file. If the problem with Mail is that the modem is not hanging up and you are using a 2400 baud modem, you should add two commands to the modem initialization string: &C1 &D2 ***************************************************** * Cable Specifications for the Commander Link: * ***************************************************** If the problem is with Link, first make certain that you are using the correct type of cable: a null-modem cable (3-wire, although 7-wire will work). Null-modem cables have pins two and three crossed, and are straight pass-through for pin seven (DB-25 connector numbers). Pins two and three are reversed on the nine-pin connectors, and pin seven on the DB-25 is connected to pin five on the DB-9. ***************************************************** * Turbo-Mode and Speed Notes (Commander Link): * ***************************************************** The Turbo Mode refers to the speed that characters are sent. The speed of reception is not affected. This is a different speed measurement than that of the baud rate. The baud rate refers to the speed that the serial port is run at. This is the maximum speed that characters can be sent at. Non-Turbo mode inserts an extra delay between characters to aid in the recognition of the characters. If the characters are sent before the other computer is ready for them, some of the data can be lost. This loss is recognized by our error-checking, and the data is resent (the NAK'd and resent numbers on the slave computer), but the resend rate rate speeds up the transfer rate. When running a 386 to an 8086, if you receive many NAK'd errors (if the 8086 is the slave), you should switch "Turbo" OFF on the 386 computer, leaving Turbo ON on the 8086 computer. Doing this can increase the transfer rate by a factor of two, if the error rate was around 10%! Some computers, such as the IBM PS/2 386 models (70 and 80) can not run the serial port at 115,200 baud. They must be run at 57K instead. However, even at 57KB, one or both of the computers may need to be taken out of Turbo mode. NOTE: TURBO and NON-TURBO modes refer to the Link dialog box. They do NOT refer to the speed of the computer on which they are running, such as a Turbo-XT. *********************************** * Serial Port Solutions: * *********************************** The serial ports MUST be configured for COM1: on IRQ4, and COM2: on IRQ3. Although some programs support COM3 and COM4 (which should be configured on IRQ4 and IRQ3 respectively), we do not: versions of DOS prior to 3.3 did not explicitly support these ports, nor did the ROM-BIOS of computers prior to the PS/2 series. Examine your AUTOEXEC.BAT file for "mode" commands and printer drivers that are sending data to the serial ports (most likely if you have an older LaserJet). Check for mouse drivers. In general, mouse drivers will not install themselves if a mouse was not found at boot-up, but some may. The mouse driver will install itself if it saw the mouse. When the mouse driver is installed, it expects control of the serial port, and may cause some problems with our program if you plug the modem into the same port the mouse was in. (This only applies to serial mice. PS/2 and Bus mice do not share this problem.) ****************************** * Minimizing Noise: * ****************************** 1) Use a shielded RS-232 cable (a round cable) instead of a ribbon (flat) cable, either as your null-modem cable or to connect the modem to your computer (not an issue with internal modems). 2) Keep the cables as far away from the monitor and power supply as possible. 3) If line noise still persists, try turning off all other electrical appliances (especially televisions and florescent lights) to see if that eliminates the problem. If so, turn them back on a few at a time until you find the offending units. 4) You may not be able to do anything about it: some switching stations are noisier than others (the noise may come from the phone company). Try calling numbers in different areas. If this fails, it may be the line and station that your dwelling is routed through. 5) As always, make certain that all connections are tightly attached.