- How to convert
old BASIC program to Visual Basic project?
Q:
I have to convert a Qbasic program into a Visual Basic
program. Now I got a problem with the Qbasic out command
and I want to know if I can solve the problem with you
product.
A:Yes,
NTPort Library is an ideal replacement of old BASIC
INP or OUT statement. You can change INP function to
Inp function and OUT statement to Outp sub procedure.
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- How
to increase the performance under Windows NT/2000/XP?
Q:
I use Inport
and Outport functions, but it seemed both functions
are slow when I call them in a long loop under Windows
NT/2000. Is there a way to speed up?
A:
If you use Inport and Outport in a long loop, please
try SetFastMode, EnablePorts and DisablePorts functions
which can increase the performance under Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista (32-bit only).
There is a sample called FastMode to demonstrate how
to use both functions. The fast mode is not supported under Windows XP/Server 2003/Vista x64 edition.
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- Does NTPort Library provide
the feature similar to Peek and Poke?
Q:
I need to convert an old BASIC program, which used Peek
and Poke. Does your library support these functions?
A:
NTPort Library currently doesn't support memory mapped
I/O, but we have another product, MemAccess
Library, which is designed to direct access to physical
memory.
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- Does NTPort Library support
.NET platform?
Q:
I need to migrate my product
to .NET platform. Does NTPort Library support Microsoft
.NET?
A:
NTPort Library is fully tested under .NET platform, and
the Visual Basic.NET (2002/2003/2005), Visual C#.NET, Borland C#Builder, and Delphi for .NET samples
are included. But the DLL file, ntport.dll, is an unmanaged
DLL. Please refer to Use with Visual Basic.NET, Use with Visual C#, Using with Delphi for .NET and Using with C#Builder in the help document.
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- How to
get base addresses of a PCI device?
Q:
I
use your NTPort Library to write and read to a PCI card.
When I put the PCI card into different PCs it gets different
addresses. If there where a utility that I could ask:
- What type of PCI card is present (for example Vendor
or Device ID)
- What all the relevant data is for a card with a specific
Vendor/Device ID (for example the Base Address Registers).
A:
Please use another product, MemAccess
Library, which supports PCI functions. You can use
maGetDeviceBaseAddress function to locate a PCI device
and then retrieve all base addresses. And then you can
use Inp/Outp functions in NTPort Library to access I/O
ports of your PCI device. Please don't use peek or poke
functions in MemAccess Library to read or write your I/O
ports, because peek or poke functions are designed to
use with memory mapped I/O.
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- What's the difference between
Inp and Inport function?
Q:
I notice that there are Inp
and Inport function in your library. What's difference?
A:
No difference. We provide pairs of functions with same
feature to help programmers convert their old programs
with less source code modification. We recommend you use
Inp and Outp, because they are slightly fast compared
to Inport and Outport.
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- Do I need zntport.sys
under Windows 95/98/Me?
Q:
I want to use your product
under Windows 95/98/Me. Do I need zntport.sys?
A:
No, you needn't.
The driver zntport.sys is required only under Windows
NT/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista.
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- How many files do I need
to copy to my client's machine?
Q:
I copied my program and ntport.dll to my client's Windows
NT machine, but it failed to work. After I installed
your NTPort Library package, my program worked fine.
What files do I need to copy?
A:
You can find all runtime files you need to distribute
in NTPort\Redist directory. Under Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista,
you need to distribute zntport.sys. Please read Distribution
Notes in the help document for details.
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- Can I use NTPort Library
to enable third party components to work under Windows
NT/2000?
Q:
I have a third
party component, which can work under Windows 95/98,
but it will cause privileged instruction exception under
Windows NT/2000/XP. I ensure the component only accesses
PC I/O ports. Can I use NTPort Library to enable my
component to work under Windows NT/2000/XP?
A:
If the component
only accesses PC I/O ports and you know which ports
it uses, you can call EnablePorts function before you
call the component's functions and call DisablePorts
when your program will end.
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- Do
I need to log as administrator when I use NTPort Library?
Q:
Do I need to log as administrator when I use NTPort
Library under Windows NT/2000/XP? We do not want every
person who uses our application to have full authority
to access every part of the operating system.
A:
From the version 2.1, NTPort Library supports both administrator
and non-administrator account, but administrator privileges
are required to install NTPort Library on Windows NT/2000/XPServer 2003/Vista.
Because Windows NT/2000/XPServer 2003/Vista's limitation, you need more
system configuration if the user doesn't have administrative
right. Please read Distribution Notes in the help document
for details.
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- What's
the meaning of error message "Can't connect to Service
Control Manager"?
Q:
I want to test your NTPort Library, if it is the right
for my application. But on an NT4 machine I become following
error message, after click the Inport- or Outport button
in your Porttest program: "Cant connect to Service Control
Manager". Can you tell me what's wrong?
A: Obviously, you
don't have administrative right. From the version 2.1,
NTPort Library supports both administrator and non-administrator
account, but because Windows NT/2000/XP limitation,
you need more system configuration if the user don't
have administrative right. Please read Distribution
Notes in the help document for details. You can also
refer to GetLastState function about the meaning of
other error messages.
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- Does NTPort Library support 64-bit Windows?
Q:
I want to develop for Windows XP x64 edition. Does your driver support it?
A: 64-bit Windows requires 64-bit driver. NTPort Library supports Windows XP/Server 2003/Vista x64 edition for both AMD64 and Intel EM64T, but won't support Intel Itanium(IA64) platform. Both 32-bit(x86) driver and x64 driver are included in this version, but only 32-bit DLL is included. We will provide x64 DLL in the future version. Most features are same in 32-bit edition and x64 edition, but fast mode is not supported in x64 edition yet.
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- Why my
program gets a privileged instruction error in fast mode?
Q: I am using the NTPort library. I am getting a
privileged instruction error at my application. It seamed
to me that the cause of this error, was the use of fast
mode on Win2000 operating system. How can I resolve
this?
A: Please make sure
you call EnablePorts function before you read
or write the data using Inport or Outport function when
your program is running at fast mode. If you didn't
call EnablePorts, you will get a privileged instruction
error. When your operations finish, please call DisablePorts function to release the resource. Please refer to our FastMode sample for details. EnablePorts or DisablePorts functions are not required in normal mode.
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- Can I use NTPort Library in a 16-bit application?
Q:Can I use NTPort Library in a 16-bit application written with Borland C++ v3.1?
A: We no longer support 16-bit applications. If you want to use NTPort Library in a 16-bit application, please use Automation or thunk technology. Please refer to following articles in Microsoft Knowledge Base:
HOWTO: Call 32-bit Code from 16-bit Code Under Windows 95(Q154093)
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NTPort Library