SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

MANUAL
For InstaCal™, the Universal Library™ and Supporting Software for
ComputerBoards Data Acquisition and Control Boards

Revision 1 - June, 1999

ComputerBoards, Inc.
© Copyright 1999
SM Installation.doc i Revision 1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1

2 GETTING STARTED ....................................................................................... 1

2.1 PCI & CPCI Bus Plug and Play Boards.......................................................... 1
2.2 PC-CARD & PCMCIA Bus Plug and Play Boards ........................................ 1
2.3 ISA & PC104 Bus Manually Configured Boards ........................................... 2

3 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ....................................................................... 2

3.1 Installing from CD .......................................................................................... 3
3.1.1 Windows 95, 98 or NT........................................................................... 3
3.1.2 Windows 3.x .......................................................................................... 3

3.2 Installing from floppy disk.............................................................................. 3

3.2.1 Windows 95, 98 or NT........................................................................... 3
3.2.2 Windows 3.x .......................................................................................... 3

3.3 Installation Options ......................................................................................... 3

3.3.1 Windows 95 or 98 .................................................................................. 3
3.3.2 Windows 3.x .......................................................................................... 3
3.3.3 Windows NT .......................................................................................... 4
3.3.4 File and Shortcut/Icon Locations ........................................................... 4

3.4 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION OPTIONS ..................................................... 4

3.5 Completing the Installation............................................................................. 4

3.5.1 PC-CARD & PCMCIA Bus Plug and Play Boards ................................ 4
3.5.1 PCI & CPCI Bus Plug and Play Boards.................................................. 5
3.5.1 ISA & PC104 Bus Manually Configured Boards ................................... 5

4 USING InstaCal .................................................................................................. 6

4.1 Starting InstaCal ............................................................................................. 6

4.2 Installing a Board ............................................................................................ 6

4.2.1 Plug and Play Boards ............................................................................. 6
4.2.2 Manually Configured Boards................................................................. 6

4.3 Testing the Installation.................................................................................... 7

4.4 Calibration....................................................................................................... 7

APPENDIX 1 – PCMCIA CARDS AND CARD & SOCKET SERVICES ...... 8

i. If your PCMCIA Card is not detected ............................................................... 8
a) Windows 95 or 98....................................................................................... 8
b) Windows 3.x or DOS.................................................................................. 8

ii
ii. ABOUT DOS CARD & SOCKET SERVICES ............................................... 9
a) What is CSS? .............................................................................................. 9
c) How Do I Know CSS Is Installed and Running?........................................ 9
d) What About CSS For Multiple PCM Boards?............................................ 9
iii. ABOUT CBCLIENT ....................................................................................... 9
a) What is CBCLIENT?.................................................................................. 9
b) How Do I Know CBCLIENT Is Installed?................................................. 9
c) Does CBCLIENT Use System Resources?................................................. 9
d) What About Clients For Multiple PCM Boards? ..................................... 10
e) What PCM Series Cards Are Supported By CBCLIENT?....................... 10

iii
1 INTRODUCTION
This manual covers the installation of supporting software for ComputerBoards data acquisition
and control products. This software consists of the InstaCal™ configuration, calibration and test
utility, the Universal Library™ for DOS and Windows programming and supporting software
for PCMCIA hardware.

The information in this manual supercedes any software installation information contained in the
hardware manual received with your data acquisition product.

2 GETTING STARTED
Before installing your data acquisition hardware, it is best to install the software. Once the
software is installed, the next step depends upon whether you are installing a Plug and Play board,
or one that is manually configured with switches and/or jumpers.

2.1 PCI & CPCI BUS PLUG AND PLAY BOARDS

If you are installing a Plug and Play board, such as a PCI bus product, install the software as
described in the following section, shut down the PC and then install the board into the PC as
described in the hardware Users Manual included with your board.

Once your PCI board is installed in the PC (as described in the hardware Users Manual supplied
with your board) and the PC is powered up, BIOS detects the board and assigns resources to the
board such as interrupts, I/O addresses and memory mapped addresses. The number and type of
resources assigned is determined by firmware on the PCI board you are installing.

Some operating systems, such as Windows 95 and 98, require more information to properly
configure the PCI board in the system. As Windows loads, it detects that new hardware has been
added and looks for an information file to properly add the new hardware to the Device Manager.
If the file needed is already installed on the PC, this process is automatic. If not, the user is
prompted to insert a disk containing the file. The file needed is included on the InstaCal and
Universal Library CD (or disk 1 of the InstaCal and Universal Library floppy disk set). Simply
insert the disk and click OK.

After your PCI board is configured by the system, run InstaCal as described in the Using
InstaCal section of this manual to test your board.

2.2 PC-CARD & PCMCIA BUS PLUG AND PLAY BOARDS

If you are installing a Hot-Swap Plug and Play board, such as a PCMCIA bus product, install the
software as described in the following section, reboot the PC and then insert the card into the
PCMCIA slot.

When you insert your PCMCIA card into a PCMCIA slot in the PC (as described in the hardware
Users Manual supplied with your board), Card and Socket Services detects the board and assigns
appropriate resources to the card such as interrupts and I/O addresses. The number and type of
resources assigned is determined by firmware on the PCMCIA card you are installing.

Some operating systems, such as Windows 95 and 98, require more information to properly
configure the PCMCIA card in the system. When Windows detects that a new card has been

1
installed in the system, it looks for an information file to properly add the new hardware to the
Device Manager. If the file needed is already installed on the PC, this process is automatic and
no user action is required. If not, the user is prompted to insert a disk containing the file. The file
needed is included on the InstaCal and Universal Library CD (or disk 1 of the InstaCal and
Universal Library floppy disk set). Simply insert the disk and click OK.

To verify the card has been recognized, open the Device Manager (Start/Settings/Control
Panel/System and select the Device Manager tab) and confirm that the card is listed under "DAS
Component." If your card appears in the list, run InstaCal as described in the Using InstaCal
section of this manual to test your board.

If your card has not been recognized, your system may not be properly configured for PCMCIA
card use. Please refer to Appenix 1 for more information.

2.3 ISA & PC104 BUS MANUALLY CONFIGURED BOARDS

If you are installing a manually confurable board, such as an ISA or PC104 bus product, install
the software as described in the following section. After installation of the software and before
plugging your board into the PC, restart the PC and run InstaCal as described in the Using
InstaCal section of this manual and configure your board. For manually configured boards,
InstaCal serves as a guide to setting switches and jumpers on your board. Using InstaCal to
verify these settings before physically installing the board can save time that might otherwise
have been wasted troubleshooting an improperly configured board.

Once the board has been configured and the switch settings shown in InstaCal match the
switches on the board, shut down the PC and then install the board into the PC as described in the
hardware Users Manual included with your board. When you restart your PC, run InstaCal as
described in the Using InstaCal section of this manual to test your board.

3 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

The InstaCal (and optional Universal Library) software for ComputerBoards data acquisition
and control hardware may be installed on Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows
NT systems. Any or all versions of the software may be installed on Windows 95 or 98 systems
including 32 bit Windows, 16 bit Windows and/or DOS packages. Only the 32 bit version may
be installed on an NT system. Only the 16 bit Windows and/or the DOS package may be
installed on Windows 3.x systems.

If you are installing on a DOS-only system, you will need to order the DOS installation disk set.
The part numbers for these products are InstaCal/DOS and Universal Library/DOS. Please
note, however that not all of the newer technology product is supported by the DOS versions of
InstaCal and the Universal Library. Please contact ComputerBoards if you have any questions
regarding these special DOS only versions.

If you have ordered the Universal Library, install the software from the Universal Library
diskette or CD. This package contains both the Universal Library and the InstaCal installation,
calibration and test utility. If you have not ordered the Universal Library insert the InstaCal
disk instead.

2
3.1 INSTALLING FROM CD
3.1.1 Windows 95, 98 or NT
If you are installing from CD and your system has the autorun feature enabled, the installation
dialog will open and you can then select the option to install InstaCal and / or the Universal
Library. If autorun is not enabled, use Explorer to navigate to the CD drive and double click on
the \Product\Disk1\Setup.exe program or click Start\Run, type in “D:\Product\Disk1\Setup.exe”
(assuming your CD drive is D:\) and then click “OK”.

3.1.2 Windows 3.x

Use File Manager to navigate to the CD drive and double click on the \Product\Disk1\Setup.exe
program or, from Program Manager, select the File/Run menu and type in
“D:\Product\Disk1\Setup.exe” (assuming your CD drive is D:\) and then click “OK”.

3.2 INSTALLING FROM FLOPPY DISK

3.2.1 Windows 95, 98 or NT
Use Explorer to navigate to the floppy drive in which you have installed the disk and double
click on the “Setup.exe” program or click Start\Run, type in “A:\Setup.exe” (assuming your
floppy drive is A:\) and then click “OK”.

3.2.2 Windows 3.x

Use File Manager to navigate to the floppy drive in which you have inserted the disk and double
click on the setup.exe program or, from Program Manager, select the File/Run menu and type in
“A:\ Setup.exe” (assuming your drive is A:\) and then click “OK”.

3.3 INSTALLATION OPTIONS

3.3.1 Windows 95 or 98
If you are using Windows 95 or Windows 98, an "Installation Options" dialog box will present
you with the option of installing either the 16-bit (Windows 3.x and DOS compatible) version
and/or 32-bit (Windows 95, 98 and NT compatible) version of InstaCal. Unless you have a
specific reason to use the 16-bit version of InstaCal (e.g. compatibility with an existing program
or you are developing for DOS), install the 32-bit version.

If you are installing the optional Universal Library also, the "Installation Options" dialog box will
present you with the option of installing libraries and example programs for a variety of DOS and
Windows programming languages. Select the desired example programs by checking the
appropriate box(s).

3.3.2 Windows 3.x

The 16 bit DOS version of InstaCal will be installed.

If you are installing the optional Universal Library also, the "Installation Options" dialog box will
present you with the option of installing libraries and example programs for a variety of Windows
and DOS programming languages. Select the desired example programs by checking the
appropriate box(s).

3
3.3.3 Windows NT
The 32 bit Windows version of InstaCal will be installed.

If you are installing the optional Universal Library also, the "Installation Options" dialog box will
present you with the option of installing example programs for a variety of Windows
programming languages. Select the desired example programs by checking the appropriate
box(s).

3.3.4 File and Shortcut/Icon Locations

The installation program will place all appropriate files in a directory named "C:\CB" by default.
The “Choose Destination Location” dialog allows you to select other existing directories or create
a new directory rather than accept the default. If you change this default location, remember
where the installed files are placed as you may need to access them later.

The installation will also set up a program folder (or program group) named “ComputerBoards”
by default. This folder will contain the shortcuts (or icons) for the InstaCal utility and the readme
file. The “Create Program Folder” dialog allows you to select other existing folders or create a
new folder rather than accepting the default. If you change this default folder, remember the
folder name so you can access the shortcuts later.

3.4 SYSTEM CONFIGURATION OPTIONS

At the end of the installation process, the installation wizard will ask a series of questions
regarding updating your startup files. Accept the defaults when prompted unless you have
specific reasons not to.

For some operating systems, one of the options involves whether or not to install CBCLIENT.
The default is NO. Accept the default if you are installing on a Windows 95 or 98 system and
you are using the integrated Card and Socket Services built into those operating systems. Select
YES if you will be using a PCM Series Card and are installing for Windows 3.x or DOS. If you
are unsure of which option to choose, please read Appendix 1 regarding Card and Socket Services
elsewhere in this manual.

You will also be asked if you would like to read an updated README file. You should choose
yes and review the information in the file. It will include the latest information regarding your
software.

3.5 COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION

Your computer must be restarted in order for the changes made to the system to take affect. As
mentioned in the Getting Started section, whether you shut down the PC and install your
hardware now, or simply restart your PC depends upon whether you are installing a Hot Swap
board (PCMCIA), other Plug and Play board (such as PCI bus boards) or a manually configurable
board.

3.5.1 PC-CARD & PCMCIA Bus Plug and Play Boards

If your board is Hot Swappable Plug and Play (PCM Series), restart the PC now. After reboot,
insert the card into the PCMCIA slot as described in the hardware Users Manual included with
your board. If your card is recognized by the system (insertion is acknowleged with a beep or a
dialog box), run InstaCal and install and test your board as described in the Using InstaCal

4
section of this manual. If the card is not recognized by the system, refer to Appendix 1 in this
manual.

3.5.1 PCI & CPCI Bus Plug and Play Boards

If your board is Not Hot Swappable Plug and Play (such as PCI bus boards) and is not yet
installed in the PC, shut down the PC now and install the board into the PC as described in the
hardware Users Manual included with your board. When you restart your PC, run InstaCal to
detect and test your board as described in the Using InstaCal section of this manual.

3.5.1 ISA & PC104 Bus Manually Configured Boards

If your board is a manually confurable board, such as an ISA or PC104 bus product, restart the
PC, run InstaCal and install and configure your board as described in the Using InstaCal section
of this manual. For manually configured boards, InstaCal serves as a guide to setting the
switches and jumpers on your board. Using InstaCal to verify these settings before physically
installing the board can save time that might otherwise have been wasted troubleshooting an
improperly configured board.

Once the board has been configured and the switch settings shown in InstaCal match the
switches on the board, shut down the PC and then install the board into the PC as described in the
hardware Users Manual included with your board. When you restart your PC, run InstaCal and
install and test your board as described in the Using InstaCal section of this manual.

5
4 USING InstaCal
InstaCal is the installation, calibration, and test software that is supplied with all ComputerBoards
I/O boards.

Two versions of InstaCal are supplied with the board. The standard 32-bit version is compatible
with Windows 95, 98 and NT. For those using older operating systems, the DOS based 16-bit
version is supplied and is compatible with DOS, Windows 3.x and Windows 95. (However, we
recommend that Windows 95 users take advantage of the 32-bit version).

A board does not have to be installed in order for InstaCal to run, but obviously, the board must
be installed prior to testing or calibrating the board.

4.1 STARTING InstaCal

Be sure to restart your computer after the initial software installation, and before running
InstaCal. Run the InstaCal program to test your board and configure it for run-time use. By
configuring the board, you add information to the configuration file, cb.cfg. This file is used by
the Universal Library as well as third-party data acquisition packages that use the Universal
Library to access the board.

Launch InstaCal by going to the folder selected above in the File and Shortcut/Icon Locations
section (ComputerBoards by default) and double clicking the InstaCal shortcut (InstaCal 16 if
you wish to run the 16-bit version). You may also launch the program by finding the file named
"inscal32.exe" (or “instacal.exe” for 16 bit) in your installation directory and double clicking it.

4.2 INSTALLING A BOARD

4.2.1 Plug and Play Boards
If your Plug and Play board has been properly detected by the system, InstaCal will display a
Board Detection dialog box listing the board you are installing and any other ComputerBoards
Plug and Play boards that have been detected in the system. This dialog gives you the option of
adding any or all of the listed boards to the configuration file (cb.cfg).

If your Plug and Play board is not detected by the system (or is not listed in the Board Detection
dialog box), refer to the Plug and Play Appendix elsewhere in this manual.

Once installed, the properties (configuration) of the board may be changed by double clicking on
the board name. For Plug and Play boards, many of the properties are set by the system and
cannot by changed through InstaCal.

4.2.2 Manually Configured Boards

Select the Install menu, then the Add Board menu (Instacal 32) or the Board # menu (Instacal 16)
and select the board you are installing from the list of boards presented.

Once installed, the properties (configuration) of the board may be changed by double clicking on
the board name. A graphic will be displayed for each of the settings that involve a switch or
jumper. Use that graphic to ensure that the physical setting of the switch or jumper on the board
matches the configuration setting in InstaCal.

6
4.3 TESTING THE INSTALLATION
After you have run the software installation program, installed your board in the PC and set your
board configuration with InstaCal, you can test the installation. Select the Test menu and then
select the board you want to verify. Select the type of test you would like to perform and follow
the instructions provided.

If you do not receive the expected results:

1. Make certain you have connected the correct pins according to the connector diagram.
2. Go back through the installation procedure and make sure you have installed the board
according to the instructions.

If this does not get you to the desired display, please call us (or contact your local distributor) for
additional assistance.

4.4 CALIBRATION
If required, select CALIBRATE from the InstaCal main menu. The procedure is self-documented.
Calibration of Auto – Calibrate boards requires no external equipment. Calibration of most other
boards requires a precision source or a precision voltmeter.

7
APPENDIX 1 – PCMCIA CARDS AND CARD & SOCKET
SERVICES
When you insert your PCMCIA card into a PCMCIA slot in the PC (as described in the hardware
Users Manual supplied with your board), Card and Socket Services detects the board and you are
notified by the system, either by a dialog box or an audible tone. If there is no response from the
system when the card is inserted or removed, your system may not be configured for PCMCIA
support.

I. IF YOUR PCMCIA CARD IS NOT DETECTED

The use of PCMCIA cards requires that Card and Socket Services are installed on your system.
If your system was purchased with a PCMCIA port installed, it is very likely that the software
required to use that port (Card and Socket Services) is installed. If you insert your PCMCIA
card into the slot and get no acknowledgement from the PC (either a dialog box appears or a
sound is produced on insertion or removal of the card), the problem may be that Card and
Socket Services is not installed or active. Read the section below that applies to the operating
system you are using to determine if additional software is required.

a) Windows 95 or 98
If Windows does not detect the card or you are not prompted for a driver after inserting the card,
check that your computer's 32-bit PCMCIA drivers are enabled. Do this by opening the System
Properties dialog (Start/Settings/Control Panel/System) and clicking the Performance tab. The
PC Cards (PCMCIA) field should indicate 32-bit. If “DOS Compatible Mode” or “No PCMCIA
Sockets Installed” is indicated, you need to update your system. Depending on which condition
is reported, use one of the following procedures.

“No PCMCIA Sockets Installed”: Open the System Properties dialog (Start/Settings/Control
Panel/System) and click the Device Manager tab. Verify that a PCMCIA Socket is listed and
that the Properties indicate “working”. If not, use the Add New Hardware Wizard to install your
PCMCIA support.

“DOS Compatible Mode”: Open the PC Card Properties dialog (Start/Settings/Control

Panel/PC Card). The dialog for loading 32-bit drivers should pop up. Load the 32-bit drivers.

After performing the update procedure above, reboot your PC and try inserting your PCM Series
card again. To verify the card has been recognized, go to Control Panel/System/Device Manager
and the card should now appear under "DAS Component." If your card appears in the list you can
now proceed to the "USING InstaCal" section of this manual.

b) Windows 3.x or DOS

Computers running Windows 3.x and/or DOS must use the DOS based Card & Socket Services
(CSS) drivers. CSS is included with most new computers, but if you need to purchase these
drivers, they are available from ComputerBoards (order PCM CSS).

DOS Card & Socket Services drivers are usually loaded from the CONFIG.SYS system file.
Verify that these drivers are loading without error when you boot your PC. If these drivers are
not installed on your PC, are not loading properly or you are not sure that they are required on
your system, see the section titled ABOUT DOS CARD & SOCKET SERVICES below.

8
In addition, when using specialized PCMCIA cards (such as data acquisition cards) with DOS
based Card & Socket Services (CSS) drivers, client software may also be required. The client
for ComputerBoards data acquisition cards, CBCLIENT, is used by CSS to configure the
PCMCIA data acquisition cards. CBCLIENT loads from the AUTOEXEC.BATsystem file. If
CBCLIENT is not loading without error when you boot your PC, see the section titled ABOUT
CBCLIENT below.

II. ABOUT DOS CARD & SOCKET SERVICES

The following section describes DOS Card & Socket Services. Read it to help determine if you
need to install DOS Card & Socket Services. If, after reviewing the following information you
decide you need to install it, ComputerBoards offers DOS Card & Socket Services drivers by
SystemSoft as a separate product (order PCM CSS).

Some operating systems, such as Windows 95, include an integrated version of Card & Socket
Services. If you are running such an operating system, do not install DOS Card & Socket
Services unless you have a specific reason to do so.

a) What is CSS?
CSS is a program that communicates with your computers PCMCIA interface controller and
configures it. The PCMCIA interface is configurable, unlike the standard ISA bus you may be
familiar with. If you plug a PCMCIA board into a PCMCIA slot and have not run CSS, you will
have no access to board functions.
c) How Do I Know CSS Is Installed and Running?
There is a simple test. Just plug in your PCM card. If CSS is installed and working the computer
will beep. You can remove and replace your PCM card as often as you like and need not power
down to do so. The computer should beep each time you insert the PCM card.
d) What About CSS For Multiple PCM Boards?
Card & Socket Services should function for all types of PCMCIA cards..

III. ABOUT CBCLIENT

a) What is CBCLIENT?
CBCLIENT.COM is a DOS based configuration client that is used as an aid in configuring
PCMCIA data acquisition cards when using DOS based Card & Socket Services drivers.
CBCLIENT.COM is included with the software received with your PCMCIA data acquisition
card. If you are using any DOS based Card & Socket Services drivers, CBCLIENT.COM should
be loaded at boot time following the loading of the Card & Socket Services drivers. Do not load
CBCLIENT.COM if you are using Windows based Card & Socket Services drivers.
b) How Do I Know CBCLIENT Is Installed?
As the system boots, CBCLIENT displays a banner indicating that it is loading. Any errors in the
loading process will also be displayed.
c) Does CBCLIENT Use System Resources?
Yes. The CBCLIENT.COM driver installed from your AUTOEXEC.BAT uses about 10K of
memory. The CBCLIENT.COM program is a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident). You may
modify the program line to LOADHIGH the TSR. We have tested it both high and low with and

9
without Windows and a variety of other applications. We believe it is a safe TSR and will not
cause any system problems.
d) What About Clients For Multiple PCM Boards?
You can run multiple PCMCIA boards with CBCLIENT running. If you have other CLIENT
programs running for other PCMCIA boards, it will not interfere.
e) What PCM Series Cards Are Supported By CBCLIENT?
The current version of CBCLIENT is valid for all ComputerBoards PCM data acquisition boards
released at the time of the release of CBCLIENT. As new PCM Series boards become available,
they will be added to the client. You should always have the most recent version of CBCLIENT
installed. Let the installation software do this for you.

10
For your notes

11
 ComputerBoards, Inc.
16 Commerce Blvd.,
Middleboro, MA 02346
Tel: (508) 946-5100
Fax: (508) 946-9500
Web: www.computerboards.com