Usb2isa Users Guide

ARS Technologies User's Guide V 2.
150
ARS Technologies
'USB2', 'SSI2', and 'XPRS'

families of products
User’s Guide
V 2.150
[1]
ARS Technologies User's Guide V 2.150
Proprietary Information
Information specific to the design contained in this document is
proprietary to ARS Technologies (http:/www.arstech.com). It is against
the law to copy software on any media except as specifically allowed
in the license or nondisclosure agreement.
Copyright
© Copyright 2020 by ARS Technologies . All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval
system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of ARS Technologies.
Disclaimers
ARS TECHNOLOGIES MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH
RESPECT TO THE DESIGN AND DOCUMENTATION HEREIN DESCRIBED AND
ESPECIALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. FURTHER, ARS TECHNOLOGIES
RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISE THIS DESIGN AND ASSOCIATED
DOCUMENTATION AND TO MAKE CHANGES FROM TIME TO TIME IN THE
CONTENT WITHOUT OBLIGATION OF ARS TECHNOLOGIES TO NOTIFY ANY
PERSON OF SUCH REVISIONS OR CHANGES.
Trademarks
USB2ISA®, USB2PCMCIA®, SSI2®, and are registered trademarks of ARS
Technologies in the US and number of other countries in the world.
Third-party brands and names are the property of their respective owners.
[2]
No Warranty
Everyone using the software and hardware provided by ARS Technologies

acknowledges that the hardware and software is provided “AS IS” WITH NO
WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY,
NONINFRINGEMENT, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY
WARRANTY OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF ANY PROPOSAL, SPECIFICATION,
OR SAMPLE.
Damages
In no event will ARS Technologies be liable to anyone using the software

and hardware provided by ARS Technologies, for any loss of profits, loss
of use, incidental, consequential, indirect, or special damages arising out
of this or any other damage, whether or not such party had advance
notice of the possibility of such damages.
[3]
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................6
1.1 ARS Technologies product lines................................................................................................................7
1.2 Software.....................................................................................................................................................9
1.3 Customers.................................................................................................................................................10
2. Considerations before and after purchase...................................................................................................11

2.1 Hardware considerations..........................................................................................................................11
2.2 Software Considerations...........................................................................................................................14
3. USB2 product line......................................................................................................................................16

3.1 USB2ISA-R card .....................................................................................................................................16
3.2 USB2ISA-X3 card....................................................................................................................................20
3.3 USB2PCMCIA-R card.............................................................................................................................24
3.4 Other USB2 cards.....................................................................................................................................26
4. SSI2 Product Line.......................................................................................................................................27

4.1 SSI2 ISA card ..........................................................................................................................................27
4.2 SSI2 PCI card ..........................................................................................................................................28
4.3 SSI2 ISA X3 card ....................................................................................................................................29
4.4 SSI2 PCI X3 card ....................................................................................................................................30
4.5 Evolution of SSI2 cards............................................................................................................................31
5. XPRS Product Line.....................................................................................................................................32

5.1 XPRS-Host-DT card ................................................................................................................................32
5.2 XPRS-Host-EC card ................................................................................................................................33
5.3 XPRS-EC card .........................................................................................................................................34
5.4 XPRS-PX-X1 card ...................................................................................................................................35
5.5 XPRS-PX-X16 card .................................................................................................................................36
5.6 XPRS-PCI-X1 card...................................................................................................................................37
5.7 XPRS-CB card .........................................................................................................................................39
5.8 XPRS-PCI-X3 card ..................................................................................................................................40
5.7 XPRS-cPCIe card ....................................................................................................................................42
6. Installation..................................................................................................................................................43
6.1 Software Setup..........................................................................................................................................43
6.2 Specifics for installing on Windows platform..........................................................................................44
6.3 Specifics for installing on Mac OS X platform........................................................................................49
6.4 Specifics for installing on x86 Linux platform.........................................................................................51
6.5 Specifics for installing on ARM Linux platform......................................................................................53
6.6 Specifics for installing on Android platform............................................................................................55
[4]
7. Utilities - ARSTech Enumerator and ARSGui...........................................................................................57

7.1 Starting of utilities on Windows...............................................................................................................58
7.2 Starting of utilities on Mac OS X.............................................................................................................61
7.3 Starting of utilities on Linux x86 32/64bit..............................................................................................61
7.4 Starting of utilities on Linux ARM (Raspberry Pi)..................................................................................61
7.5 Starting of utilities on Android................................................................................................................62
7.6 ARSTech Enumerator – GUI and text based............................................................................................63
7.7 Exclusive mode and host controller support - specifics for USB2 products............................................73
7.8 Universal Software Layer.........................................................................................................................77
7.9 Diagnostics mode of the ARS Technologies Enumerator........................................................................79
7.10 ArsGUI...................................................................................................................................................80
7.11 Developers' support – basic/simple API set for access of ISA / PCI / PCMCIA hardware..................83
8. ISA cards - use ...........................................................................................................................................87

8.1 Using of a PnP ISA card ..........................................................................................................................87
8.2 Using of a standard (non PnP) ISA card .................................................................................................90
8.3 Software types .........................................................................................................................................93
8.4 '16bit DOS' software type.........................................................................................................................95
8.5 '32bit Windows NT type driver - no .inf file' software type.....................................................................97
8.6 '32bit Windows type driver - with .inf file' software type.........................................................................98
8.7 Example of a modified .INF file for installing .....................................................................................100
8.8 'ARSTech application or unknown' software type .................................................................................101
9. PCMCIA cards - use ...............................................................................................................................102
10. PCI cards – use.......................................................................................................................................106
11. PCI Express -x1 and -x16 cards - use ....................................................................................................109
12. ExpressCard type34 and type54 cards – use...........................................................................................112
13. Compact PCI Express and PXI Express cards - use ..............................................................................114
Appendix.......................................................................................................................................................116
[5]
1. Introduction
The User's Guide is organized in the following sections :
– introduction – chapters 1 , 2 ; outlines the product lines and individual products

that we have, and considerations for purchasing and using of our products
– hardware – chapters 3, 4, 5 ; shows the individual products in the 'USB2' , 'SSI2'
and 'XPRS' - settings, connecting, powering, enclosures
– software – chapters 6, 7 ; describes installation of the software and utilities, with
details and specifics for the ARSTech Enumerator
– use – chapters 8, ; shows the use of ISA, PCMCIA, PCI, PCI Express peripheral
cards with our products
We recommend our customers to read :

– introduction - all of chapters 1, 2
– hardware – the specific chapter(s) for our product(s) planned to be purchased, or
already purchased; this will allow to do physical installation, jumper settings,
powering, putting into enclosure
– software – all of chapters 6, 7 , which helps in understanding the specifics of
running on different operating systems, using through USB, settings for peripheral
cards
– use - the specific chapter, based on the peripheral card used
[6]
1.1 ARS Technologies product lines
ARS Technologies has 4 lines of products:

- USB1 line - discontinued
- USB2 line - active, mature
- SSI2 line - inactive, new edition under development
- XPRS line – active, growing
Information on products based on USB1.1 interface is available in earlier versions of

this document. This User’s Guide deals only with the current active products.
USB2 Cards
The USB2 line of products allows using ISA and 16bit PCMCIA cards outside of
computers systems through USB. It includes two families of products:
 USB2.0 to ISA cards family of products

 USB2.0 to PCMCIA card
The family of USB 2.0 to ISA cards enable connection of one or more ISA cards and
use through USB. The products of the family USB 2.0 to ISA include 2 active
products:
 USB2ISA-R – USB2.0 to ISA card, allows the use of one ISA card
 USB2ISA-X3 – USB2.0 to ISA 3 connector card, allows use of up to 3 ISA
cards
Other cards are available only on special/volume orders:

 USB2ISA-RA – USB2.0 to ISA right angle card, allows the use of one ISA
card
 USB2ISA-SL - USB2.0 to ISA slot version card, requires a separate passive
ISA back plane where it is installed, and allows the use of number of ISA
cards, depending on the number of ISA connectors on the back plane
 USB2ISA-X7 – USB2.0 to ISA 7 connector card, allows the use of up to 7
ISA cards
[7]
The USB 2.0 to PCMCIA card enables connection of a PCMCIA card and use
through USB. It is available only on special/volume orders. The products of the
USB2.0 to PCMCIA family includes:
USB2PCMCIA-R – USB2.0 to PCMCIA card, allows the use of one 16bit

PCMCIA card
SSI2 Cards
The SSI2 line of products allows use of PCI, ISA and 16/32bit PCMCIA cards outside
of computers systems, through cable.
The SSI2 products are multi-interface products which connect with:

– SSI2 host cards
– standard USB2 hosts
The SSI2 products include:
– SSI2 ISA family - allow the use of one or 3 ISA cards

– SSI2 PCI family - allows the use of one or 3 PCI cards
– SSI2 PCMCIA - allows the use of one 16/32bit PCMCIA card
The SSI2 Host side products include:
 SSI2 HostPCI – mounted in a PCI slot of a desktop computer

 SSI2 HostCB – mounted in a CardBus slot of a notebook computer
[8]
XPRS Cards
The XPRS line of products allows use of PCI, PCI Express, ExpressCard, and 32bit
PCMCIA cards outside of computers systems, through cable.
There are 2 type of XPRS products:

- host cards – mounted on a desktop system, or on a notebook system with
- and peripheral cards – handling PCI, PCI Express, ExpressCard, and 32bit PCMCIA
cards
Based on the computer system there are the following host cards:
- xprs-host-dt for a PCI Express desktop system
- or, xprs-host-ec for a notebook system with an ExpressCard slot
There are the following XPRS peripheral cards:

- xprs-px-x1 with a PCI Express X1 card
- xprs-px-x16 with a PCI Express X16 card
- xprs-pci-x1 with a PCI card
- xprs-cb with a PCMCIA CardBus card
- xprs-ec with an ExpressCard card
1.2 Software
Supported Platforms
The platforms that ARS Technologies' cards work on are:
• Windows – 32bit and 64bit / Windows 2000 – Windows 10, and later
• Linux – x86 32bit and 64bit / most kernels and distros
• Linux – ARM 32bit / (tested on Raspberry Pi)
• Android – ARM phones, tablets
• Mac OS X – 10.6 – 10.11, and later
The Windows platform includes support on - Windows 2000, Windows XP,

Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7 and
Windows 10. If you have Windows Vista or 8, we recommend upgrading to Windows
7 or 10.
[9]
The Linux platform includes support on 3.x.xx and later kernels, on x86 processors -
32bit and 64bit releases, and ARM processors – 32bit releases.
The Android platform includes support on phones and tablets which have USB host
support.
The Mac OS X platform includes support for Mac OS X 10.6 – 10.11 and later
releases.
The OS version and releases are the currently tested. Newer OS releases may work as
well.
1.3 Customers
We offer our products to two groups of customers:
 Manufacturers of ISA, PCI, or PCMCIA cards. Manufactures have the

source code of the software for their cards. They can use our ArsGui utility to
manually access the hardware on the peripheral card, and then our basic
simple API set to develop programs. Or they can use the extended API set
and samples in our SDKBUS kit to convert their software to work our USB2.0
products, or the SSI2 products. For more information, please visit :
www.arstech.com/SDKBUS.htm
 End users who do not have the source code, but just the binaries of an ISA,
PCI or PCMCIA card they use. End users can use our universal software layer
(USL) option with the original software of the card. The USL is included in
the installation software. There is a detailed description on the purpose, set-up
and use of the universal software layer in the following chapters.
[ 10 ]
2. Considerations before and after purchase

This chapter provides considerations on selecting of our products.
If you have selected, purchased and use the ideal set of products – congratulations!
In all the other cases you may need to revisit multiple times this chapter before and
after purchasing of our products.
2.1 Hardware considerations
XPRS or SSI2 / USB2 ?
XPRS line of products allows handling of peripheral cards in a way like they are
attached directly to the computer system.
If you have a high data throughput peripheral card we strongly recommend using
XPRS line of products.
The USB interface is present / available on almost all systems and supported in our
USB2 and SSI2 product lines, however is not similar to the interfaces of the
peripheral cards. We recommend testing/evaluating first with 1 set of –
product/enclosure/power supply/cable .
Single card or multiple cards ?
All of our product lines have products supporting a single peripheral card, or up to 3
peripheral cards .
If having multiple cards not similar to each other, we recommend mounting/testing

with one peripheral card at a time.
Choosing of powering of a peripheral card
An ISA card may use:

 either +5V only
 or +5V, and any combination of +12V, -5V and -12V
[ 11 ]
A PCI card may use:

 either +5V only
 or +3.3V only
 or +5V and any combination of +12V and -12V
 or +3.3V and any combination of +12V and -12V
A 16bit PCMCIA card may use:

 either +5V only
 or +3.3V only
A 32bit PCMCIA card uses

 +3.3V only
A PCI Express card may use:

 either +3.3V only
 or +3.3V and +12V
A ExpressCard card may use:

 +3.3V only
 or +3.3V and +1.5V
Regarding the voltages used by peripheral cards, please check our articles in the
'Knowledge Base' section - http://www.arstech.com/page--ste_whitepapers.html
All of product our lines provide power through the cable – some peripheral cards may
be powered/handled in this way.
ARS Technologies offers the following power supply options for ISA and PCI
peripheral cards:
 isa-pwr- Power-supply-module-isapwr.html
 isa-pwr-xr- External-Power-Supply-25W-ROHS
ARS Technologies offers the following power supply options for PCI, PCMCIA and
PCI Express peripheral cards:
 pwr-3v - 3.3V Power-supply
 pwr-5v, -eu, -uk - 5V Power-Supply
The currents consumed by the different voltages may vary from several mA to
several A .
The voltages used by a particular card are available in the

documentation/specifications sheet for that particular card. When using multiple
cards, please add the currents for a particular voltage to get the total current
consumed.
[ 12 ]
Choosing an enclosure for ISA, PCI and PCI Express cards
If you have a single ISA, PCI or PCI Express card, you can choose between:
 Enclosure-for-1-ISA-PCI-card
 Enclosure-Double-length-for-1-ISA-PCI-card
If you have multiple ISA, PCI or PCI Express cards, you can choose between:
 Enclosure-for-3-ISA-PCI-cards-isax3b1.html
 Enclosure-Double-length-for-3-ISA-PCI-cards
The above web pages offer:
 the enclosure images

 the maximum dimensions of an ISA, PCI or PCI Express card which can fit
into the enclosure
 assembly instructions for the enclosure and the peripheral card
[ 13 ]
2.2 Software Considerations
Different operating systems
Software written for one operating system may or may not work on other operating
systems.
ARS Technologies recommends finding software packages for the same hardware-
i.e. ISA, PCI, PCMCIA cards- for different operating system, and testing on the
particular operating system where you want to use the peripheral card.
Virtualization
Current solutions for virtualized operating systems are good for application / user
level software, however may be having problems with drivers / kernel level software
and special hardware.
If a test with our products on virtualized operating system, an option may be to test on
current os which is not virtualized.
Resources detection
Some peripheral cards like PCI, PCMCIA and Plug and Play (PNP) ISA cards can be
detected by our software and can provide their resources.
Other cards, like non PNP ISA cards can be scanned by our software and the detected
resources reported.
There may be a need to manually add resources which were not automatically
detected by ARS Technologies' installation software.
Peripheral card handling
Peripheral cards like PCI, PCI Express, PCMCIA and ISA cards may already have a
software binaries for one of more operating systems. We offer support for some types
binaries – with limitations.
[ 14 ]
Software developers who want to port the source of existing software, or wrote new
software can use our API set – the basic/simple set included in the install software, or
the extended set in the sdkbus product.
Adjustments
You can view ARS Technologies' warranty/refund store policies at:

http://www.arstech.com/page--ste_storepolicies.html
You can consider a number of solutions, until you find the most suitable option-
peripheral solution card, power supply, enclosure and/or cable.
If our product from one line does not work with a peripheral card, you can consider
testing with a product from another line which handles the same type of a peripheral
card.
[ 15 ]
3. USB2 product line

The chapter describes each individual card and the ways of powering, placing it in an
enclosure and connecting the card.
3.1 USB2ISA-R card
Image of USB2ISA-R
The USB 2.0 to ISA (USB2ISA-R) card works with one ISA card.
Step 1 - Powering considerations
There are 3 possible choices for powering an ISA card mounted on an USB2ISA-R:
 using the power provided through the USB cable- if the ISA card needs only
+5V and the power consumption is within 500mA.
[ 16 ]
 using an isa-pwr- in addition to the +5V coming through the USB cable, the
power supply module provides +12V, -12V and -5V when currents consumed
by an ISA card are within 50mA.
 using an external power supply ( isa-pwr-xr) adapters to provide +5v, +12V,

-12V and -5V when currents consumed by an ISA within the limits of the
particular external power adapter.
To find out if a particular ISA card needs additional voltages please read the article
located at:
http://www.arstech.com/page--pwrsupplyneeds.html .
To find the currents consumed, please check the documentation of the particular ISA
card in use.
ARS Technologies offers the following powering options:
 isa-pwr- Power-supply-module
If you want to use the isa-pwr (power supply module), it has to be mounted on the
power supply socket .
If you want to use the isa-pwr-xr (external power supply), the USB 2.0 to ISA card
will not work until the external power is turned on.
To assist with choosing a powering option, ARS Technologies offers a universal

choice, which can cover most available ISA cards - using isa-pwr-xr external power
supply to power ISA cards.
The USB2ISA-R board has a light emitting diode (LED) which indicates when there
is power supplied or not. When there is power, the LED is on, when there is no
power, the LED is off.
ARS Technologies recommends first connecting the USB 2.0 to ISA card without an
ISA card mounted and then checking in our Enumerator for connect/disconnect events
in order to make certain that the USB2ISA-R card is powered properly.
After mounting an ISA card in the USB 2.0 to ISA card, check in our Enumerator for
connect/disconnect events to make sure certain that the USB2ISA-R card is powered
properly.
[ 17 ]
The power selection jumper has two options:

(Please reference the USB2ISA-R image in section 3.1 to change jumper position)
Option 1: 1-2 Position (default)
 1-2 (default) - power provided by the USB cable; this choice has 2 options:
1. ISA card using only +5V; there is limit of 500 mA current

consumption from +5V
2. isa-pwr power supply module connected providing –5V, +12V or

-12V to the ISA card; the card consumes currents within the powering
limitations.
Option 2: 2-3 Position
 2-3 - power provided by an external power source; this choice has the option:
The power comes from an external power supply in the power socket
( isa-pwr-xr) adapters; there are +5V, +12V, -12V or -5V going to the
ISA card; the limit of current consumption depends on the external power
supply
External Jumper Powering Options
The external power jumper is placed in permanent position:

2-3 – (default) power provided by the isa-pwr-xr
Step 2 (optional) – Place USB2ISA-R card into an enclosure
ARS Technologies offers single and double length plastic enclosures. You will need
to measure the ISA card you have and select the appropriate single or double length
plastic enclosure for your card.
[ 18 ]
If you have an ISA card and are using the USB2ISA-R you can choose between two
enclosure options:
 Enclosure-for-1-ISA-PCI-card
 Enclosure-Double-length-for-1-ISA-PCI-card
 enclosure images
 maximum dimensions of an ISA card which can fit into the enclosure
[ 19 ]
3.2 USB2ISA-X3 card
Image of USB2ISA-X3
The USB 2.0 to ISA Three Connector (USB2ISA-X3) card works with up to three
ISA cards.
There are 3 possible choices for powering an ISA card mounted on an USB2ISA-X3:
 using the power provided through the USB cable- if the ISA card needs only
+5V and the power consumption is within 500mA.
[ 20 ]
 using an isa-pwr- in addition to the +5V coming through the USB cable, the
power supply module provides +12V, -12V and -5V when currents consumed
by an ISA card are within 50mA.
 using an external power supply ( isa-pwr-xr) adapters to provide +5v, +12V,

-12V and -5V when currents consumed by an ISA within the limits of the
particular external power adapter.
To find out if a particular ISA card needs additional voltages please read the article
located at:
http://www.arstech.com/page--pwrsupplyneeds.html .
To find the currents consumed, please check the documentation of the particular ISA
card in use.
ARS Technologies offers the following powering options:
 isa-pwr- Power-supply-module
If you want to use the isa-pwr (power supply module), it has to be mounted on the
power supply socket .
If you want to use the isa-pwr-xr (external power supply), the USB 2.0 to ISA card
will not work until the external power is turned on.
To assist with choosing a powering option, ARS Technologies offers a universal

choice, which can cover most available ISA cards - using isa-pwr-xr external power
supply to power ISA cards.
The USB2ISA-X3 board has a light emitting diode (LED) which indicates when there
is power supplied or not. When there is power, the LED is on, when there is no
power, the LED is off.
ARS Technologies recommends first connecting the USB 2.0 to ISA card without an
ISA card mounted and then checking in our Enumerator for connect/disconnect events
in order to make certain that the USB2ISA-X3 card is powered properly.
[ 21 ]
After mounting an ISA card in the USB 2.0 to ISA card, check in our Enumerator for
connect/disconnect events to make sure certain that the USB2ISA-X3 card is powered
properly.
The power selection jumper has two options:

(Please reference the USB2ISA-X3 image in section 3.2 to change jumper
position)
Option 1: 1-2 Position (default)
 1-2 (default) - power provided by the USB cable; this choice has 2 options:
3. ISA card using only +5V; there is limit of 500 mA current

consumption from +5V
4. isa-pwr power supply module connected providing –5V, +12V or

-12V to the ISA card; the card consumes currents within the powering
limitations.
Option 2: 2-3 Position
 2-3 - power provided by an external power source; this choice has the option:
The power comes from an external power supply in the power socket
( isa-pwr-xr) adapters; there are +5V, +12V, -12V or -5V going to the
ISA card; the limit of current consumption depends on the external power
supply
External Jumper Powering Options
The external power jumper is placed in permanent position:

2-3 – (default) power provided by the isa-pwr-xr
Step 2 (optional) – Place USB2ISA-X3 card into an enclosure
ARS Technologies offers single and double length plastic enclosures. You will need
to measure the ISA card you have and select the appropriate single or double length
plastic enclosure for your card.
[ 22 ]
If you have an ISA card and are using the USB2ISA-X3 you can choose between two
enclosure options:
 Enclosure-for-3-ISA-PCI-cards
 Enclosure-Double-length-for-3-ISA-PCI-cards
 enclosure images
 maximum dimensions of an ISA card which can fit into the enclosure
[ 23 ]
3.3 USB2PCMCIA-R card
Image of USB2PCMCIA-R
The USB 2.0 to PCMCIA (USB2PCMCIA-R) card works with one 16bit ‘PC Card’
type of PCMCIA card.
Both +5V and +3.3V PCMCIA cards are supported by the USB2PCMCIA-R
A header on the USB2PCMCIA-R card allows selection of +5V or +3.3V as a Vpp

voltage to the PCMCIA card.
There are two possible choices of powering on the USB2PCMCIA-R:
 using the power provided through the USB cable if the PCMCIA card
consumes up to 500mA of current, selecting the voltage on the header
 using the pwr-5v or pwr-3v adapter, which will provide up to 2A current for
the PCMCIA card.
Jumper Powering Selections
[ 24 ]
Jumper powering options
(See the image in section 3.3 to reference jumper powering position.)
The power selection jumper has 3 options:
 1-2 (default) – provides +3.3V as Vpp power to the PCMCIA card

 2-3 – provides +5V as Vpp to the PCMCIA card
 no jumper – power provided by pwr-5v or pwr-3v connected to the power
jack.
If you are not sure about the correct setting of Vpp for the particular card, please start
with the lower voltage +3.3V, and if the testing does not bring the required results,
then switch to +5V.
To find the voltage and the current consumed, please check the documentation of the
particular PCMCIA card.
ARS Technologies offers the pwr-5v or pwr-3v to power the USB2PCMCIA-R card.
For more info see:
 External-Power-Supply-5V-pwr5v.html
 External-Power-Supply-3V-pwr3v.html
3.6.2 Mounting a PCMCIA card to the USB2PCMCIA-R
Step 2 – Mounting
The USB2PCMCIA-R card comes with an enclosure.
In general one PCMCIA card has a top side and a bottom side. Ideally, when
connected to the USB2PCMCIA-R card , the top side of the PCMCIA card will be
up and the bottom side will face down.
Mount the PCMCIA card as illustrated in figure 3.6.
3.6.3 Connecting a power source
Step 3 – Connecting
The PCMCIA card has to be mounted to the USB2PCMCIA-R before connecting it

to the USB cable.
[ 25 ]
Jumper powering
Please change the jumper settings according to the voltage of the PCMCIA card.
External powering
If you want to use the USB2PCMCIA-R card with an external power source:
1. Connect the power source

2. Turn the power on
3. Connect the USB2PCMCIA-R card to the USB host
The USB2PCMCIA-R card will not work until the external power is turned on.
ARS Technologies recommends first connecting the USB2PCMCIA-R card without

a PCMCIA card mounted and then checking in our Enumerator for
connect/disconnect events, in order to make sure for the proper powering.
After mounting a PCMCIA card to the USB2PCMCIA-R card, check in our

Enumerator for connect/disconnect events in order to ensure proper powering.
3.4 Other USB2 cards
ARS Technologies did previously offer also the following products:

- USB2ISA-RA – takes one ISA card, mounted horizontally
– USB2ISA-SL – takes multiple ISA cards, mounted in a passive ISA backplane
– USB2ISA-X7 – takes up to 7 ISA cards
You can initially evaluate with our regular – similar / comparable products, and
contact us if you want to get a specific one of the above products.
[ 26 ]
4. SSI2 Product Line

This chapter briefly describes the SSI2 product line - each individual card. A new
edition is under development.
4.1 SSI2 ISA card
Image of SSI2 ISA
The SSI2 ISA card allows the work with one ISA card.
[ 27 ]
4.2 SSI2 PCI card
Image of SSI2 PCI
The SSI2 PCI card works with one PCI card.
[ 28 ]
4.3 SSI2 ISA X3 card
Image of SSI2 ISA X3
The SSI2 ISA X3 card allows the work with up to 3 ISA cards.
[ 29 ]
4.4 SSI2 PCI X3 card
Image of SSI2 PCI X3
The SSI2 PCI X3 card works with up to 3 PCI cards.
[ 30 ]
4.5 Evolution of SSI2 cards
The ssi2 line have multi-protocol products which works currently through -
- usb , on systems with usb2.0 hosts
– or, with our our ssi2-host-.. cards
We plan
– including additional interfaces
- adding support for devices – iphone/ipad, android ...
[ 31 ]
5. XPRS Product Line

XPRS line of products allow using of peripheral cards – PCI, ExpressCard, PCI
Express, CardBus outside of computer systems – through cable.
This chapter describes the XPRS product line; each individual card; the ways of
powering the cards; and how to place the card in an enclosure and connect it to a
power source.
5.1 XPRS-Host-DT card
XPRS-Host-DT product is a kit containing – the card, 2 cables of 0.5m / 1.6” length
and a metal bracket.
The card is mounted in a computer system (normally a desktop) with PCI Express -x1
connectors.
Optionally XPRS-Host-DT card may be mounted and used in a PCI Express -x16
connectors.
XPRS-Host-DT card connects with all of the XPRS-.. peripheral cards
The web page of the product includes a link showing the way of mounting and use of
XPRS-Host-DT in multiple pictures.
[ 32 ]
5.2 XPRS-Host-EC card
XPRS-Host-EC product is a kit containing – type54 card (as on the picture above),
type34 card, and 2 cables of 0.5m / 1.6”.
Some computer systems can not take type54 card – please use type 34 card in this
case.
The card is mounted in a computer system (normally a notebook) with an

ExpressCard slot.
XPRS-Host-EC card connects with all of the XPRS-.. peripheral cards
XPRS-Host-EC in multiple pictures.
[ 33 ]
5.3 XPRS-EC card
XPRS-EC allows mounting / using of ExpressCard type34 and type54 peripheral

cards .
XPRS-EC card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards
After connecting the cables to already mounted/powered on XPRS-Host-.. card the

LED on XPRS-EC has to be on.
If the LED is not on:
– make sure XPRS-Host-.. card is mounted/powered on
– and/or, switch the positions of the cables
XPRS-EC in multiple pictures.
[ 34 ]
5.4 XPRS-PX-X1 card
XPRS-PX-X1 allows mounting / using of one PCI Express -x1 card.
XPRS- PX-X1 card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards

LED on XPRS- PX-X1 has to be on.
A PCI Express card uses +3.3v and also may require +12v to function.
There are the following ways of powering :
– through the cables - when the PCI Express -x1 card uses/requires only +3.3v, and
has current consumption of less than 0.5A; the 3.3v jumpers has to be closed
– through the cables / with 3,3v power module mounted in the 6pin socket - when
the PCI Express -x1 card has current consumption of less than 0.5A, and
consumes of up to 50mA on +12v; the jumper for +12v has to in closed position;
the 3.3v jumpers has to be closed
– through the cables / with 12V external supply connected to the power jack - when
the PCI Express -x1 card has current consumption of less than 0.5A, and
consumes high current , of up to 5A on +12v
XPRS- PX-X1 in multiple pictures.
[ 35 ]
5.5 XPRS-PX-X16 card
XPRS-PX-X16 allows mounting / using of one PCI Express -x16 card.
In addition, XPRS-PX-X16 allows mounting / using of one PCI Express -x1 / -x4 /
-x8 card, as well.
XPRS- PX-X16 card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards

LED on XPRS- PX-X16 has to be on.
A PCI Express card uses +3.3v and also may require +12v to function.
– through the cables - when the PCI Express -x1/4/8/16 card uses/requires only
+3.3v, and has current consumption of less than 0.5A; the 3.3v jumpers has to be
closed
– through the ATX power supply - when the PCI Express -x1/4/8/16 card has high
current consumption on +3,3v and +12v; the 3.3v jumpers has to be open;
to turn on the ATX power supply the on-board button has to be pushed
– through the 'pwr-12v' product
XPRS- PX-X16 in multiple pictures.
[ 36 ]
5.6 XPRS-PCI-X1 card
XPRS-PCI-X1 allows mounting / using of one PCI card.
XPRS- PCI-X1 card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards

LED on XPRS- PCI-X1 has to be on.
A PCI card uses normally +3.3v and +5v , and also may require +12v and/or -12v to
function.
In the order page for the product , we include the choice to add pwr-5v power supply,
which connects to power jack.
After mounting the PCI card , we recommend connecting pwr-5v power supply, and
then connecting cables.
– pwr-5v power supply and power through the cables - when the PCI card
uses/requires only +3.3v and +5v; 3.3v comes through the cables; pwr-5v
provides +5v; the 3.3v jumper has to be closed
– pwr-5v power supply, power through the cables, and isa-pwr module - when the
PCI card uses/requires +3.3v, +5v, and +12v/-12v; 3.3v comes through the cables;
pwr-5v provides +5v; isa-pwr module provides +12v, -12v; the 3.3v jumper has
to be closed
– isa-pwr-xr power supply, power through the cables - when the PCI card
uses/requires +3.3v, +5v, and +12v/-12v; 3.3v comes through the cables; isa-pwr-
[ 37 ]
xr provides +5v,+12v,-12v; the 3.3v jumper has to be closed
The web page of the product includes a link showing the way of mounting and use
of XPRS- PCI-X1 in multiple pictures.
[ 38 ]
5.7 XPRS-CB card
XPRS-CB allows mounting / using of 32bit PCMCIA card - CardBus type peripheral
cards .
XPRS-CB card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards

LED on XPRS- CB has to be on.
– power through the cables - when the +3.3v for the CardBus card comes through
the cables; the 3.3v jumper has to be closed
– pwr-3v power supply- when the +3.3v for the CardBus card is provided by -
pwr-3v, which is connected to the power jack; the 3.3v jumper has to be open
XPRS- CB in multiple pictures.
[ 39 ]
5.8 XPRS-PCI-X3 card
XPRS-PCI-X3 allows mounting / using of up to 3 PCI cards.
XPRS- PCI-X3 card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards

LED on XPRS- PCI-X3 has to be on.
A PCI card uses normally +3.3v and +5v , and also may require +12v and/or -12v to
function.
In the order page for the product , we include the choice to add pwr-5v power supply,
which connects to power jack.
After mounting the PCI card/s , we recommend connecting pwr-5v power supply,
and then connecting cables.
– pwr-5v power supply and power through the cables - when the PCI card/s
uses/requires only +3.3v and +5v; 3.3v comes through the cables; pwr-5v
provides +5v; the 3.3v jumper has to be closed
– pwr-5v power supply, power through the cables, and isa-pwr module - when the
[ 40 ]
PCI card/s uses/requires +3.3v, +5v, and +12v/-12v; 3.3v comes through the
cables; pwr-5v provides +5v; isa-pwr module provides +12v, -12v; the 3.3v
jumper has to be closed
– isa-pwr-xr power supply, power through the cables - when the PCI card/s
uses/requires +3.3v, +5v, and +12v/-12v; 3.3v comes through the cables; isa-pwr-
xr provides +5v,+12v,-12v; the 3.3v jumper has to be closed
The web page of the product includes a link showing the way of mounting and use
of XPRS- PCI-X3 in multiple pictures.
[ 41 ]
5.7 XPRS-cPCIe card
XPRS-cPCIe allows mounting / using of a Compact PCI Express or PXI Express type
peripheral cards .
XPRS- cPCIe card connects with all of the XPRS-Host-.. cards

LED on XPRS-cPCIe has to be on.
– power through the cables - when the +3.3v for the Compact PCI Express or PXI
Express card comes through the cables; the 3.3v jumper has to be closed
– pwr-3v power supply - when the +3.3v for the Compact PCI Express or PXI
Express card card is provided by - pwr-3v, which is connected to the power jack;
the 3.3v jumper has to be open
– pwr-3v + pwr-12v power supplies - when the +3.3v for the Compact PCI Express
or PXI Express card card is provided by - pwr-3v, the +12v for the Compact PCI
Express or PXI Express card card is provided by - pwr-12v, which are connected
to the power jacks; the 3.3v jumper has to be open
XPRS- cPCIe in multiple pictures.
[ 42 ]
6. Installation
6.1 Installation files and folders
The ARS Technologies installation software is packed in a single ZIP file and is
available for download at:
www.arstech.com/install2rel.zip
The install file – install2rel.zip , after unzipping, has a number of folders, including:
– \windows - a folder for installing on the Windows platform; single setup file
covers installing for 32bit and 64bit Windows releases
– \linux-x86 - a folder for installing on the Linux platform on x86 processor; there
is a single package – for both 32bit and for 64bit Linux releases
– \linux-arm - a folder for installing on the Linux platform on ARM processor;
there is a package for 32bit ARM Linux release
– \android - a folder for installing on the Android platform on ARM processor;
– \mac-os-x - a folder for installing on the Mac OS X platform; single package file
covers installing for all Mac OS X releases
– \4developers – a folder with information for developers; it includes our
simple/basic API set and a sample which covers all operating systems that we
support
First time install may require system libraries to be installed before the main software.
They are available for download at::
www.arstech.com/install2libs.zip .
The install file – install2libs.zip , after unzipping, has a number of folders, including:
– \windows - a folder for installing system libraries on the Windows platform
– \linux-x86 - a folder for installing system libraries on the Linux platform on x86
processor
– \macosx - a folder for installing system libraries on the Mac OS X platform
[ 43 ]
6.2 Specifics for installing on Windows platform
Install system libraries
Unzip install2libs.zip and from '\windows' folder double click or run from
'command prompt' – setup-libs.exe to install system libraries.
This needs to be done only once – the first time the software is installed on the
specific computer.
Install main software
Unzip install2rel.zip - the '\windows' platform folder contains a single executable

file– setup-X-Y.exe ,
where -X-Y represents the current software version, for example setup-2-150.exe .
Please run this file, and follow the install process.
Choose the way of starting of the Enumerator – during setup
A message box with a question appears asking:
Run the ARSTech Enumerator
 automatically- at start up
 manually- from the menu
If you choose “Yes”, our Enumerator program arsenum3 is placed in the -

Start / Programs / StartUp ,
and will be started immediately after boot of the operating system.
If you choose “No”, our Enumerator program arsenum3 is placed in the -

Start / Programs / ARSTech ,
and after boot of the operating system have to be started manually.
[ 44 ]
Installing USB drivers on Windows operating systems
The USB drivers are placed in this location:

\program files\arstech\arstech utilities\drivers
which has 2 sub-folders:
- 'w2k-w7' - contains drivers for Windows 2000, XP (x86),

Windows 2003, 2008, 7 (x86 and x64)
- 'w10' - contains .inf file for driver install on Windows 10 (x64)
Regarding Windows Vista and 8 os-es we strongly recommend upgrading to

Windows 7 or Windows 10.
After connecting the USB2 cards when the Enumerator does not run, the following
message box appears:
Found New Hardware x

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows needs to install driver software for your Unknown
Device
--------------------
* Locate and install driver software (recommended)
Windows will guide you through the process of installing driver software
for your device.
----------------------
-> Ask me again later
Windows will ask again the next time you plug in your device or log on.
----------------------
* Don't show this message again for this device
Your device will not function until you install driver software.
-----------------------
-----------
| Cancel |
----------
 Select and click “Locate and install driver software”

 There will be a message, “Windows needs a permission to continue”
 Click “Continue”
A new dialog box appears
[ 45 ]
Windows Security x
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software
--------------------
-> Don't install this driver software
You should check your manufacturer's web site for updated driver software
for your device.
-------------------
-> Install this driver software anyway
Only install driver software obtained from your manufacturer's web site or
disk. Unsigned software from other sources may harm your computer or steal
information.
--------------------
~ See details
When connecting 'usb2isa' or 'usb2pcmcia' initially the 'device manager' may

show 'Unknown' under 'Other devices'.
In this case double click on the 'Unknown' device - it will bring 'Properties' dialog
box.
In 'general' tab click on 'update driver' button and choose -

'browse my computer for driver software'.
Push 'browse' button and point to -

\program files\arstech\arstech utilities\drivers\w2k-w7
or \program files\arstech\arstech utilities\drivers\w10
depending on the os.
A warning dialog box comes that the driver does not contain digital signature and
choice to abort or continue.
Select to continue and finish driver install.
Driver details
The current software release uses a standard operating system driver - winusb.sys ,
made by Microsoft.
This driver have been available through the driver search by downloading it from
Microsoft , or actually included in the os files on newer os-es - Windows 8, 10 ...
[ 46 ]
To find details on the driver, in 'device manager' double click on -

ars technologies usb 2.0 to isa device
or ars technologies usb 2.0 to pcmcia device
Select 'driver' tab, and push 'driver details' button.

The screen will show file folder and - provider, file version, copyright, digital signer.
Large companies have strong network control policies and may be reluctant to allow
installing a driver when a warning message comes.
To address these concerns we repeat that the driver is actually made by Microsoft, and
the the operating system should trust its own drivers.
Next steps
If not familiar, please check the chapter on software utilities - arstech enumerator
arsenum3 and arsgui .
Based on the peripheral card please check the chapter for the way of using our
products with ISA or PCMCIA cards.
Developers of software for peripheral card may check chapters on the:

– simple/ basic API set
– extended API set in sdkbus
Upgrading of the software
ARS Technologies offers free upgrades on the installation software for our products.
These upgrades are available for download on our web site, packed as a single .zip
file at:
The first step in upgrading is to unload the currently running ARS Technologies
software. Please bring up the ARS Technologies Enumerator arsenum3 dialog box,
and click the ‘Unload’ button.
The next step is to remove the previously installed ARS Technologies software.
[ 47 ]
After this, please run the Setup file and go through the installation process described
in the previous chapters. Please read the important message below:
Note!!!: Please preserve all older setup-X-Y.exe files, to restore previous

software versions, if necessary.
[ 48 ]
6.3 Specifics for installing on Mac OS X platform

Unzip install2libs.zip and from 'macosx' folder copy 'arstech-libs-mac.run' into

/Users/Shared folder
- you may need to open 'Terminal' and make file executable, or do:
chmod +x ./arstech-libs*
- to install do:
- double click in 'Finder' on 'arstech-libs-mac.run'
- or, run the file in 'Terminal'- ./arstech-libs*
specific computer.
Unzip install2rel.zip , and from 'mac-os-x' folder copy

'arstech-utils-mac-x-yyy.run' into: '/Users/Shared' folder
*** where -X-Y represents the current software version, for example
arstech-utils-mac-2-120.run
- you may need to open 'Terminal' and make file executable, or do:
chmod +x ./arstech-utils-mac*
- to install run the file in 'Terminal'-

./arstech-utils-mac*
- the main utilities are located in:

'/Users/Shared/artech-utils' folder
Next steps
arsenum3 and arsgui .
[ 49 ]

file at:
and click the ‘Unload’ button, or push ESC in arsenum4 .
The next step is to remove the previously installed ARS Technologies software –
delete 'arstech-utils' folder, then repeat the same steps as above to install newer
software.
[ 50 ]
6.4 Specifics for installing on x86 Linux platform

Unzip install2libs.zip and from 'linux-x86' folder copy 'arstech-libs...run' into

'/home/...' folder
- in 'file explorer' make file executable, or do:

chmod +x ./arstech-libs*
- run the file in 'terminal' - ./arstech-libs*
specific computer.
Unzip install2rel.zip , then to install the software from 'linux-x86' folder copy
'arstech-utils-x-yyy.run' into '/home/...' folder
*** where -X-Y represents the current software version, for example
arstech-utils-2-120.run

chmod +x ./arstech-utils*
– run the file in 'terminal' - ./arstech-utils*
Software is placed in the 'arstech-utils' folder.
Next steps
arsenum3 and arsgui . Linux x86 32/64b platform includes a text based enumerator
– arsenum4 .

[ 51 ]
file at:
and click the ‘Unload’ button, or push ESC in arsenum4 .
The next step is to remove the previously installed ARS Technologies software –
delete 'arstech-utils' folder, then repeat the same steps as above to install newer
software.
[ 52 ]
6.5 Specifics for installing on ARM Linux platform

Unzip install2rel.zip , - from 'linux-arm' folder copy 'arstech-utils-arm...zip' into

'/home/...' folder, then unzip

chmod +x ./arstenum4
- run the file - ./arsenum4
Hardware considerations
There is a wide variety of ARM processor Linux systems.
The current software release was developed and tested on the most popular ARM
board - Raspberry Pi.
The binaries may work on other ARM based systems as well.
One important consideration - if possible please use a dedicated USB port to connect
our USB2ISA and USB2PCMCIA products.
What do we mean by this?
Normally there are several USB devices connected to a system - mouse, keyboard,
wifi device, usb disk device... etc.
We did our initial test on a Raspberry Pi system with a single USB port. There was a
USB hub connected to this port and all USB devices including USB2ISA+ISA cards
were connected through the hub.
When running the enumerator - 'arsenum4' the USB2ISA+ISA cards were not
enumerated. There was an initial attempt but it was not completed successfully.
The second test we did was on a Raspberry Pi system with two USB ports. We
connected the USB hub with all USB devices to one of the Pi's USB ports and
connected USB2ISA+ISA cards to the other of the Pi's USB ports.
When running the enumerator - 'arsenum4' the USB2ISA+ISA cards were properly
enumerated.
[ 53 ]
Powering
An ARM board is normally powered by 5v power supply however an ISA card may
need additional voltages and may consumes high currents.
Connecting usb2isa + isa , powered by the usb cable may crash an ARM system
because of the current consumed exceeds the power limits of the system. An external
power supply is needed .
Regarding powering of an ISA card please check our article -

www.arstech.com/install/cms-display/ste_pwrsupplyneeds.html
You can select one of the power supplies that we have -

www.arstech.com/cat--powersupplies.html
Next steps
If not familiar, please check the chapter on software utilities - text based arstech
enumerator arsenum4 .

[ 54 ]
6.6 Specifics for installing on Android platform
Pre-requisites for the Android device
Android devices come in a variety of form factors - phone, tablets, embedded

devices, etc.
In addition, they come pre-installed with a variety of Google API releases and Linux
kernel versions.
The very basic requirements for an Android device to be able to run our Android OS
software support are:
- has to allow Root access '#'; many devices do not allow and have this support;
since Google does not design this to be always available in the OS, the device users
have to resort to solutions provide by the hacking community, like from -
http://www.cyanogenmod.org/
- have USB drivers to connect to Windows, or Linux, or Mac OS X system; the

standard Android device has a usb connector to connect to a USB host on a standard
computer system, running one of the above standard and widely popular OS-es; some
devices, like for ex. Amazon Kindle did not provide such drivers; it may be possible
to use standard drivers (windows), or the os support (linux/mac), by just adding the
specific vendor/product ID (VID/PID) of the Android device to an .inf file
(windows), or to OS script/config files (linux/mac).
- has to provide USB host or OTG ports;

our USB2ISA and USB2PCMCIA products connect through a cable to USB host
ports;
there are variety of Android devices which come in a variety of form factors -
phones, tablets, embedded devices, etc.;
if the Android device has one or more USB host ports - great!
however some Android devices have only one USB port, based on the on-the-go
(OTG) USB specification; such port combines a USB device and a USB host; the
USB device part is normally extensively tested and working, however some Android
device manufacturers may have not tested the USB host portion, and it may be not
working;
Installing of ARSTech software support
- the ARSTech Android software support is packed together with all other OS
software support;
you will need to download the installation software, unzip, locate 'Android' folder
[ 55 ]
- the pre-requisites for the Android device as described in ch.1 have to be met - root
access, USB drivers, USB host port;
connect the Android device, and install based on host OS Windows/Linux/MacOSX;
under Windows run - 'win-run-enum.bat'
under Linux run - './lnx-run-enum.bat' ; the file may need to be made executable,
for ex. by - 'chmod +x lnx-run-enum.bat'
as a result the 'arsenum-andr' enumerator will run on the Android device;
2 ways to start the enumerator -
- display mode, when entering shell through ADB (adb shell), and starting just as
# ./arsenum-andr
In this mode the shell console displays on screen insertion events with all detected
resources, and removal events. Exit from this mode is through 'ctrl-c', and the
enumerator stops working.
- run silently in the background, when started through the xxx-run-enum.bat as

# ./arsenum-andr g
In this mode the enumerator is started and returns right away the control back to the
user. The enumerator continues running, and puts the results into the
'arsenum.log' file.
The user can display the results by running -
tail -f arsenum.log
!!! some systems do not provide 'tail' command.
Next steps
If not familiar, please check the chapter on software utilities - text based arstech
enumerator arsenum4 (arsenum-andr) .

[ 56 ]
7. Utilities - ARSTech Enumerator and ARSGui
Location of the utilities – Windows platform
There are 2 or 3 utilities installed and available for the end user:
– ArsEnum3 – GUI enumerator; available on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux x86
platforms
– ArsEnum4 – text (command line/terminal) enumerator; available on Linux x86,
Linux ARM, and Android platforms
– ArsGui – manual read/write test utility; available on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
x86 platforms
[ 57 ]
7.1 Starting of utilities on Windows

There are 2 utilities installed and available for the end user on Windows platform:
– ArsEnum3.exe – GUI enumerator
– ArsGui.exe – manual read/write test utility
The ARS Technologies Enumerator must run in order to use ISA, PCMCIA, cards
and cards with the USB2 and the SSI2 lines of products.
After setup and installation, the Enumerator program is loaded one of three ways:
 automatically, immediately after the boot of the operating system or

 manually, by clicking on Start -> Programs -> ARSEnum
 manually, by clicking Start -> Programs -> ARSTech -> ARSEnum
Manually starting the Enumerator in a way of – Run as administrator
Modern operating system releases like Windows Vista, Windows 7 and later have
strict security requirements in place.
The program have to be started as – Run as administrator .

[ 58 ]
To adjust the program settings, place mouse cursor over 'ArsEnum' do right mouse
click, select 'Properties'.
'Run as administrator' may be selected in the 'Properties', as a default way to run

'ArsEnum'.
Under 'Compatibility' , check 'Privilege level' to - 'Run as administrator'.
The Enumerator may need to save settings and privileges may need to be adjusted.
The way described below applies to the ARSGui utility as well.
Under 'Security', click 'Edit' button. A new screen appears - select 'Everyone', check
'Full Control' -> 'Allow'.
[ 59 ]
After starting the Enumerator, a screen appears for several seconds and then the
Enumerator is minimized. Then the Enumerator appears as an icon in the system tray
of the computer, next to the clock, in the down right corner of the computer screen.
(See images below.)
The Enumerator icon may be not visible – click on up arrow 'Show hidden icons' to
see the Enumerator icon.
[ 60 ]
7.2 Starting of utilities on Mac OS X
There are 2 utilities installed and available for the end user on Mac OS X platform:
– ArsEnum3.app – GUI enumerator
– ArsGui.app – manual read/write test utility
Both the Enumerator and ARSGui must be started from superuser / root.
There are 2 script files - 'ARSEnum.bat' and 'ARSGui.bat' which are used to launch
the .app enumerator and the read/write utility.
If you change the location of out utilities from the default folder:
/Users/Shared/arstech-utils
you will need to open and edit 'ARSEnum.bat' and 'ARSGui.bat' in 'TextEdit'
utility.
To load the GUI type of enumerator and/or the read/write utility, double click on -
'ARSEnum.bat' and/or 'ARSGui.bat'.
7.3 Starting of utilities on Linux x86 32/64bit
There are 3 utilities installed and available for the end user on Linux x86 platforms:
– ArsEnum3 – GUI enumerator
– ArsEnum4 – text (command line/terminal) enumerator
– ArsGui – manual read/write test utility
To load the GUI type of enumerator type in 'terminal' -

sudo ./arsenum3
To load the GUI type read/write utility type in 'terminal' -

sudo ./arsgui
7.4 Starting of utilities on Linux ARM (Raspberry Pi)
There are 2 utilities installed and available for the end user on Raspberry Pi and other
Linux ARM platforms:
– ArsEnum4 – text (command line/terminal) enumerator
– isarw – read/write test utility built with simple/basic API set
[ 61 ]
To load the text type of enumerator on Linux ARM type in 'terminal' -

sudo ./arsenum4
To load the read/write test utility type in 'terminal' -

sudo ./isarw
7.5 Starting of utilities on Android

There is 1 utility installed and available for the end user on Android ARM platforms:
– arsenum-andr – text (command line/terminal) enumerator
There are 2 ways to start the enumerator on Android -
- display mode, when entering shell through ADB (adb shell), and starting just as
# ./arsenum-andr
In this mode the shell console displays on screen insertion events with all detected
resources, and removal events. Exit from this mode is through 'ctrl-c', and the
enumerator stops working.
- run silently in the background, when started through the xxx-run-enum.bat as

# ./arsenum-andr g
In this mode the enumerator is started and returns right away the control back to the
user. The enumerator continues running, and puts the results into the
'arsenum.log' file.
The user can display the results by running -
tail -f arsenum.log
!!! some systems do not provide 'tail' command.
[ 62 ]
7.6 ARSTech Enumerator – GUI and text based
When started the main Enumerator windows comes up.
The Enumerator is available as a GUI or text based utility on all operating systems
that we support and offers the following features:
 USB 2.0 host controller support and the Universal Software Layer
 connect / disconnect events of peripheral cards
 automatic detection of the resources of ISA, PCI and PCMCIA cards, and
loading drivers if necessary
!!!!!!!!! These are the main types of support for peripheral cards: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– type1: under all supported operating systems and platforms we offer support
of software developers for peripheral cards – with our simple/basic API set
or the extended API set
– type2: under Windows (32 and 64bit), Mac OS X, Linux 32bit platforms we
offer support for 16bit DOS/Windows 3.1 binaries of peripheral cards
– type3: under Windows (32bit only) platforms we offer support for 32bit
binaries (win98, winNT, .inf type) of peripheral cards
Main Enumerator window

The main ARS Technologies Enumerator window is brought up by double clicking
on the Enumerator icon in the system tray.
Clicking the “OK” button will close the window, however the Enumerator still runs.
Clicking the “Unload” button will remove the Enumerator application and the
Enumerator icon from the system tray.
There are three areas in the Enumerator window:
 Devices area – shows currently connected devices

The groups currently available:
– USB2 line of devices, showing as for example USB2ISA-p1 ,
USB2PCMCIA-p4
– SSI2 line of devices, showing as for example SSI2-ISA-0 , SSI2-
PCMCIA-0 , SSI2-PCI-0
 Virtual Resources area – shows information about the card and resources
 Status area – shows available hosts, the short status messages, for example
insertion / removal, error messages
[ 63 ]
A screen shot of the ARSTech Enumerator –main Enumerator window
Examples
When a USB2ISA card is connected, the Devices area shows “usb2isa-p1”, and the
Status shows “ehci port 1, device USB2ISA - inserted”.
The Status area provides information on the number of present USB2.0 host(s), the
manufacturer’s name, number of USB ports and the selected USB2.0 host for use by
the ARSTech Enumerator.
Selecting the “usb2isa-p1” in the Devices area, for example creates the following text
in the Virtual Resources area:
ISA card(s) resources

p5, Detected I/O ports - 278/8, 6f8/8, 7f0/8
p5, Detected memory – none
[ 64 ]
There are three buttons in the middle of the Enumerator window:
 Add Resources - clicking it will bring a dialog box for manually adding
resources which have not been detected.
 Load Drivers - applies only to an ISA device, with a driver which needs
loading; clicking it will bring load driver dialog box.
 Delete Settings - clicking this button will remove previously entered settings.
Adding resources
The Enumerator auto-detects resources, however the auto-detect process is not
perfect. Some peripheral cards hide their resources and need a sequence of commands
to enable these resources.
When not detected, resources can be added manually for an ISA , PCMCIA , PCI ,
PCI Express card by clicking the Add Resources button.
A dialog box comes up, where the status area contains:
 the system I/O ports used

 the system physical memory
In addition, there are instructions on way of adding resources.
The dialog box allows adding:
 I/O ports
 Physical memory
 IRQ channels
 DMA channels (ISA card only)
 Extend/shorten the read/write timing
The Enumerator allows setting the read/write cycle time of the ISA or 16bit PCMCIA
bus. By standard, the time is 250ns and it may be extended to 2.3ųs.
[ 65 ]
Add Resources dialog box
Resources need to be added one at a time. In order to add another resource, please
click the Add Resources button again.
Delete Settings, choosing another host
Clicking the “Delete Settings” button will bring the following message box –
ARSTech Enumerator –delete settings message box
Selecting Yes will delete:
 the settings for all of the previously loaded devices

 the USB2 host settings
 the current manually added resources
[ 66 ]
Running the Enumerator again will bring a dialog box to select the USB 2.0 host.
Selecting No will delete settings for the currently selected device.
If a device is still connected, the message box below appears:
The connected device has to be disconnected before completing “Delete

Settings”.
Loading drivers
!!!!!!! This feature is used only under 32bit Windows operating systems. !!!!!!
Some peripherals like PCMCIA cards and Plug and Play (PNP) ISA cards allow for
obtaining information about the card, and loading one or more drivers for the card.
The appropriate drivers are loaded automatically by the ARS Technologies
Enumerator. There is no need of manual loading.
Other peripheral cards have drivers which do not need loading or do not use a driver.
In such cases, there is no need of driver loading as well.
Some peripherals like standard (non Plug and Play) ISA cards are serviced by drivers,
and these drivers need to be loaded.
One ISA card may contain several devices, and each of these devices may or may not
need loading of a driver.
Every ISA card has a certain range of the of some, or all of the resources listed below:
 I/O port addresses

 Memory area addresses
 IRQ channels
 DMA channels
[ 67 ]
Examples of resources
One device is defined as a combination of one or more of the above resource types.
For example, a serial port is a combination of 8 I/O ports and 1 IRQ channel.
A floppy disk controller is a combination of 6 I/O ports, 1 IRQ channel and 1 DMA
channel.
Loading one or more drivers
In the case there is need to loading of one or more drivers for the devices on the ISA
card, you will need to bring up the main Enumerator window by double clicking on
the Enumerator icon and click “Load Drivers”.
This will bring the following dialog box shown on the next page:
Load driver dialog box
The dialog box has resources sections and a status area:
• I/O, Memory, IRQ, DMA - section , in the top part of the dialog box
• Status – an area on the lower part of the dialog box
The process of selecting goes as follows:
[ 68 ]
1. Select one of the I/O ports / Memory ranges listed in the drop down boxes
2. If necessary, select one of the IRQ / DMA channels listed in the drop down
boxes
3. Click the “Load” button; the status provides a feedback on the selection
Repeat the above steps for different I/O ports / Memory + IRQ / DMA ranges, if
needed. When finished adding, please go to the next section .
The selections provided for I/O port and Memory ranges are found automatically after
scanning, or added manually, and depend on the ISA/PCMCIA card mounted. Each is
responding to different addresses.
When finished adding:
Click the “OK” button
A message box appears with the current device instance.
The original installation software disk for an ISA card (on a floppy or a CD) contains
the .inf installation files and hold the drivers for the devices on a particular ISA card.
Modifying .inf files
The .inf installation files for the different devices need to be modified manually in
order to install and load drivers for a device on an ISA card mounted to a USB2ISA
and SSI2-ISA.
To modify the .inf file, please pay careful attention to the message box which will
give you the current device instance- for example, arsusb100 , arsusb101, ... or
PCI\VEN_0010&DEV_0064, PCI\VEN_0010&DEV_0065 ... etc, and the location
where the modification is made. Please refer to next chapters for examples of
modified .inf files.
[ 69 ]
The Enumerator will bring next a message box as shown below:
ARSTech Enumerator –no driver files found message
Clicking the “Yes” button will bring a file open dialog box for finding and opening
the .inf file for the PCMCIA card.
[ 70 ]
In this dialog box you can:
 Select drive
 Double click to select directory
 Select file type
 Type file name
 Push open button
This will start the “Found New Hardware” installation process of the operating
system and load the driver for the card.
Example of a modified .INF file for installing

An example of a modified .inf file for Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista ,Server
2008 and 7 32bit operating systems is shown bellow.
The example provided is for reference purposes only. You will need to:
1. Identify the [Manufacturer] section,

2. Add a line with the particular device instance
3. Save the file – preferably under a new name
4. Point to this file – when needed
The example below adds a line with the device instance -

PCI\VEN_0010&DEV_0064 .
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
;
;Copyright (c) ARS Technologies - All rights Reserved
;
;Module Name:
;
; arswdm2kxp.INF
;
;Abstract:
; INF file for installing of a sample wdm driver :
;
; operating systems - Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008, 7
;
[Version]
Signature="$WINDOWS NT$"
Class=Sample
ClassGuid={78A1C341-4539-11d3-B88D-00C04FAD5171}
Provider=%ARS%
[DestinationDirs]
DefaultDestDir = 12
; ================= Class section =====================

[ClassInstall32]
Addreg=SampleClassReg
[ 71 ]
[SampleClassReg]
HKR,,,0,%ClassName%
HKR,,Icon,,-5
; ================= Device Install section =====================

[Manufacturer]
%ARS%=ARS
[SourceDisksFiles]
arswdm1.sys=1
[SourceDisksNames]
1=%DISK_NAME%,
[ARS]
; DisplayName Section DeviceId
; ----------- ------- --------
%ARSwdm1.DRVDESC%=ARSwdm1_Inst,root\ARSwdm1
; !!! modified here !!!
%ARSwdm1.DRVDESC%=ARSwdm1_Inst,PCI\VEN_0010&DEV_0064
[ARSwdm1_Inst.NT]
CopyFiles=ARSwdm1.CopyFiles
[ARSwdm1.CopyFiles]
arswdm1.sys
[ARSwdm1_Inst.NT.Services]
AddService=ARSwdm1,0x00000002,ARSwdm1_Service
[ARSwdm1_Service]
DisplayName = %ARSwdm1.SVCDESC%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 3 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\arswdm1.sys
[Strings]
ARS = "ARS Technologies"
ClassName = "ARS Technologies Sample Drivers"
ARSwdm1.SVCDESC = "ARS Technologies Sample wdm Service"
ARSwdm1.DRVDESC = "ARS Technologies Sample wdm Driver"
DISK_NAME = "ARS Technologies Sample Install Disk"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
[ 72 ]
7.7 Exclusive mode and host controller support - specifics for USB2
products
Exclusive mode of the enumerator is provided only for:

type3 support, under Windows (32bit only) platforms -
support for 32bit binaries (win98, winNT, .inf type) of
peripheral cards
ARS Technologies USB2 line of products require that at least one USB 2.0 host chip
be present on the motherboard.
One modern computer system may contain as a minimum one USB 2.0 host chip on
the computer motherboard.
Additional USB 2.0 hosts can be added as PCI cards to a desktop computer, or as
PCMCIA cards inserted into a notebook computer.
We have designed our own USB 2.0 host controller support, allowing the use of our
products under the different operating system releases. Currently our software will
work with our products in the same way under all of the Microsoft’s operating
systems we support (Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008
and Windows 7).
When the Enumerator is run for the first time, there is a dialog box for selecting the
host controller, as shown in the screen shot below:
[ 73 ]
ARSTech Enumerator – choosing USB 2.0 host
This handling of USB2 hosts is specific only for our USB2 line of products. Our SSI2
and XPRS lines of products do not need selecting and disabling a USB2 host.
The drop down box lists all of the available USB 2.0 host controllers, for example:
 0 – mfg=Intel, ports=3
 1 – mfg=Intel, ports=3
which means that there are total of two USB 2.0 hosts.
The number of ports shows the total physical ports on chip. The actual number of
ports going to a USB connector may be lower.
If there is only one choice, it is selected as a default. Please select one of the choices
and click OK.
In case there is more than one USB 2.0 host, please use the drop down and select a
host.
One USB 2.0 chip- either as part of the chip set on the computer motherboard, or on a
PCI peripheral card- consists of one USB 2.0 EHCI controller and several USB 1.1
“companion” UHCI or OHCI controllers.
Though the computer system may have one USB 2.0 chip, and the USB2ISA and
[ 74 ]
USB2PCMCIA devices are serviced by our USB 2.0 host software, other USB
devices like a USB keyboard, USB mouse, USB hub, etc. can be serviced by the
“companion” USB 1.1 host controllers within the USB 2.0 chip.
Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008 and Windows 7, operating systems
need manually disabling of the USB2.0 host driver – if the driver for the particular
host is running. There is the following message box coming:
It provides the particular name of the USB2.0 host driver which needs to be disabled.
Open the ‘Device Manager’, select the specified USB2 host driver, and disable it.
If having 2 identical USB2 hosts, as part of the chip set on the motherboard, some of
the USB ports located on the computer enclosure are service by one of the USB2
hosts, and some ports by the other.
In this case, when connecting USB2ISA/USB2PCMCIA products, you may need to

connect to different ports, in order to find a USB port which belongs to the USB2 host
selected and handled by the enumerator.
[ 75 ]
When disabled, the particular USB2 host driver will be marked as shown -
NOTE 1: ARS Technologies requires having a USB 2.0 host in the system. If the
system has only USB 1.1 hosts, please add a USB 2.0 host as a PCI card to a desktop
computer or a PCMCIA card to a notebook computer.
NOTE 2: If the system has more than one USB2.0 host, ARS Technologies
recommends selecting the last one. Leave the first one, normally belonging to the
motherboard, to service other USB devices.
[ 76 ]
7.8 Universal Software Layer
!!!!!!!!! Universal Software Layer offers support for binaries of the

software of peripheral cards as follows: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– type2: under Windows (32 and 64bit), Mac OS X, Linux 32bit platforms we
offer support for 16bit DOS/Windows 3.1 binaries of peripheral cards
– type3: under Windows (32bit only) platforms we offer support for 32bit
binaries (win98, winNT, .inf type) of peripheral cards
The Universal Software Layer (USL) is part of the installation software for ARS
Technologies products that allow redirection of resources through USB – for our
'USB2' products and for our 'SSI2' products.
This redirection allows the use of an ISA, PCI, and PCMCIA card through USB with
the original software of the particular card.
Every ISA, PCI and PCMCIA cards has associated resources for itself, which may be
a combination of :
 I/O ports
 Physical memory area
 IRQ channels
 DMA channels (ISA only)
Resources
For example, a multifunction ISA card with one disk controller, one floppy
controller, one parallel port and two serial ports has:
 disk - 10 I/O ports - base port 1f0 or 170 , 8 ports + 3f6,7 or 376,7 , 2 ports ,
and 1 IRQ channel - IRQ14 or 15
 serial ports - base port 3f8 or 3e8 or 2f8 or 2e8 , 8 ports , and IRQ channels -
IRQ3 or 4
 parallel port - ...
 floppy - ...
An example of a PCMCIA card is a PCMCIA modem having:
 8 I/O ports , located anywhere in the I/O space without conflicts , and 1 IRQ
channel
[ 77 ]
An example of a PCI card is a PCI network card having:
 4096 bytes of physical memory, located anywhere in the memory space

without conflicts , and 1 IRQ channel
After connecting an ISA, PCI , or a PCMCIA card to our 'USB2' or SSI2' products,
the Enumerator automatically checks for the resources on the ISA, PCI card(s) or the
PCMCIA card, and automatically redirects these resources through USB.
NOTE 1: All of the device handled by the Universal Software Layer share the same
I/O space, Memory area, and IRQ channels with all the other devices on the computer
system. When there are hardware conflicts it maybe necessary to manually
change and adjust the resources settings.
NOTE 2: ARS Technologies cannot guarantee that the software for an ISA, PCI , or
PCMCIA card under the USL will work with all combinations of computer hardware,
operating systems, and ISA, PCI or PCMCIA card software.
[ 78 ]
7.9 Diagnostics mode of the ARS Technologies Enumerator
The Enumerator has to run on a wide variety of computer systems. If problems are
encountered – 'freezing', 'blue screen', 'crashing', there is a special diagnostics mode
which allow execution step by step, and pinpointing the issue.
The diagnostics mode is entered from command line -
The default installation folder is - C:\Program Files\ARS Technologies\ArsTech Utilities .

Change the folder to the current / default folder and run –> arsenum3 /d
You as a user may need to enter this mode only for diagnostics purposes – normally
this mode is not entered or used.
There will be 3 separate message boxes with Yes/No buttons for – initialization,
connect, exit phases of the work of the Enumerator:
then,
then,
[ 79 ]
Depending on the Yes/No selection all of some of the steps will be displayed in a way
as -
Push 'OK' and remember the last successfully completed step before - 'freezing', 'blue
screen', 'crashing'.
You can contact us with the following details :

 last successfully completed step
 computer system model/type - desktop/notebook
 processor maker, clock – Intel/AMD..., single/multi core...
7.10 ArsGUI
The ArsGUI is a graphical user interface program that allows manual read/write
functions of I/O ports and Physical memory.
The ArsGUI utility allows access to resources on ISA and PCMCIA cards mounted
on our USB2.0 line of products, and access to resources on ISA, PCI and PCMCIA
cards mounted on our SSI2 line of products.
[ 80 ]
ArsGUI – main screen
Step 1:
When using the application, the first thing to select is the Resource type. Decide if ti
will be I/O port or Physical Memory.
Step 2:
Select a Size - 8bit, 16bit or 32bit.
Step 3: Read or Write
 To do a read, type the hexadecimal address in the edit box, and push the
Read button.
 To do a write, type the hexadecimal address and the hexadecimal data in the
two edit boxes. Then push the Write button.
The results are displayed in the main status area.

[ 81 ]
With cards mounted to a USB2ISA/USB2PCMCIA type card
When reading or writing resources on ISA/PCMCIA cards mounted on connected

USB2ISA or USB2PCMCIA cards, the status shows the device as connected. For
example, “USB2ISA-1” and the results from the operation.
With cards mounted to an SSI2 ISA, SSI2 PCI or SSI2 PCMCIA type card
When reading or writing resources on ISA/PCI/PCMCIA cards mounted on connected

SSI2 ISA, SSI2 PCI or SSI2 PCMCIA cards, the resources are part of the computer
system’s resources. The status shows “System” and the results from the operation.
The ArsGui utility is a powerful utility and extreme care must be taken when deciding
what resources are accessed. Be careful when writing to memory or i/o areas of the
system.
Exiting
To exit the application, click the Exit button.
[ 82 ]
7.11 Developers' support – basic/simple API set for access of

ISA / PCI / PCMCIA hardware
Introduction
This chapter will help a developer of hardware and software to bring up the hardware,
and develop / build / debug / test the software to working condition.
We offer a subset of our API set from our commercial product - SDKBUS, to ISA /
PCI / PCMCIA software developers.
The current version is based specifically on our USB2 line of products - USB2ISA
family products and USB2PCMCIA, and the SSI2 line of products - SSI2 ISA, SSI2
PCI, SSI2 PCMCIA .
We are establishing a standard , in dealing with peripherals , for all of the operating
systems , programming levels , and programming languages we support .
The general API set is available on user / application level, for the following
language:
- c/c++ - Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Android platforms
The API set is available through a static library / archive, or dynamic library. Use of
the API set is demonstrated in the 'isarw' sample.
Hardware not working yet
We offer a test utility - ArsGui which can generate access commands to read/write to
i/o ports, and physical memory to a peripheral connected on our USB2 and SSI2
products.
A developer of the hardware can analyze how is the generated access handled by the
peripheral card hardware - modify it, and bring it to working condition.
[ 83 ]
Connecting existing and new peripheral card hardware
One hardware peripheral device is a collection of one or more of the following

resources:
- physical memory registers
- i/o ports registers
- IRQ channels
- DMA channels (ISA bus only)
A developer has to know the exact resources by the peripheral card.
When the peripheral card is mounted on one of our products, the ARSTech
Enumerator auto-detects resources.
The developer has to compare the detected resources with what the peripheral card
actually has.
The card may contain hidden resources, made available after software initialization.
If needed , the developer may add manually resources in the enumerator for the
particular peripheral card.
Developing software for a new peripheral card
Our API set, as described in the 'ars-api.txt', is available as part of our installation
software.
A developer may build a variety of applications including - stand alone / command

line, or graphical GUI/X application.
An additional API set and samples are available in our SDKBUS product.
[ 84 ]
Working sample of use
Pre-requisites
To illustrate the use of the API set we offer one sample which can be built and used in
real world conditions.
The sample uses one of our USB2ISA family cards - you will need to order one,
download the installation software, setup the software, and get familiar with our user's
guide.
Different environments may has some specific requirements for installing and setup.
In addition, the sample uses 2 ISA cards :

- standard ISA i/o card which includes - 1 floppy and 1 ide controllers, 1 parallel, 2
serial ports; this type of card was popular in the past - with dozens of different
manufacturers, and millions of cards produced;
- standard ISA VGA card; popular in the past as well - with lots of different
manufacturers and cards produced;
You can mount USB2ISA + ISA cards, and connect/disconnect to USB. The
ARSTech Enumerator will show auto detected resources for the connected ISA card -
i/o ports, memory area, IRQ channels.
If some resources are not detected, they can be added manually in the Enumerator.
The resources of the particular used ISA cards may appear as :
- ISA i/o card - i/o ports: 278/8, 5f0/8, 7f0/10 | irq: 4,7,14
device interpretation:
~ i/o port x278/8 + irq 7 are the resources for LPT2, as selected by the jumpers on
the particular isa card;
~ i/o port x5f0/8 + irq 14 are the resources for the IDE controller; initially located
at i/o address x1f0; the enumerator 're-located' it with x400 to avoid a collision with
the controller on the motherboard of the system;
~ i/o port x7f0/10 + irq 4 are several devices; the address is i/o x3f0 're-located'
with x400 to avoid a collision; x7f0-7f3 are floppy controller ports, the irq6 is not
connected by jumpers; i/o x7f6-7f7 are IDE ports; i/o x7f8-7ff + irq 4 are the COM1
ports; COM2 ports and irq are not connected / enabled by jumpers;
- ISA VGA card - i/o ports: i/o ports x3c0/10 | irq 9 | physical memory xc0000/8000
device interpretation:
the card is has a video BIOS area - x0c0000/8000, which has to be executed in
order to initialize and 'see' the video ram area - x0a0000+ ; the video card is
controlled through the i/o ports and irq channel;
[ 85 ]
Building of the 'isarw' sample
Almost identical 'C/Cpp' source code is placed in a number of folders for the different
environments - Windows, Linux, Mac OS X.
Windows folder includes 2 sample projects built with Visual C++ - on older Visual
Studio 98 , and newer Visual Studio 2013.
Linux, and Mac OS X come with the GCC compiler environment - if not already pre-
installed you will need to install it.
To build, go to the 'linux-macosx' folder and run from 'terminal' utility -

./mk-l32.bat - on Linux x86 32bit
./mk-l64.bat - on Linux x86 64bit
./mk-arm.bat - on Linux ARM 32bit (raspberry pi)
./mk-mac.bat - on Mac OS X x86 64bit
Running of the 'isarw' sample
The 'isarw' sample contains 3 sub-tests :
a) i/o read/write test

- uses USB2ISA with an ISA i/o card - uses the parallel port portion of the card
- does write to the par.port - digital outputs, which may be observed with a voltmeter
on the 25pin connector
- exercises in8(),out8() - single 8bit i/o port read/write commands of the API set
b) irq test
- uses USB2ISA with an ISA i/o card - uses the parallel port portion of the card;
requires an additional wire connecting 2 pins on the 25 pin con.
- exercises GetIrqDmaSts(), in8(),out8() - checking irq and dma status, and single 8bit
i/o port read/write commands of the API set
c) physical memory buffer read test

- uses USB2ISA with an ISA VGA card - uses the VGA BIOS on the card
- does a single read of a portion of the VGA BIOS
- exercises rd16() - 16bit phys.mem. read commands of the API set
[ 86 ]
8. ISA cards - use

This chapter describes the way of use of ISA cards on our 'USB2' line of
products, and on our 'SSI2' line of products. Information on the
specific product, the way of connecting, powering, enclosures, etc. is
available in the chapters 1-3 .
8.1 Using of a PnP ISA card

Plug and play ISA cards are a special type if ISA cards. They contain information on
the name and the resources of the ISA card.
When connected for the first time, ARS Technologies software will automatically:
 Look for the resources of the card

 Redirect them with the USL
 Look for an .inf file for the ISA card and if the .inf file is found, start the
“Found New Hardware” installation process of the operating system, and
load the driver for the card.
This installation process is called only the first time. Afterward, when an ISA card
and USB2ISA card are connected, the driver is automatically loaded.
No .inf file found
When connecting for the first time it is possible that no .inf file is found for the
particular PnP ISA card. In this case, the Enumerator will bring a message box
reading, “No driver files found”.
the .inf file for the PnP ISA card.
In the dialog box you can:

 Select drive
 Select file type, type file name
[ 87 ]
Normally one PnP ISA card has multiple devices such as sound, midi, joystick, etc
devices.
Voltages and current
A particular PnP card may need a variety of voltages and particular amounts of
currents to work.
Example – PnP ISA sound card + USB2ISA-R
In the above example there is a PnP ISA sound card. The power comes from the USB
cable, and the additional voltages are provided by the mounted isa-pwr (power supply
module).
[ 88 ]
The Enumerator shows the name of the PnP ISA card, number of devices and
resources detected.
[ 89 ]
8.2 Using of a standard (non PnP) ISA card
Standard (non Plug and play) ISA cards do not contain information on the name and
the resources of the ISA card. These type of cards are the wide majority of ISA cards.
When connected for the first time our software will look for the resources of the ISA
card, and redirect them with the USL. One ISA card may contain several devices, and
each of these devices may or may not need loading of a driver.
Resources
What are the “resources”? Every ISA card has a certain range with one or more of:
 I/O port addresses

 Memory area addresses
 IRQ channels
 DMA channels
The process of looking for the resources of the ISA card may take up to 10-30
seconds, as the Enumerator goes through devices on the Plug and Play ISA cards and
standard ISA cards as well.
Normally one ISA card has multiple devices, such as for example sound, midi, or
joystick devices.
Voltages and current
A particular ISA card may need a variety of voltages and particular amounts of
currents to work.
[ 90 ]
Example – standard ISA input/output card + USB2ISA-R
In the above example there is a standard ISA input/output card with two serial ports,
one parallel port, one IDE and one floppy device. The power comes from the USB
cable and the additional voltages are provided by the mounted isa-pwr (power supply
module).
Manually adding resources
The process of automatically detecting resources of the Enumerator cannot handle

specific ISA cards which have hidden resources that need to be enabled by a
sequence of commands.
The Enumerator allows manually adding resources by clicking the “Add Resources”
button in the main Enumerator window.
[ 91 ]
Manually loading drivers for a device on an ISA card
When an ISA card is mounted in USB2ISA or SSI2-ISA type of card for the first time
the 'software types' dialog box comes – as described in the next chapter.
The Enumerator allows manual loading of a driver by clicking the “Load Driver”
button in the main Enumerator window.
The .inf file of the driver needs to be modified
When connecting for the first time it is possible that no .inf file will be found for the
particular ISA card. In this case the Enumerator will bring a message box that reads
“No driver files found”.
the .inf file for the ISA card. In this dialog box you can:
 Select drive
 Type file name
This installation process is called only the first time the ISA card and USB2ISA or
SSI2-ISA card are connected. Each proceeding time, the driver loads automatically.
[ 92 ]
8.3 Software types
We deal with PCMCIA, PCI, PCI Express cards in standard well defined ways.
There is no single standard way of dealing with non plug and play / standard ISA
cards.
The ISA card manufacturer probably spent -

- months or years to make ISA card working on one operating system
- and then, weeks or months to make ISA card working on additional operating
systems
For non standard ISA software you need to find -

- what operating system was the original ISA software working on
- was the ISA software working on the current operating system
– what software type is the ISA software
When an ISA card is mounted in USB2ISA or SSI2-ISA type of card for the first time
the 'software types' dialog box comes -
[ 93 ]
The isa software can include -

- 16bit DOS type of a driver or and / or application
- 32bit Windows 98 type of an application
- 32bit Windows NT type driver - no .inf file
- 32bit Windows driver - with .inf file
Based on the above you can deal with the isa cards that you have.
If not knowing the software type for the ISA card/s software, you can push 'Cancel'.
The 'software types' dialog box will come again when USB2ISA / SSI2-ISA with ISA
card/s are connected.
If knowing the software type, please select it and push 'OK' button. The 'software
types' dialog box will not come again, but will perform an action cased on the
selection.
If the ISA software is 16bit DOS type , you need to run it under our customized
'dosbox' environment.
A Windows 98 application with direct i/o ports access will crash is run on windows
2000 and later operating system. We provide support for this type of application so
that it run normal on modern operating systems.
When having 32bit Windows NT type driver, the driver has to be in

'stopped' state after boot. Then, after connecting USB2ISA / SSI2-ISA with ISA
card/s the driver has to be started.
If having 32bit Windows driver - with .inf file, you need to modify the .inf file, and
go through the 'Install new hardware' process to install the driver, and then load it.
When having an application built using the ARSTech API set, or the type is not
known, there are no additional actions taken – the device/s on ISA card/s are handled
by USL or API set.
Details on the specific steps are in the following chapters.
[ 94 ]
8.4 '16bit DOS' software type
Support for 16bit DOS/Windows 3.1 binaries of peripheral card is offered

under - Windows (32 and 64bit), Mac OS X, Linux 32bit platforms.
With this selection for 'software type the following screen comes -
After opening the main dosbox window, you will need to select the location of the
DOS software.
If, for example, the DOS software is placed in the “dosprog” folder, please type:
mount c c:\dosprog
Then type:
c:
DOS drivers
If the ISA DOS software includes a driver, you need to load it in advance.
A utility DEVLOAD - provides a method of loading device drivers from the
command line under MS-DOS, rather than having to re-boot in order to load extra
drivers. It is freeware, available on -
ftp://ftp.infradead.org/pub/devload/devload.exe
Then you can run the main ISA DOS application.
[ 95 ]
Windows 3.1 / 3.11 ISA software
The ISA software may have been running on Windows 3.1 or 3.11 operating systems.
Such software may be handled under our 'dosbox' environment.
The initial step is to install Windows 3.1 (or 3.11), as follows -

– make folders in the dosbox directory for each install disk,
– then in the 'dosbox' window (after mounting 'dosbox direcotry' as C) go to the first
folder and start setup,
– select to do custom setup so you could tell where each disk folder location is (7
total)
After installation, if mouse doesn't work - shut down dosbox (and as a precaution
unload and restart the enumerator).
When you start 'dosbox', mount the drive, go to windows folder, and type -
win
the windows 3.1 / 3.11 starts, and mouse is working.
You may need to install additional packages required by the isa software.
There is additional information available, listed when doing a Google search for -
windows 3.1 dosbox
After installing all software needed, and having USB2/SSI2 ISA , while in Windows
3.1 , the ISA board/s is found and working.
[ 96 ]
8.5 '32bit Windows NT type driver - no .inf file' software

type
Support for this type of binaries is offered under only 32bit Windows platforms
– from Windows 2000 to Windows 7.
With this selection for 'software type' the driver has to be in 'stopped' state after boot.
The procedure is -
- connect usb2isa / ssi2-isa + isa
- do 'start' on isa driver
- run the isa application
The above screen shows the way of 'stop'/'start'.
[ 97 ]
You can do start / stop by -

- In 'computer management' -> 'device manager' -> 'view' ,
- check 'show hidden devices'
- enlarge 'non plug and play drivers'
- select the particular isa driver – for ex. 'msisadrv'
(normally the listed device for ex. 'abc' is based on the driver name 'abc.sys')
- double click on the 'msisadrv' device , select 'driver' tab
An alternative way of start / stop is to type from command line -

net start msisadrv
net stop msisadrv
The Enumerator attempts to do automatically the stop / start process, however you
may need to make additional checks to find what the current state of the Windows NT
type driver is, and do start / stop in 'device manager' or from command line.
8.6 '32bit Windows type driver - with .inf file' software type
The original installation software disk for an ISA card (on a floppy or a CD) contains
the .inf installation files and hold the drivers for the devices on a particular ISA card.
The .inf installation files for the different devices need to be modified manually in
order to install and load drivers for a device on an ISA card mounted to a USB2ISA
and SSI2-ISA.
Modifying .inf files
With selection of '32bit Windows type driver - with .inf file' a message box appears
with the current device instance.
To modify the .inf file, please pay careful attention to the message box which will
give you the current device instance- for example, arsusb100 , arsusb101, ... or
PCI\VEN_0010&DEV_0064, PCI\VEN_0010&DEV_0065 ... etc, and the location
where the modification is made. Please refer to next chapters for examples of
modified .inf files.
[ 98 ]
The Enumerator will bring next a message box as shown below:
ARSTech Enumerator –no driver files found message
the .inf file for the PCMCIA card.
In this dialog box you can:
 Select drive
[ 99 ]

 Type file name
8.7 Example of a modified .INF file for installing
Support for .INF file for installing is offered under only 32bit Windows
platforms – from Windows 2000 to Windows 7.
An example of a modified .inf file for Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista ,Server
2008 and 7 operating systems is shown bellow.
The example provided is for reference purposes only. You will need to:
5. Identify the [Manufacturer] section,

6. Add a line with the particular device instance
7. Save the file – preferably under a new name
8. Point to this file – when needed
The example below adds a line with the device instance for example -
ARSTech\arsusb102
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
;
;Copyright (c) ARS Technologies - All rights Reserved
;
;Module Name:
;
; arswdm2kxp.INF
;
;Abstract:
; INF file for installing of a sample wdm driver :
;
; operating systems - Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008
;
[Version]
Signature="$WINDOWS NT$"
Class=Sample
ClassGuid={78A1C341-4539-11d3-B88D-00C04FAD5171}
Provider=%ARS%
[DestinationDirs]
DefaultDestDir = 12
; ================= Class section =====================

[ClassInstall32]
Addreg=SampleClassReg
[ 100 ]
[SampleClassReg]
HKR,,,0,%ClassName%
HKR,,Icon,,-5
; ================= Device Install section =====================

[Manufacturer]
%ARS%=ARS
[SourceDisksFiles]
arswdm1.sys=1
[SourceDisksNames]
1=%DISK_NAME%,
[ARS]
; DisplayName Section DeviceId
; ----------- ------- --------
%ARSwdm1.DRVDESC%=ARSwdm1_Inst,root\ARSwdm1
; !!! modified here !!!
%ARSwdm1.DRVDESC%=ARSwdm1_Inst,ARSTech\arsusb102
[ARSwdm1_Inst.NT]
CopyFiles=ARSwdm1.CopyFiles
[ARSwdm1.CopyFiles]
arswdm1.sys
[ARSwdm1_Inst.NT.Services]
AddService=ARSwdm1,0x00000002,ARSwdm1_Service
[ARSwdm1_Service]
DisplayName = %ARSwdm1.SVCDESC%
ServiceType = 1 ; SERVICE_KERNEL_DRIVER
StartType = 3 ; SERVICE_DEMAND_START
ErrorControl = 1 ; SERVICE_ERROR_NORMAL
ServiceBinary = %12%\arswdm1.sys
[Strings]
ARS = "ARS Technologies"
ClassName = "ARS Technologies Sample Drivers"
ARSwdm1.SVCDESC = "ARS Technologies Sample wdm Service"
ARSwdm1.DRVDESC = "ARS Technologies Sample wdm Driver"
DISK_NAME = "ARS Technologies Sample Install Disk"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8.8 'ARSTech application or unknown' software type
This type of support for peripheral cards is available under all supported
operating systems and platforms we offer.
This software type is chosen for developers using our simple/basic API set or the
extended API set to build applications.
[ 101 ]
9. PCMCIA cards - use

This chapter describes the way of use of PCMCIA cards on our 'USB2' line of
products, on our 'SSI2' line of products, and on our 'XPRS' line of
products.
Information on the specific product, the way of connecting, powering,

enclosures, etc. is available in the chapters 1-3 .
The PCMCIA interface supports 2 types of cards -

– 16bit , 'PC Card' type
– 32bit , 'CardBus' type
If you have 16bit card you can use - our USB2PCMCIA product.
16bit PCMCIA cards can be powered by either 3.3V or +5V power to work. Some
cards can use either one or the other voltage.
If a PCMCIA card requires +5V for powering, it can be handled only by
USB2PCMCIA product, because our SSI2-PCMCIA product uses only 3.3V.
When connected for the first time, ARS Technologies software will automatically:

 Redirect them with the USL
 Look for an .inf file for the PCMCIA card and if the .inf file is found, start the
“Found New Hardware” installation process of the operating system, and load
the driver for the card.
This installation process is called only the first time the PCMCIA card and our
USB2PCMCIA device are connected. In proceeding, the drivers load automatically.
Devices
Normally a PCMCIA card has one device such as a modem, a network device... There
are cases where a PCMCIA card has two devices such as a modem and network
device. In this case, each device has to have separate .inf install. files and driver files.
The results of the driver loading are shown in 2 places -
– in the Enumerator
– in the 'Device manager'
[ 102 ]
Enumerator shows the:

 Name of the card
 Number of devices and their type
 Resources used
[ 103 ]
The ‘Device Manager’ will show a driver loaded, based on the type of a device.
When connecting for the first time, it is possible that there will be no .inf file found
for the particular PCMCIA card. In this case the Enumerator will bring a message box
reading “No driver files found”.
the .inf file for the PCMCIA card. In this dialog box you can:
[ 104 ]
 Select drive
 Type file name
system, and load the driver for the card.
Examples -
16bit PCMCIA modem card + USB2PCMCIA
[ 105 ]
10. PCI cards - use

This chapter describes the way of use of PCI cards on our 'SSI2' line of
products, and on our 'XPRS' line of products.

When connected for the first time, the ARS Technologies software will automatically:

 Redirect them with the USL (do not apply to XPRS-PCI-..)
 Look for an .inf file for the PCI card and if the .inf file is found
 Start the 'Found New Hardware' installation process of the operating system,
and load the driver for the card.
This installation process is called only the first time the PCI card and SSI2-PCI /
XPRS-PCI-.. are connected. Afterward, the driver is loaded automatically.
for the particular PCI card. In this case the Enumerator will bring a message box that
reads “No driver files found”.
the .inf file for the PCI card. In this dialog box you can:
 Select drive
 Type file name
system and then load the driver for the card.
Devices
One PCI card may have one device, for example modem device, or a network device.
There are cases where a PCI card has multiple devices. In this case each device has to
have separate .inf install. files and driver files.
[ 106 ]
The results of the driver loading are shown in the 'Device manager'
The ‘Device Manager’ will show drivers loaded for the USB host devices.
[ 107 ]
Examples of mounting
PCI network card + XPRS-PCI-X1
2 PCI cards + XPRS-PCI-X3
[ 108 ]
11. PCI Express -x1 and -x16 cards - use

This chapter describes the way of use of PCI Express -x1/-x16 cards on our
'XPRS' line of products.


 Look for an .inf file for the PCI Express -x1/-x16 card and if the .inf file is
found
This installation process is called only the first time the PCI Express -x1/-x16 card
and XPRS-PX-.. are connected. Afterward, the driver is loaded automatically.
for the particular PCI Express -x1/-x16 card. In this case the Enumerator will bring a
message box that reads “No driver files found”.
 Select drive
 Type file name
Devices
One PCI Express -x1/-x16 card may have one device, for example video device, or a
network device. There are cases where a PCI Express -x1/-x16 card has multiple
devices. In this case each device has to have separate .inf install. files and driver files.
[ 109 ]
Examples
PCI Express -x1 card mounted in XPRS-PX-X1
[ 110 ]
[ 111 ]
12. ExpressCard type34 and type54 cards - use

This chapter describes the way of use of ExpressCard type34/type54 cards on
our 'XPRS' line of products.


 Look for an .inf file for the ExpressCard type34/type54 card and if the .inf file
is found
This installation process is called only the first time the ExpressCard type34/type54
card and XPRS-EC are connected. Afterward, the driver is loaded automatically.
for the particular ExpressCard type34/type54 card. In this case the Enumerator will
bring a message box that reads “No driver files found”.
 Select drive
 Type file name
Devices
One ExpressCard type34/type54 card may have one device, for example 1394 device,
or a network device. There are cases where a ExpressCard type34/type54 card has
multiple devices. In this case each device has to have separate .inf install. files and
driver files.
[ 112 ]
Examples
ExpressCard type34 1394 card + XPRS-CB
[ 113 ]
13. Compact PCI Express and PXI Express cards

- use
This chapter describes the way of use of Compact PCI Express and PXI
Express cards on our 'XPRS' line of products.


 Look for an .inf file for the Compact PCI Express and PXI Express card and
if the .inf file is found
This installation process is called only the first time the Compact PCI Express and
PXI Express card and XPRS-cPCIe are connected. Afterward, the driver is loaded
automatically.
for the particular Compact PCI Express and PXI Express card. In this case the
Enumerator will bring a message box that reads “No driver files found”.
 Select drive
 Type file name
Devices
[ 114 ]
One Compact PCI Express and PXI Express card may have one device, for example a
DAQ device. There are cases where a Compact PCI Express and PXI Express card
has multiple devices. In this case each device has to have separate .inf install. files
and driver files.
Examples
PXI Express DAQ card + XPRS-cPCIe
[ 115 ]
Appendix
The install software is available for download at -
www.arstech.com/install2rel.zip .
First time install may require system libraries -

www.arstech.com/install2libs.zip .
For details on our products please check our user's guide -

www.arstech.com/users-guide.pdf
Frequently asked questions -

www.arstech.com/install/cms-display/ste_faqs.html
[ 116 ]

Usb2isa Users Guide

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Usb2isa Users Guide

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Usb2isa Users Guide

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ARS Technologies User's Guide V 2.

'USB2', 'SSI2', and 'XPRS'

Everyone using the software and hardware provided by ARS Technologies

In no event will ARS Technologies be liable to anyone using the software

2. Considerations before and after purchase...................................................................................................11

3. USB2 product line......................................................................................................................................16

4. SSI2 Product Line.......................................................................................................................................27

5. XPRS Product Line.....................................................................................................................................32

7. Utilities - ARSTech Enumerator and ARSGui...........................................................................................57

8. ISA cards - use ...........................................................................................................................................87

9. PCMCIA cards - use ...............................................................................................................................102

10. PCI cards – use.......................................................................................................................................106

11. PCI Express -x1 and -x16 cards - use ....................................................................................................109

12. ExpressCard type34 and type54 cards – use...........................................................................................112

– introduction – chapters 1 , 2 ; outlines the product lines and individual products

We recommend our customers to read :

1.1 ARS Technologies product lines

ARS Technologies has 4 lines of products:

Information on products based on USB1.1 interface is available in earlier versions of

 USB2.0 to ISA cards family of products

Other cards are available only on special/volume orders:

USB2PCMCIA-R – USB2.0 to PCMCIA card, allows the use of one 16bit

The SSI2 products are multi-interface products which connect with:

The SSI2 products include:

– SSI2 ISA family - allow the use of one or 3 ISA cards

The SSI2 Host side products include:

 SSI2 HostPCI – mounted in a PCI slot of a desktop computer

There are 2 type of XPRS products:

There are the following XPRS peripheral cards:

The platforms that ARS Technologies' cards work on are:

The Windows platform includes support on - Windows 2000, Windows XP,

We offer our products to two groups of customers:

 Manufacturers of ISA, PCI, or PCMCIA cards. Manufactures have the

2. Considerations before and after purchase

2.1 Hardware considerations

XPRS or SSI2 / USB2 ?

Single card or multiple cards ?

If having multiple cards not similar to each other, we recommend mounting/testing

Choosing of powering of a peripheral card

An ISA card may use:

A PCI card may use:

A 16bit PCMCIA card may use:

A 32bit PCMCIA card uses

A PCI Express card may use:

A ExpressCard card may use:

The voltages used by a particular card are available in the

Choosing an enclosure for ISA, PCI and PCI Express cards

The above web pages offer:

 the enclosure images

2.2 Software Considerations

Different operating systems

Peripheral card handling

You can view ARS Technologies' warranty/refund store policies at:

3. USB2 product line

3.1 USB2ISA-R card

Step 1 - Powering considerations

 using an external power supply ( isa-pwr-xr) adapters to provide +5v, +12V,

ARS Technologies offers the following powering options:

To assist with choosing a powering option, ARS Technologies offers a universal