This was lifted from the Win96 help file and it applies to Win95 as well. Follow all the steps until you get it to work.
Connecting the Scanner
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1. If you already have an available serial (COM) port, skip to step 2. Otherwise, connect a USB-to-serial adapter:
a. Plug your USB adapter into an available USB port. Follow the instructions supplied with the adapter to install any required drivers, etc.
b. If you don’t know what COMx value was assigned to the port, use Device Manager (in Control Panel) to view “Ports”. Make a note of the COMx value used by the adapter.
2. Plug the DB-9 Female end of the programming cable into an available serial (COM) port. For information about supported cables, follow this link.
3. Plug the cable’s 1/8” mono plug into the PC/IF port on the right-hand side of the PRO-96.
4. If the scanner is powered ON, the display may or may not indicate “Clone Mode”. This is highly dependent on the cable you use. For example, the original GRE (grey) cable doesn’t seem to cause this display, while the “Purple” cable does. If the display doesn’t change to “Clone Mode”, don’t worry (yet) – we’ll verify that the cable works in the next few steps.
Verify that you’ve connected the scanner properly, using Win96:
1. Turn the scanner ON.
2. Launch Win96.
3. Under Win96’s Configuration menu, select Serial Port….
4. Make sure the selected COM port number matches the COM port to which you attached the scanner.
5. Click the OK button to close the Serial Port Configuration window.
6. From the Scanner menu, select Download from Scanner (or press CTRL+D).
7. Win96 will attempt to start a download operation, retrieving the scanner’s current settings. The scanner’s display should indicate that it’s in Clone Mode, and that it is sending data.
If the scanner does not begin sending data, or if Win96 displays an error message (e.g. Unable to open the COM port, timeout waiting for header, expected to read back data, etc.), you should attempt the following one at a time:
1. Double-check to ensure that you have the correct COM port selected.
2. Make sure the programming cable is firmly seated in the scanner’s jack and in the PC’s 9-pin connector.
3. Make sure that no other software is using the serial port. The usual suspects include PDA “sync” software, such as Palm’s HotSync. You must either close such software, or temporarily disable it (so that it’s no longer using the port).
4. Under Win96’s Configuration menu, select Serial Port…, and try each of the following:
a. If you’re using a USB adapter, try checking the Extra Write Time option.
b. If you’re using a home-built cable, try checking the Set RTS Line High option. If you’re using a GRE or Purple cable, make sure this item is not checked.
c. If you’re using a one-way cable, make sure the Enable “Readback” Tests item is not checked. (Note: a one-way cable cannot be used to download from the scanner; you can only upload to the scanner with this type of cable).
5. If no combination of the above helps, you should try another computer. There have been rare instances of serial port hardware that cannot drive the electronics in the interface cable.
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© 2000-2003 Don Starr. All rights reserved.