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Yet another USB flashdrive problem...
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Pete
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21. Re:Yet another USB flashdrive problem...
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El Vato (06 Jan, 2007 15:11):

Pete (06 Jan, 2007 02:52):
[...]

Pointless using old, unsupported drivers such as CW...

[...]


With all respect, I beg to differ with you on this statement.

I have used Chris's drivers to support USB drives from 500MB up to a 80GB hard drive in a case (the latter with some problems, albeit). Yes, with a usb basic "unsupported" hack from 2003. And yes I had some initial trouble during the initial configuration. But Wohlgemuth's USB drivers are a competitive option to those "supported" alternatives because they work in various cases.

Even if a user has multiple USB controllers (Wohlgemuth's USB supports a single controller only) and the cwUSBUHC.SYS, cwUSBOHC.SYS, and cwUSBD.sys drivers can not be used, the cwUSBMSD.add driver still can be used in combination with (possibly newer) proprietary alternative USB basic support.(< http://www.os2warp.be/index2.php?name=cwusb >)

You can find an example configuration on a T40 laptop that I submitted to http://www.os2warp.be to support a 1GB Memorex Travel Drive in the appropriate section of the web site.

We would not be falling so far behind in techonology if the OS/2 code were open to be improved by third parties (Wohlgemuth's ). The Linux operating system is "unsupported" also but due to its open code, third parties have turned it into the high caliber super application that has allowed it to enter the enterprise world. Are we there yet by following this conservative old school methodology???

No. We are still having problems with something as simple as USB.

El vato || ...



Hi El vato


You are more than welcome to disagree with me, maybe my statement was a little too strong but I have seen lots of posts with people struggling to get these drivers to work when the remedy was to remove them and install and configure the IBM drivers correctly. However, that does in all honesty only apply to situations where access to IBM updates are/were possible.


If the CW drivers work with some of your usb devices that, for whatever reason, the IBM USB drivers fail to work with Please carry on

Worth thinking about is that a later USB device probably works with those drivers more by accident than design.

Also worth thinking about is that other drivers are often involved in whether the device works or not - os2dasd.dmd is an example.

A common error is to use lowercase parameters to usbmsd.add and then expect it to work - Yes, case sensitive parameters, requires uppercase.

Another thing people sometimes do not realise is that the mainboard BIOS needs to be setup correctly - most mainboards should have Legacy USB support Disabled. Forgetting this simple step can be a killer as regards USB support on OS/2 based systems.

I have never tried any of the CWUSB drivers because I have never needed to. Every mp3 player, flash drive, external hard drive, scanner, mouse tried here has worked with the IBM drivers - guess I've been lucky


I have 3 systems here all fitted with Internal USB multi cardreaders. These are specifically *Not* supported by the IBM drivers - but all work fine as long as the user remembers to Refresh the Drives Folder View or use the Refresh Removables object. Yes, the specific non-support is that inserting a card into a slot does not get the system to automatically display the attached drive - but it is attached and usable.


Sometimes some fiddling is required: in the case of external flash drives and mp3 players it has been necessary to destroy existing partitions and then recreate with LVM - no, have not needed to resort to DFSee for that yet.

I have not tried any flash drives that use fat32 yet though and suspect they may provide a little challenge.


I do agree that the current IBM drivers still have lots of room for improvement - see Internal cardreaders above as an example.

I suspect that eCS has plans to update some drivers by the simple expedient of replacing them with "home rolled" versions - maybe even open source ports from linux - over a period of time. Let's face it either eCS updates/replaces drivers as necessary or it will rapidly lose customers who need support for their devices. I suspect the current eCS worry is centered around video driver support now that SNAP is no longer being maintained


Anyhow, I hope we have managed to disagree successfully

Pete

Date: 08 Jan, 2007 on 17:32
Shai
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22. Re:Yet another USB flashdrive problem...
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Pete (08 Jan, 2007 15:49):
Hi Robin

1280*1024 is a resolution in use here so that is not the problem.

Here is a total stab in the dark based on some experiences with 1 eCS1.1 system here a couple of years ago:

Open a command window in \ecs\bin (or wherever USBcfg is installed to).

Use the command attrib -r -s -h usbcfg.ini

Do you now have a usbcfg.ini file in that directory? - dir is usually quicker than waiting for the folder view to refresh.


If the answer is Yes then the system is setting the just created usbcfg.ini file as +r +s +h and that is preventing the basic settings from being written - this is definitely not something done by usbcfg.exe for obvious reasons

The resolution here, if some old brief notes are correct, was to run Cleanini followed by Checkini

Cleanini was available here http://www.c-arnold.de.vu but that site seems to have gone...

If you cannot find a copy I could email it to you.

Checkini is part of the wptools package which I think is supplied with eCS1.1


The above cleanini/checkini stopped the system from applying those rsh attributes to the SysInfo/2 pci.ini file (and maybe others that I was not aware of) and allowed the app to run normally.


I hope the above resolves the issue because I am now totally out of ideas...


Regards

Pete


I'm afraid, it didn't work - there's doesn't seem to be any usbcfg.ini. However I'm going to try Cleanini somewhen - maybe the system completely prevents (?) usbcfg from creating an ini file. Currently I've not much time - I'm in the midst of my Abitur (highschool diploma) tryouts.

Greetings,
Robin

Date: 10 Jan, 2007 on 20:25
El Vato
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23. Re:Yet another USB flashdrive problem...
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Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):

El Vato (06 Jan, 2007 15:11):

Pete (06 Jan, 2007 02:52):
[...]

Pointless using old, unsupported drivers such as CW...

[...]


With all respect, I beg to differ with you on this statement.
[..]
|| ...



Hi El vato


You are more than welcome to disagree with me, maybe my statement was a little too strong but I have seen lots of posts with people struggling to get these drivers to work when the remedy was to remove them and install and configure the IBM drivers correctly. However, that does in all honesty only apply to situations where access to IBM updates are/were possible.


The statement was strong in the sense that it discourages third parties who are not priviledged to "own the rights" to analyze the OS/2 code; and yet, (those parties) try to offer what insight they can to the benfit of others and without monetary compensation.

Analyzing the precarious situation in which OS/2 finds itself at the moment, we can not afford to belittle anybody's contribution --especially if one considers that Wohlgemuth simply made available a hack --that he had developed for his own use-- with the hope that it would be useful for someone else --i.e. unsupported, as open source is.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
If the CW drivers work with some of your usb devices that, for whatever reason, the IBM USB drivers fail to work with Please carry on

I never argued against any other point in your post except that where you belittle Chris's contribution to OS/2.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
Worth thinking about is that a later USB device probably works with those drivers more by accident than design.

That is a necessary evil when the code is under wraps. If those who profit at the expense of keeping the OS/2 code beast chained and in the darkness can not do a better job, Chris' efforts are to be applauded.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
Also worth thinking about is that other drivers are often involved in whether the device works or not - os2dasd.dmd is an example.

If SSI can not even include a recent version of that driver in a default offering, then what would be the point in shelling out the equivalent of an XPP copy simply to struggle due to lack of support?

That is the same question that I asked of BigWarpGuy when not even those who advised him to buy a license for his used laptop are helping him solve his Wi-Fi problem.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
A common error is to use lowercase parameters to usbmsd.add and then expect it to work - Yes, case sensitive parameters, requires uppercase.


I have no argument with that either --I have never used small capitalization there. Notwithstanding, thanks for pointing that out. Having a Unix/Linux environment inside OS/2, I might have been tempted to do so when editting my Config.sys with my Elvis vi clone editor.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
Another thing people sometimes do not realise is that the mainboard BIOS needs to be setup correctly - most mainboards should have Legacy USB support Disabled. Forgetting this simple step can be a killer as regards USB support on OS/2 based systems.


Oddly, I have experienced the opposite. I had a most difficutl time with a Dell Dimension attempting to use only the cwUSBMSD.ADD support with multiple USB controllers. The solution turned out to be to enable Legacy USB support.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
I have never tried any of the CWUSB drivers because I have never needed to. Every mp3 player, flash drive, external hard drive, scanner, mouse tried here has worked with the IBM drivers - guess I've been lucky


Could be. But consider that you simply had the money to buy the latest support.

There are many people in Latin America and Eastern Europe and Africa that due to the high cost barrier are unable to participate in the OS/2 experience. When you consider that an eCS license costs the same as that of an WinXPP, yet with a mediocre support from SSI, it can be concluded which OS they would buy.

Notwithstanding, since those "emerging markets" (as they are called by the capitalists) can not afford neither of the above, those (markets) settle for the os that has a lower barrier of entry: Linux.

If those who control the OS/2 code were not living in the past and freed the OS/2 beast, or at least lowered the price of entry to something in the vicinity of what Novell charges for Linux support for one year, for instance, the OS/2 future would be less cloudy.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
I have 3 systems here all fitted with Internal USB multi cardreaders. These are specifically *Not* supported by the IBM drivers - but all work fine as long as the user remembers to Refresh the Drives Folder View or use the Refresh Removables object. Yes, the specific non-support is that inserting a card into a slot does not get the system to automatically display the attached drive - but it is attached and usable.


Yes, I am familiar with that.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
Sometimes some fiddling is required: in the case of external flash drives and mp3 players it has been necessary to destroy existing partitions and then recreate with LVM - no, have not needed to resort to DFSee for that yet.

I have never used DFSee. I do all my lower level disk procedures from the Linux side.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
I have not tried any flash drives that use fat32 yet though and suspect they may provide a little challenge.


The Linux formatting of FAT32 devices is more compatible with the WinXX methodology and file structure creation. You may want to try the procedure that I suggested to Shai ( I just hope that you will not give me an equally baseless argument).


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
I do agree that the current IBM drivers still have lots of room for improvement - see Internal cardreaders above as an example.

Humm...thus, if there are problems with those, SSI does not have any responsibility???


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
I suspect that eCS has plans to update some drivers by the simple expedient of replacing them with "home rolled" versions - maybe even open source ports from linux - over a period of time. Let's face it either eCS updates/replaces drivers as necessary or it will rapidly lose customers who need support for their devices. I suspect the current eCS worry is centered around video driver support now that SNAP is no longer being maintained

...hopefully they will realize that a new business model --more in sync with the times-- is a necessary condition to go forward with OS/2. All the major business organizations have realized that to survive they have to change "On Demand" of the current market conditions --and not remain within an old an inertial old school mind set.


Pete (08 Jan, 2007 17:32):
Anyhow, I hope we have managed to disagree successfully

Pete


It was a pleasure to "disagree" with you, Pete!

Best Regards !

Date: 11 Jan, 2007 on 06:53
Yet another USB flashdrive problem...
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