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This page contains answers to common questions handled
by our support staff, along with some tips and tricks
that we have found useful and presented here as
questions.
Note: In these answers we will follow
a few shorthand conventions for describing user-interface
procedures. Key combinations will be presented like this:
Ctrl+Alt+Delete, which means that you should
press and hold down the Control key, the Alt key, and the
Delete key at the same time. Menu selections will be
presented like this: File > Open, which means
that you should open the File menu, and then make the
Open selection.
- Will the light pen work on LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors?
- How do I connect my light pen kit?
- I get a "Sync cable not
found" error when running PXLSETUP. Why?
- I get a "Can not find
device" error when running PXLSETUP. Why?
- PXLSETUP locks up my computer
leaving the words "Evaluating system
hardware" in the bottom left corner of the
screen. Why?
- When I get to the calibration
screen the pen does not detect lines on the
monitor. Why?
- The pen won't work on dark parts of
my screen. Why not?
- The pen fails when a mouse driver
is loaded. Why?
- After recalibrating, the cursor is
close to where the pen is pointing but is not
exactly lined up. What should I do?
- The pen only works on part of the
screen.
- The pen won't select light pen
fields in my IBM 3270 terminal emulation
application.
- Calibration lines are not
displayed on screen edges, calibration lines are
wide and erratic, or monitor has lost sync and is
"rolling". Why?
- The light pen doesn’t work with a
system that has a Microsoft Intellimouse installed. Why?
- Adding a Microsoft Intellimouse to
a system with a previously installed light pen causes the
system to halt or reboot when restarting Windows 95/98. Why?
- Connected to the external keyboard port
interface, my light pen refuses to work on a consistant basis
or not at all. Why?
Because of the principles behind its design, the light pen will only work on CRT (Cathode Ray Tube)
monitors but not on LCD monitors.
PXL-395 Internal ISA Interface Connection Guide
PXL-595 Internal PCI Interface Connection Guide
PXL-795 External Interface Connection Guide
PXL-2000 USB Interface Connection Guide
Check that all connections to the
display adapter and PXL Interface are secure. Be sure
the sync cable has been installed correctly (i.e.,
between the display adapter and the monitor cable).
Retry PXLSETUP
Check all cabling to
the PXL interface. Ensure that the green power LED is
lit.
Collect the required
information and call the FastPoint Technical Support
Department (800- 962-3900).
Check that the pen is
correctly attached to the PXL Interface. Try
increasing the brightness level of the monitor. Check
the tip of the pen for dirt or dust. Clean the
monitor screen.
Thicker calibration
lines may be easier for the pen to detect. Start
PXLSETUP by typing pxlsetup/v4/h4 at the command
prompt to make each graphics mode calibration line 4
pixels wide
If you are using the
Calibration function in the Windows/Windows 95 Light
Pen Control Panel, you can press the "+"
key to make the lines thicker. Each press of the
"+" key adds one (1) pixel of thickness.
The pen needs light
to function. You can enable the Screen-flood function
with PXLSETUP or with the Light Pen Control Panel
program in Windows/Windows 95.
Always load the mouse
driver (MOUSE.SYS or MOUSE.COM) before loading
PXL-BIOS. Loading the mouse driver after PXL-BIOS can
disable the pen..
Some applications do
not use the standard BIOS method to change the video
mode, which can result in cursor offsets. To make the
pen work correctly with these applications, PXL-BIOS
must be locked into the video mode the applications
is using. Refer to page 39 for more information.
Contact FastPoint Customer
Support if these steps do not resolve your problem.
See the previous
answer.
If you experience a
problem getting the pen to work in your host
application, first check to see if the pen works in
the TEST.EXE program provided on the Light Pen
Support Software Diskette.
Contact FastPoint Technologies Customer
Support if these steps do not resolve your problem.
You are attempting to
calibrate your light pen at an SVGA resolution that
is not supported by your monitor. Rerun PXLSETUP and
do not enable unsupported resolutions.
Microsoft is installing a new driver called VMOUSE.VXD,
version 11.00.40, with its new Intellimouse. This release
should have corrected a bug that disabled absolute pointing
devices, such as the light pen. The bug was not fixed, and as
a result, our light pen driver’s calls to report absolute pointing
device events to the operating system are being ignored. The most
obvious symptom was the inability of the light pen to make selections
even though its software driver was properly installed. To correct
this deficiency, we have released new versions of the Light Pen Support
Software for Windows 95/98, version 1.00L and up (1.00x and 2.0x series),
for the PXL-380, PXL-385, PXL-395, 780, and 795 interfaces.
Procure and install the latest light pen driver release
appropriate to your light pen interface from our web site
(http://www.fastpoint.com/driver/driver.html),
or by calling 800-962-3900. It is also recommended that you acquire
and install the most recent
intellimouse software driver.
The Microsoft Intellimouse driver installation process locks
or reboots the PC when restarting Windows 95/98 if the light
pen driver has previously been installed.
To prevent this problem, it recommended that the light pen
driver be removed prior to installing the Intellimouse on your system:
- After Windows 95/98 is fully started, go to the Start Button on
the Task Bar. Choose Settings; Control Panel. Select the system Icon and
double click it or press Enter. Select the Device Manager Tab.
- Select the Mouse device class and expand the selection using the
right arrow key or by double clicking on the Mouse selection.
- Scroll down to highlight the PXL-XXX Light Pen Interface.
- Press DEL to remove the PXL-XXX Light Pen device.
- Press Enter to close the System Properties dialog.
If you have already installed the Intellimouse and are experiencing
these problems, use these steps to remove the light pen drivers:
- When the system displays the message STARTING WINDOWS 95/98, press
the F8 key to enter the Microsoft Windows 95/98 Startup Menu.
- Choose selection 3 – Safe Mode – and press Enter.
- 3. After Windows 95/98 Safe Mode is fully started, go to the Start
Button on the Task Bar. If your mouse is not functioning, use CTRL-ESC
to bring up the Start Menu. Choose Stettings, then Control Panel. Use
the mouse or arrow key to select the System icon and double click it
or press Enter. Press the right arrow key once to select the Device Manager Tab.
- Press the Tab key TWICE to get to the list of devices, then scroll down to Mouse.
- If the mouse device class is not open, press the right arrow key to display the
PXL-xxx Light Pen interface device.
- Scroll down to highlight the PXL-xxx Light Pen Interface.
- Press Del to remove the PXL-xxx Light Pen device.
- Press Enter to close the System Properties dialog.
- Go to the Start Menu. Choose Shut Down to enter the Shut Down
Windows dialog. Select the Restart radio button, and press Enter to restart
the computer. Allow the computer to restart normally. At this point, the
Intellimouse should be properly installed.
- 10. You may now safely reinstall the light pen drivers using either the
Quick Installation procedure below or the Detailed Installation procedure,
which can be found in your manual.
The light pen interface is dependent on the PC motherboard, whose keyboard
port it is connected to, to relay the proper light pen instructions to the
computer. Certain motherboards will interpret these light pen commands incorrectly,
preventing the light pen from functioning properly.
Make sure that you have the latest light pen driver,
and connect the light pen interface through the PS/2 mouse port instead.
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