Personal alpha on Windows 7

[Volker Halle]

Milton,

I could install sripacket.inf using the NetDiag utility under Windows 7 Enterprise and I could add the binding of the CHARON NDIS5 driver to the LAN card, but I cannot see that network adapter in the PersonalAlpha user interface (UI.EXE).

I'll be at the CHARON training in Geneva next week and try to bring up this question.

Volker.

[Volker Halle]

Peter,

the CHARON NDIS5 network driver of PersonalAlpha does not work on Windows 7 64-bit. A NDIS6 driver is expected to be delivered in the future.

Volker.

[Volker Halle]

Peter,

PersonalAlpha V2.0.17 has been recently released. It supports Windows 7, see the announcement in the new Stromasys User Forums:

http://forum.stromasys.com/userforum/index.php

Volker.

[Art Wiens]

It'll cost you a bit more money, but if you have the cash and the available disk space, get yourself the new version of VMware Workstation 7 and put up a minimal XP VM to run personal Alpha in/on.

Works for me. ;-)

Cheers,
Art

[Milton Baar]

Well, I have downloaded 2.0.17 and tried to run it on a Windows2008 server (32bit).

Installs fine, NetDiag updated my NDIS to v6, it is all bound OK BUT....

Networking won't start successfully!! Here is the log:
---------------------------------------------
2010-02-21 21:06:49:121: Alpha: Personal Alpha Emulator
2010-02-21 21:06:49:121: Alpha: Version 2.0.17, build Nov 17 2009 17:59:02
2010-02-21 21:06:49:137: Alpha: ESA0.ROM: set physical address aa-00-04-00-10-04
2010-02-21 21:06:49:137: Alpha: SCC0_chip: reset
2010-02-21 21:06:49:137: Alpha: SCC1_chip: reset
2010-02-21 21:06:49:137: Alpha: PKA.chip: reset_53c94
2010-02-21 21:06:49:152: Alpha: PKB.chip: reset_53c94
2010-02-21 21:06:49:152: Alpha: BYPASS: device start
2010-02-21 21:06:49:152: Alpha: TC0: device start
2010-02-21 21:06:49:152: Alpha: ESA0: lance starting
2010-02-21 21:06:49:152: Alpha: ESA0: start
2010-02-21 21:06:49:152: Alpha: ESA0: device start
2010-02-21 21:06:49:199: Alpha: ESA0.port.handle: failed to determine suitable ethernet adaptors!
2010-02-21 21:06:49:199: Alpha: ESA0.port.handle: no packet network interfaces found
2010-02-21 21:06:49:199: Alpha: ESA0.port: NT NDIS port constructor for {AEA71E57-4140-41A6-8CFC-E4D5F9E0383E}
2010-02-21 21:06:49:215: Alpha: ESA0.port: creating SHARED mode port {AEA71E57-4140-41A6-8CFC-E4D5F9E0383E}
2010-02-21 21:06:49:215: Alpha: ESA0.port: starting NT packet driver port
2010-02-21 21:06:49:215: Alpha: ESA0.port.handle: driver_name 'Packet'
2010-02-21 21:06:49:230: Alpha: ESA0: the port failed to start!!
2010-02-21 21:06:49:230: Alpha: ESA0: the reason: failed to load driver
Last system error: The handle is invalid. [6]
Media is disconnected.

2010-02-21 21:06:49:246: Alpha: ESA0.port: deleting SHARED mode port
2010-02-21 21:06:49:246: Alpha: ESA0.port: NT NDIS port destructor
2010-02-21 21:06:49:293: Alpha: ESA0.port.handle: failed to determine suitable ethernet adaptors!
2010-02-21 21:06:49:293: Alpha: ESA0.port.handle: no packet network interfaces found
2010-02-21 21:06:49:308: Alpha: ESA0.port: NT NDIS port constructor for {AEA71E57-4140-41A6-8CFC-E4D5F9E0383E}
2010-02-21 21:06:49:308: Alpha: ESA0.port: creating SHARED mode port {AEA71E57-4140-41A6-8CFC-E4D5F9E0383E}
2010-02-21 21:06:49:324: Alpha: ESA0.port: starting NT packet driver port
2010-02-21 21:06:49:324: Alpha: ESA0.port.handle: driver_name 'Packet'
2010-02-21 21:06:49:339: Alpha: ESA0: the port failed to start
2010-02-21 21:06:49:339: Alpha: ESA0: the reason: failed to load driver
Last system error: The handle is invalid. [6]
Media is disconnected.

2010-02-21 21:06:49:370: Alpha: exiting
2010-02-21 21:06:49:386: Alpha: stopping
2010-02-21 21:06:52:379: Alpha: exited
---------------------------------------------

My reading of this is that it doesn't like the NDIS driver/binding. There is only one network device on the machine and it is in shared mode - I can see there is an option to install the multiplex driver (srimux.inf), except I can't find that anywhere on the server or in the downloaded files.

I have rebooted the machine several times since updating and installing the NDIS6 driver.

[Volker Halle]

Milton,

Stromasys has created a user forum. Please consider to post your questions related to PersonalAlpha or any of the other Stromasys CHARON emulators in:

http://forum.stromasys.com/userforum/

Volker.

[Milton Baar]

Hi

Thanks, I shall. Last time I looked the forum was still dead/suspended, so it is good to see it is back again!!

Cheers

[Milton Baar]

Well, registered for the new forum but no email confirmation arrived...reregistered and still nothing, so ....

However, from other messages in the forum, it appears that the problem is a known bug since about November last year and that a new mux driver is required (my inference). Nothing released yet, so its just a waiting game I guess.

[Peter Zeiszler]

I am going to hook into that forum too just to keep up to date.
Thanks everyone.

[Bart Zorn_1]

I am running Personal Alpha 2.0.17 on Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit (on VMware Fusion 3.0.1 on Mac OS X 1.5.8, but I don't think that is important). PA installed without problem and runs OK. The only thing is that most of the time, the first time I try to run PA, it fails with a packet driver problem. Just starting it again solves this somehow and I see no further problems.

My suggestion is, just try it. It won't cost you much!

HTH,

Bart Zorn