External ZIP not working right..

[Phuz]

When I go to use it, it puts my computer into slow motion.. this is with the latest software.

It's an A7V board.

It's not doing the click of death, and the disks are fine.

 

[jaywallen]

You and me, Phuz. Which OS? Which Zip drive (parallel, USB or SCSI)?

I have a parallel port Zip drive used for preparing data to give to some clients who are still using Zip disks. Works great on a PIII 500 MHz notebook under W2K, takes 5 minutes before the cursor unfreezes on a PIII 866 MHz desktop system under W2K. Many trips to the Iomega site have availed me of nothing. They have posted self-contradicting information about dealing with slow parallel port drive issues under W2K. For instance, in different places they tell you to set the port to bi-directional, EPP and ECP. All to solve the same problem. DOH!

If your drive is a different one, perhaps there is hope?

Regards,
Jim

 

[julks]

Try to use the "parallel port accelerator", in the IomegaWare (any version), this increased the write/read speed on my external parallel 100MB ZipDrive.

But the slow down of the entire system is quite normal, I have an Athlon 750 with A7V mobo, and the processor reaches the full capacity when I use ZipDrive.

 

[Phuz]

It was given to me.. It's a blue parallel external zip.
I'm just using windows 98..
But what it does is it feels as if the mouse sensitivity has been set to ... 1.
🙁

 

[jaywallen]

I ran across something from an extremely reliable source (Jerold Schulman of JSI, Inc.) regarding one possible scenario which can result in extremely slow system response of the system when using a parallel port Zip drive. AFAIK, however, it only applies to NT4 / W2K.

If anyone is seeing this behavior under W2K with a parallel port Zip drive, would s/he mind checking the Event Viewer to see if there is a recurrent Event ID 12 regarding a mouse data ring buffer overflow? If so, there is possibly an adjustment to the i8042prt parameters in the registry which will fix the issue.

I'm going to do a bit more research on the issue and post back if any good comes of it. I'll also try to find out if it's possible that a similar fix might work for a Win9X system, Phuz.

Regards,
Jim

 

[Phuz]

Thanks very much!
It'd be muchly appreciated.

 

[jaywallen]

Phuz,

If you're game to try an experiment, let me know what type of mouse you have installed. I have come across a couple of systems equipped with the Intellipoint mouse which have malfunctioned in the manner you describe when parallel port Zip drives were added. Both of these systems were W2K systems, so I had it relatively easy in that I had an Event Viewer message to help me troubleshoot. The error message pointed to the ring buffer for the mouse. I experimented, and it turned out that changing mouse parameters in the registry remedied the behavior! Weird, to say the very least! I went on a search after my last message and found specific information on this that confirmed that this was a valid thing to do in NT4 / W2K. However, I don't know much about Win9X. As a matter of fact, I've only been on the Windows platform for about a year now, the first six months was on Win98SE and the last six on W2K. So I'm not sure this is a valid thing to do for your system.

If you want to give it a shot, let me know what type of mouse you're using so I can either notify you directly of the information you'll need or so I can point you to a site that has the info. (It's a bit different for different types of mice. Turns out that the Intellipoint isn't the only one that has this interaction with the parallel port Zip.)

Regards,
Jim

 

[Phuz]

I'm willing to try anything, as I'd like to sell it and be assured that it works? lol!

It's a Logitech First mouse (2 button one wheel)

 

[jaywallen]

Well, shucks. I was hoping for a mouse I'd dealt with, or at least one that I had some specifics on.

The mouse queue parameters are set in a key located in this section of the registry:

HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Services

We're looking for a REG_DWORD value called MouseDataQueueSize. A standard PS/2 mouse uses the location HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters, and the Intellipoint mouse uses the location HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msi8042prt\Parameters.

The Logitech mouse may keep its parameters folder in the same location as the standard PS/2 mouse, or it may not. Sorry, I'm not familiar with it. But, when you locate it, you can adjust the MouseDataQueueSize as follows. (If you don't see a folder name that's obviously related to your mouse, just use the search function to find the MouseDataQueueSize value.) Double-click on the MouseDataQueueSize value. It's default setting is 0x64 hex (100 decimal). The theory is to keep doubling (and rebooting) until the problem goes away.

Now for the interesting point. The MouseDataQueueSize value had to be set to decimal 16000 to get the desired result on the two Intellimouse systems I "fixed". (That's NOT a typo.) That would be a lot of reboots. I suggest trying 8000 right off the bat, then 16000. If that doesn't do the trick, then this technique probably isn't going to fix your issue. (Remember, this was all deduced under W2K, and with a different type of mouse than yours. And device drivers under W2K may have quite different characteristics from those in Win9X.)

If you are also seeing keyboard lockups when the Zip drive is polled, then under the HKLM\CurrentControlSet\Services\i8042prt\Parameters folder you can locate the values PollingIteration, PollingIterationsMaximum and ResendIterations. The first two default to 12000 decimal, and might be doubled to 24000 for effect. ResendIterations has a default value of 3 decimal (or hex, for that matter) which could be set to 8. These are the settings I used on the two systems with Intellipoint software.

If you're going to do this, do yourself a big favor. Back up your registry first. And write down the steps you try and the perceived effect on the system, to help you optimize.

To be frank, I don't hold out much hope for this to work under Win9X, though it might provide some relief. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out. If it's worthless (or worse) I want to be sure not to suggest it to another Win9X user. If it works, it might be useful to others. (I think this issue is more common on W2K systems than on Win9X systems.)

Regards,
Jim

 

[Phuz]

ill give it all a try in a few days when I get home!
thanks jaywallen

 

[jaywallen]

Hi, Phuz!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I just hope that well-wishes don't turn out to be the only thing I've done for you. 😉

I just got a call back from someone I told about this fix, and it worked for her. But, again, we're talking about a Windows 2000 system. I'm afraid I just don't know how well, or if, it will work on a Win9X box.

Hope you're having a good holiday season!

Regards,
Jim

 

[Phuz]

Thanks for the great responses and help man, much appreciated.
Well, i'm insatlling win2k tomorrow, so I can truly try this fix. I can't be bothered to go through all the crap I did last time when I tried it in Win9x.
;(

Anyway, ill keep this updated!
Thanks again, and you have a good holiday too!

 

[jaywallen]

Hi, Phuz!

You're welcome to any poor help I might be able to provide, though it has mostly consisted of guesswork. And I'm having a great holiday season -- for an old man.

Oh, cool -- W2K! Have fun with it! It's a VERY nice OS. Chances are you won't have any trouble with the Zip drive at all. This is by no means a universal issue. I've mostly seen it on Dell 4100s and 8100s.

Regards,
Jim

 

[jeans2nd]

Jaywallen - I started reading this today as I have had this problem for well over a year with my Zip drives. I have both a 250 and a 100 MB parallel Zip drive, using the passthrough for an HPLJ4L - I use one or the other drive, not both at the same time. I am using Win98, with all current patches and drivers, on an IBM 300 GL PIII-500Mhz, 64 MB RAM. My mouse is a Microsoft with IntelliEye. I tried to find the registry key you mentioned above, but I can't find anything remotely like it in my registry. I am willing to try anything you recommend - this mouse/Zip thing drives me crazy! 🙂 The mouse slows down to a point where it almost stops, while the Zip drive is reading from the disk. I did have COD, but I returned my drive to Iomega and got a new one, so that is not the problem. Thanks !

 

[jaywallen]

jeans2nd,

I'm sorry, but I don't really know what to tell you. I would try using the registry editor's in-built search function to find the MouseDataQueueSize value in the registry, if it exists. In Windows 98 I don't believe that you have the regedt32.exe editor. You just use regedit.exe. I've been using Windows only for a year, and most of that time has been spent on NT4 and W2K, quite different from Windows 9X. I don't even have a Windows 98 box anywhere near me on which to do any research.

Zip drives have certainly been useful devices for a great many of us over time, but I think their days are numbered. They just seem to force too much compromise on the OS. The IDE interface Zip drives bog down the IDE channels, and the parallel port Zip drives sometimes bog the entire system down. The USB models seem the best suited for use with Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows 2000, but I hear of a LOT of configuration problems with them.

For most personal system data backup or external storage needs I think CD-RW is the way to go these days. Evidently, so does Iomega, hence their recent foray into the CD writer market. Nonetheless, I understand the desire to keep a serviceable solution in operation. But, personally, I'd only be willing to put up with so much inconvenience before throwing in the towel.

I wish I could be more helpful, but all I can do is tell you what I've seen in Windows 2000 and how I've fixed this issue under that operating system. I only mentioned it before in the hope that the technique would applicable to Win9X. (The registries, except for security settings, really are remarkably similar.)

Regards,
Jim