vista x64 and a HD44780..

[ycwkpp898]

i have tried and tried to get the HD44780 to work in vista x64...

I have seen the forum regarding the 32 bit drivers and need to install the 64 bit ones. but i have tried and tried with no avail.

Can anyone tell me how to do it..

Could i change the lpt lead to a usb by using
http://www.techfocus.co.uk/USB-Adapters ... /TFA06.htm

I really like lcdsmartie.. i have never had probs before in xp. and understand vista is a pain....

All i get on my display is 1st and 3rd line white blocks across and 2nd and 4th nothing...

Please Help

Thanx if anyone can help..
I really appiacite all help..
Thanks again

[carnilio]

I have the same OS, and the same symptopms. I have already boght an "USB 2 Printer" converter tohugh, but it made no difference. When i installed the converter Vista found "USB Printing Support", though when i connected the display it only found (and installed) "No printer attached".

Any luck yet, or any suggestions? (other than kicking Vista? =D ) IT would be a good thing if ther was a way to make theese LCD's work on a 64bit system after all, ifwe want to keep our nice casemods and displays even after 64 bit becomes more common.


Well. I'll keep poking aorund, though any advice or suggestions would be VERY welcome!

[mattcro]

It seems that the loopholes that allowed unsigned drivers to be loaded in Vista 64bit have been closed, so it looks like there is now no 64bit driver and no way to use parallel-port LCDs in Vista64. Microsoft is moving away from the "antiquated" (but still useful to us hobbyists!) parallel port.

USB>Printer adaptors don't work - they only allow regular printing through the LPT port (an emulated port), not the sort of low-level trickery that LCD driving requires.

If you're committed to (or stuck with) Vista64, you either need a USB-connected LCD or a serial (COM port) LCD. You can often retro-fit a plain parallel LCD with a "backpack" converter that allows you to use it through a COM or USB port. There are a few projects on this forum (search for backpack, FT232, FT245 etc) and you can buy ready-made serial adaptors for LCDs (Seetron is popular and supported in Smartie).

[carnilio]

THere are ways to remove the block of unsigned drivers othugh, (and i have done this) but I am unsure what to do after that? IS there any packages I should install?

I found the InpOut32 that someone had ported for 64bit, tohugh as far as I could understand from the webpage, the insatllation instructions (if any) were VERY vague, and the installer he included in the package did not work, and suggested to run the setup as administrator. (tohguh if you ran the program as administrator, the symptoms were the same.

Optionally owuld it be possible to use this on Vista 32Bit still? And/or on Vista 32-bit with the USB > Printer port?

[mattcro]

I understand that it IS possible to use parallel-port LCDs on Vista32, because the port driver works ok (it's 32bit). The USB>Parallel adapters won't work with LCDs on any operating system, unfortunately.

See this post (and search for others) about using Smartie under Vista32. There are niggles with admin rights, UAC etc, so it's not all plain sailing...

[Philg]

I ported InpOut32 to 64bit, sorry if the instructions are vague (but I do have links to a forum and my email address on my download page and I don't mind helping out now and then)!

Anyway, it will never work with a USB-Parallel adapter because InpOut32 (the original and my port) access the hardware directly and its essentially not there for a USB device.

I do not know how to hit a USB device - its completely different.
Apparently, according to the InpOut32 author, its the same for PCI cards - they don't sit on the usual parallel port address range, windows does something special under the hood.

Still for those with hardware on board parallel ports, it is quite possible to run LCDSmartie on 32 or 64bit windows (now even 64bit Vista as I ave a solution new on my site for signed drivers using WinRing0)

Thanks,
Phil