Using Windows (NTVDM) and serial ports

The below information is only relevant for legacy installation running the DOS
read mode version of the Bailine BSP program.

Windows 64-bits is not supported for running the DOS real mode version.
Windows 10 users are recommended to run the BSP EMUX version instead.

To run the BSP program under Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7 to 10
(32bits only) you need to install the drivers for the Bailine dongle found at
www.bailine.com/faq + download + windows drivers + dongel driver.

You will also need to use a Bailine USB dongel unless your computer has
a legacy (LPT1) parallel port (very unlikely), and this USB dongle needs
to be inserted directly into the computer and not through a USB switch.

Serial ports

You can use either built inn serial ports (unlikely), or usb2serial port adapters to
control the Bailine simulators. The latter requires Windows drivers to be installed.

If you are using a usb2serial port you should make sure that Windows has been
fully updated through Windows update. (If you have an older installation without
all the service packs you may find that usb2serialport adapters wil not work reliably.)

You also need to give Windows time to start up completely before you start any
program using a usb2serialport. (The required services are loaded after Windows
lets you start using the computer so on slow computers with low memory it may
take a few minutes before these services are fully usable.)

And finally; in order for the BSP program to recognize a serial port under
Windows you should configure the port as COM1 or COM2:

Windows XP: click Windows Start + Control Panel + System + Hardware
+ Device manager + Ports (COM & LPT).

Windows 7: click Windows Start + Control Panel + Hardware + Sound
+ Device Manager + Ports (COM & LPT).

Right click on the correct 'Communications port' or 'USB Serial Port'
and select Properties + Port Settings + Advanced.

Select 'COM Port Number' COM1 or COM2

Note that you may have to restart the computer before ports will actually work.

The USB2Serialport adapter needs to be compatible with hardware serial ports
(most, if not all, USB2serialports are compatible).

See the below 'other types of serial ports' if you need to use other types of
ports than COM1/COM2.

Unreliable simulator communication

If starting a simulator does not work, or works unreliable, enable 'Delayed'
through the following menu:

'Bailine: Program Setup: Special: Sim-mode: Delayed'.
(Option available in BSP v3.86 and newer.)

This option reduce the speed of the simulator reprogramming. Enable this
option if you have problems using the simulators with a laptop using
usb2serial ports. (A slow system can run out of time while pushing data
to the simulators through a USB port unless this option is selected.)

This option will not affect the speed of the simulator programs. Instead it
will affect the speed of the communication between the computer and
the simulators.

Non legacy laptops with annoying tones or beeps

A laptop that does not support legacy timers in hardware may create
annoying sounds when a simulator is running. (This is due to timing
problems that has not been resolved.)

In BSP 3.87 (and newer) you can select the menu 'Bailine: Program Setup:
Screen & Sound: Beeps or Off': to avoid the problem.

With older BSP versions you can use the command line switch -sound-
that disables sounds:.

e.g. c:\> c:\bailine\bailine.exe -sound- [enter]

Under Windows you can add the switch permanently by right clicking
the bailine.exe file, select Properties + Program, then type in the above
line under 'cmd line'

The system cannot open a port requested by the application

If you get a message like the above when you start the BSP program
you need to select 'Ignore' before you can start the program.

You can avoid such messages for non existing COM1 and COM2
ports by adding the command line switches -com1- and/or '-com2-
to the programs 'Program Properties'

Right click on the BAILINE.EXE file and select Properties + Program,
then add inn the above switch under 'cmd line'.

e.g. c:\bailine\bailine.exe -com2- [Enter]

The above will disable any ignore messages about COM2.

Screen savers may interfere with USB adapters

If a computer goes into standby or hibernation while the BSP program
is running, you may need to restart the BSP program before the ports
will reactivate.

In that case you can increase the 'Power Scheme' to one hour to
simply avoid the computer going into standby or hibernation while you
are running the BSP program.

You can change the 'Power Scheme' by ...

Windows XP: click Windows Start + Control Panel + Power Options

Windows 7: click Windows Start + Control Panel + Hardware + Sound
+ Power options + Change plan settings

Make sure that you never remove a usb2Serialport adapter while the
BSP program is running.

Several screen modes are not supported

Using BSP 3.87 (or newer) you can select 'Bailine: Program Setup:
Screen & Sound: Graphics: Off'': to block the user from selecting screen
modes that can crash the computer.

Full screen modes as well as graphics modes for legacy programs are not
fully supported since Windows Vista and newer Windows versions.

Even under Windows XP not all screen resolutions supports full screen
mode.

Such systems can crash if you try to run the BSP program full screen,
or use any of the graphics modes (e.g. the body image) on a system
where these screen modes are not supported.

You can, at least on some systems, enable full screen modes if you reduce
the screen resolution to a legacy resolution, e.g. 1024x768.

There is a 3rd party program (Tao ExDOS at www.exdos.com) that may
enable DOS programs to run in full screen and graphics modes under all
versions of Windows.

Windows NTVDM

There is a global 'Use legacy console' option in Windows 10 - 32 bits
(It can be found by opening a command window and right clicking the
Windows title and selecting its properties) that has to be turned on to
avoid an NTVDM error.

Other types of serial ports

The program will auto detect COM1, COM2, and the 4/8-ports cards
delivered by Bailine (if the cards are configured in the predefined
configurations).

Version 3.87 (and newer):

To use a STlab 4-port multiport usb2serial adapter start BSP 3.87 (or newer)
with the startup switch -SADEF4 (SADEF=Serial Adapter DEFinition).

e.g. c:\bailine\bailine.exe -sadef4 [Enter]

In order to use all four ports on the STlab box under Windows you need
to configure the ports as COM1, COM2, COM3 and COM4.

Check the result of the configuration through the menu 'Bailine: Program
setup: Simulator Setup: Test'. (Note the information on the screen that
Simulator#2 should be connected to port3 and Simulator#3 to port2.
This is because ports are registered in the order of their IRQ lines.)

If you need to use other serial-port setups you can instruct the program
about this at startup:

Syntax:

BAILINE /SAn portbase1..,base4,irqnum,intout,intvec,intsel
n=1-4 (serial adapter), base=port (hex), irqnum=interrupt line,
intout=0-3 (mcr/out1-2), intvec=interrupt vector, intsel=0)

Ports that shares IRQs must be defined on the same serial adapter:

Example 1: 2 simulators connected to standard COM1- and COM2-port.
\Bailine /SA1:3F8,4 /SA2:2F8,3 (two simulators on COM1 and COM2)

Example 2: 5 simulators: COM1 and four-ports card on IRQ3.
\Bailine /SA1:2A0,2A8,2B0,2B8,3,0,2BF,0 /SA2:3F8,4

Example 3: 6 simulators: COM1, COM2 and four-ports card on IRQ2
\Bailine /SA1:1A0,1A8,1B0,1B8,2,0,1BF,0 /SA2:3F8,4 /SA3:2F8,3

Notice that if you configure several serial-ports to share the same interrupt line
(IRQ level), you must make sure that the serial-ports can share IRQ even
when the serial-ports are used simultaneously such as in the Bailine program.
(The only way to test this is to use the ports and see if they respond correctly.)

Program limits

Under DOS, using up to four PCI cards, the program can control up to
32 simulators simultaneously.

Under Windows, using USB2serialport adapters, the program can
control a maximum of 4 simulators simultaneously.

For further information refer to www.bailine.com/faq