This is a special note for the users of MDCF and MDCFE products. 1. Features * Compact and mobile. * Specifically designed for the users of Digital Camera, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Personal Organizers, Voice Recorders and other mobile electronic products which accommodate CompactFlash Cards as standard data storage media. * Very convenient to connect CompactFlash Cards to various computers through parallel port. Just plug it into PC's parallel port, and play. * Spring loaded door for easy card insertion. * Ejector mechanism for removing CompactFlash Cards (model MDCFE). * Support DOS, Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT and OS/2 WARP. * Auto detection of parallel port type of computers. * Auto optimization of transfer rate according to the parallel port type detected. * Auto configuration of disk types. * Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) - High speed data transfer. * Can be powered by keyboard port, AC/DC adapter or dry cell battery pack. * High shock resistance, max. 2000Gs quoted from CompactFlash manufacturers * Easy installation procedure. * Hot-swap capability(remove and insert CompactFlash Cards without turning off host computer) in DOS, Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT. 2. Hardware Installation The Standard Package of MDCF/MDCFE and MD1 includes: 1. A CompactFlash card drive, The EPP/ECP adapter for CompactFlash card or a Mobile Disk 1 which is a EPP/ECP adapter for PCMCIA 1.8" hard disks or Flash Card or CompactFlash Card with PCMCIA type II adapter. 2. A male\female DB25 extender cable. 3. A keyboard power take-off cable for desktop computer. 4. A keyboard power take-off cable for notebook computers. 5. 3.5" floppy diskette with software device drivers. 6. A user's manual 7. A soft carrying bag Optional Parts: 1. CompactFlash Cards of various capacities 2. AC/DC adapter. 3. Dry cell battery pack. 2.1 Connect MDCF/MDCFE to Computer 1. Turn off the personal computer(PC) and peripheral unit 2. Unplug printer cable from the parallel port, if computer printer cable was installed on the system. 3. Hook up the printer cable with the female DB25 connector of CompactFlash card drive, if the printer is to be attached to PC. 4. Connect DB25 extender cable to the male DB25 connector on CompactFlash card drive and connect the other end to the parallel port of PC. 5. Plug the keyboard power take-off cable onto the external keyboard port of a notebook computer if the host system is a notebook computer. OR.... Unplug keyboard connector cord, then connect the regular power take-off cable to desktop computer keyboard port. And then, connect the keyboard connector cord to the other end of this regular power take-off cable if the system is a desktop computer. 6. Connect power plug of the cable to the power jack of CompactFlash card drive. 7. Install a functional CompactFlash card onto MDCF/MDCFE product and make sure all the connections are firmly connected before turning on the computer. Note: Notebook/palmtop computers may supply insufficient power(through external keyboard connector) for operation of the system; however, some do not have the external keyboard at all. To overcome this, an AC/DC adapter or a dry-cell battery pack can be used as an auxiliary power supply. These optional power supplies can also be used in normal and mobile applications. Since MDCF, MDCFE and CompactFlash card require very minimal power and some computers may provide sufficient power from parallel port. Therefore, in some cases, no external power would be needed. MDCF/MDCFE might function well by simply plugging it into parallel port without additional power supply. 2.2 Install CompactFlash card into CompactFlash card drive The CompactFlash card can be easily installed into MDCF and MDCFE products by simply insert CompactFlash card through the spring loaded door. CompactFlash card can also be very easily removed from the card drive by pulling out the CompactFlash card by hand (MDCF) or by pushing the ejector button (MDCFE). CompactFlash card can be swapped in and out of CompactFlash card drive without turning off hot computer (Hot Swapping capability). If the power to host computer is on when the card is inserted, LED will go off and then turn on again. When LED is turned on again, the new CompactFlash card inside MDCF and MDCFE is ready for use. Note: MDCF and MDCFE products are compatible with all CompactFlash card with CF logo. CF logo is the symbol of compliance for all CompactFlash cards that are tested and certified by CFA, CompactFlash Association. The CF and CFA logos are registered trademarks of the CompactFlash Association. 3. Software Installation MDCF and MDCFE support MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows NT, and OS/2 warp. The device drivers for all operating systems are contained in the 3.5" floppy diskette. A functional CompactFlash card must be installed on the CompactFlash card drive (MDCF/MDCFE) in order to install the device drivers successfully. 3.1 High level format CompactFlash card Normally CompactFlash cards are factory pre-formatted. There is no need to perform this operation. Go to section 3.3 to continue software installation if CompactFlash card has already had information on it. However if CompactFlash card was not formatted before or if you want to reformat the card then there are a few way to perform such operations: (1) Format CompactFlash card by digital camera or by PCMCIA slot on host computer. You would need a PCMCIA type II adapter in order to format CompactFlash card by PCMCIA slot. (2) Format CompactFlash card directly on MDCF and MDCFE products by issuing FORMAT command on DOS. (note: FORMAT command can only be executed after MDCF/MDCFE is connected to computer successfully). This format method is the most preferrable way for formatting CompactFlash card as this is a standard DOS format operations. (3) Enable INT 13 commands by adding /B parameter to the device driver EPATHD in DOS. INT13 will allow FDISK and FORMAT commands in DOS be executed on MDCF and MDCFE after they are successfully connected to computer. The command line in config.sys for enabling INT 13 for MDCF and MDCFE will look like: . . DEVICE = EPATHD.SYS /B /Flash DEVICE = ASPIHDRM.SYS . . Or, By issuing the following dynamic loading commands on DOS command prompt > EPATHD /B /Flash > ASPIHDRM After MDCF/MDCFE is connected to computer, issue "FORMAT X:" at DOS command prompt ("X" is the logical drive letter assigned by DOS). Follow the instruction shown on screen to fomat disk. The format of CompactFlash Card is completed while the format program ends. (4) Formatting CompactFlash card under Windows 95 and Windows NT can be done by the following steps: 1. Double clip on "My Computer." 2. Move cursor to the new drive, MDCF, recognized by Windows 95/NT; click the right button of your mouse to find a pop-up menu. 3. Select "Format", and follow the instruction shown on screen to format the card. 3.2 Partition CompactFlash card Normally the partition operation is done by the factory. It is not necessary to perform partitioning operation on the card. However, partition CompactFlash card can be done directly on MDCF/MDCFE through parallel port on DOS. In order to partition CompactFlash card, INT 13 on DOS shall be enabled. Please see section 3.1 item (3) for how to enable INT 13. Follow the following steps to partition CompactFlash card after INT 13 is enabled: 1. Issue "FDISK" at DOS command prompt, enter "5" to change the selection of disk drive to the drive letter assigned to MDCF(MDCFE) by the system. 2. Build up new partition areas by keying in "1" or "2" (please refer to the instruction shown on screen to proceed the partition). 3. After completing the partition, reboot the computer and proceed disk formating. Note: CompactFlash card would need to be high level formatted after partition operation is completed. 3.3 Install Device Drivers to DOS Operating Systems After connecting hardware properly to a computer and completing high level pre-formatting and pre-partitioning of a CompactFlash Card, you are ready to install device drivers. 3.3.1. Install Device Driver to a System Hard Disk, Reboot the System to recognize the CompactFlash card as an additional drive. 1. Power on the host computer after CompactFlash Card drive has been connected to the parallel port of the computer properly. A formatted CompactFlash card shall be inserted in MDCF/MDCFE product. 2. Insert "Software Drivers" floppy diskette into drive A. 3. Issue command "A:", go to floppy drive A 4. Issue command "INSTALL", to run installation program 5. Follow the instruction of "INSTALL" program to copy the device drivers from the floppy diskette to your own designated sub-directory in drive C. 6. "INSTALL" program will optimize the transfer rate automatically based on the system, and will update c:\config.sys with the necessary device drivers. 7. Press "EXIT" to end installation program 8. Remove floppy diskette from drive A, then reboot the system. 9. The CompactFlash card is now recognized by the system as an additional drive. 3.3.2. Install Device Drivers to a Bootable Floppy Diskette, Reboot the system with this floppy diskette to recognize CompactFlash Card. 1. Prepare a bootable floppy by formatting it in host computer by issuing "FORMAT A:/S" command to format a new bootable floppy 2. Copy all the files in the distribution floppy diskette to this bootable floppy. There is a sample config.sys file which can be used to recognize MDCF/MDCFE when the system is booted from floppy drive. 3. Reboot the system with this bootable floppy diskette installed in floppy drive. MDCF/MDCFE shall now be recognized by the system. Note: Please make sure a functional CompactFlash card is installed on CompactFlash card drive (MDCF /MDCFE). 3.3.3. Load Device Drivers Dynamically without installing Device Drivers to Host Computer, no Reboot Necessary. 1. Power on the host computer after CompactFlash Card drive is connected to the parallel port of the computer properly. 2. Insert the distribution floppy diskette into drive A 3. Issue command "A:", go to floppy drive A 4. Issue command "EPATHD" at DOS prompt. 5. Issue command "ASPIHDRM" at DOS prompt. You shall get a logical drive now if the CompactFlash Card was high-level formatted previously. 3.4 Install CompactFlash card drive device drivers to Windows 95 3.4.1 Automatic Device Driver installation procedure: 1. Start up Windows 95 with a functional CompactFlash Card installed on CompactFlash card drive (MDCF/MDCFE). 2. Make sure that the cables are firmly connected and power is applied to MDCF/MDCFE product. 3. Go to "My Computer", Select 3.5" floppy drive with the correct floppy inseted into floppy disk drive, then find and double click on "Setup" to run automatic device driver installation program. 4. Follow the instructions displayed on screen to complete the installation of device drivers. MDCF drive will be displayed on screen when you have completed such installation successfully. Note: If you encounter any difficulties in installing Windows 95 device drivers, please refer to MD1 user's manual on Trouble Shooting symptom 14. You might need to help resolving some conflicts on port address and IRQ assignments in Windows 95 or you might need to add special parameter to the device drivers in order to make successful connection. (For example, some IBM Aptiva machines would need the parameter /Di to be added in order to make successful connections.) 3.5 Install CompactFlash card drive device drivers to Windows NT Follow the procedure listed below to setup your Windows NT driver for CompactFlash Card: 1. Start up Windows NT with a functional CompactFlash Card installed on CompactFlash card drive (MDCF/MDCFE). 2. Make sure that the cables are firmly connected and power is applied to MDCF/MDCFE product. 3. Run "Setup" on floppy disk drive. 4. Follow the instructions displayed on screen to complete the installation of device drivers. MDCF drive will be displayed on screen when you have completed such installation successfully. Note: In the case of system crashed during the installation, check if the parallel port has any conflict with sound card's IRQ number. If so, please assign different IRQ number for sound card or parallel port to avoid such conflicts. 4. Hot Swapping Hot Swapping (the capability of removing and inserting different CompactFlash cards without turning off host computer) is available in DOS, Windows, Windows 95 and Windows NT, but not in OS/2 operating system. The removal and insertion of different CompactFlash card will be detected automatically. When a new CompactFlash card is being inserted into MDCF/MDCFE, the LED will go off and then back on again to indicate that a new CompactFlash card was recognized by the host computer. Note: A CompactFlash card shall be installed on MDCF/MDCFE product before the power to computer is turned on in order for the computer to recognize CompactFlash card properly. 5. Compatibility tests: All CompactFlash cards can be hot swapped on MDCF and MDCFE products as tested. Supported System And Parallel Port Chipset Details -------------------------------------------------- Date:Nov 12,1997 Machine/Adapter/Mother Board EPP/SPP/ECP Chipset Specs --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adapter Goldstar Prime 2C SPP 9507 HP Vectra M2-66MHz EPP+ECP Farpoint SMC37C666GT IBM Thinkpad 755CSE EPP+ECP Intel AIP 82091AA Zenith Znote EPP Intel 386SL ARC EPP Intel 386SL Dell Dimension EPP+ECP NS PC87306 IBD/VUL HP Pavillion EPP+ECP NS PC87306 Digital Starion 910/919 EPP+ECP NS PC87332VL AST Asentia 950N EPP NS PC87334VJG Adapter NS EPP+ECP NS PC87334VJG IBM Aptiva EPP+ECP SMC37C932 HP Vectra VL Series EPP+ECP SMC FDC373932 HP Vectra VL2 5/60 EPP+ECP SMC37C665 Gateway 2000-486DX2-66 EPP+ECP SMC37C665GT 486-DX4-100/120MHz-SIS EPP+ECP SMC37C665GT Zeos Pantera EPP+ECP SMC37C666GT Packard Bell EPP+ECP SMC37C665GT Compaq Presario 7222 EPP+ECP SMC37C931 Acer Aspire EPP+ECP SMC37C665GT Adapter EPP SMC37C666QF Aopen AP5K(Mother Board) EPP SMC37C669QF Adapter UMC SPP UM8668F GA-586MB SPP UM8663AF HP Ominbook 800-CS EPP+ECP VLSI Eagle VL82C532 Compaq Aero 4/25 EPP+ECP VLSI 82C144A AST Asentia 900N EPP+ECP VLSI 82C144A* IBM Thinkpad 500 EPP WD8122LV or WD76C30ALV Adapter Winbond Tekram SPP Winbond W83757F 486-SLC2-66MHz-ALI EPP+ECP Winbond W83787F Adapter Winbond Tekram EPP+ECP Winbond W83787F ASUS P/I-P55TVP4(Mother Board) EPP Winbond W83877F Twinhead 386 Notebook SPP Unknown Twinhead 486 Notebook SPP Unknown Twinhead 586 Notebook EPP Unknown AST Ascentia J50 series EPP SMC37C665 Dell Latitude Xpi P100SD EPP NSPC87336 Gateway 2000 solo EPP NSPC87334 IBM Thinkpad 755CSE EPP Intel AIP A1182091AA HP-OmniBook 800 CT EPP VLSI Eagle II Texas Extensa 555 EPP SMC37C665 Toshiba Satellite 105CS ECP Unknown Compaq Presario-7222 EPP SMC931 Dell Dimension P133C EPP NS PC87306 Micron Electronics EPP SMC935 HP Pavilion 7270 EPP NS PC87306 HP Vectra VE EPP NS PC87308 IBM Aptiva 2176-c65 EPP SMC 93x NEC Powermate V133 EPP SMC37C665 System 3 EPP Intel Triton System 5 EPP Winbond W83787F Toshiba Satellite Pro ECP Unknown Tested Flash & CompactFlash(CF) Cards --------------------------------------- Manufacture Capacity(Type) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SanDisk 2MB(CF) SanDisk 4MB(Flash) SanDisk 8MB(Flash) SanDisk 10MB(Flash) Hitachi 8MB(CF) Hitachi 15MB(CF) Hitachi 30MB(CF) Kodak 2MB(CF) Kodak 10MB(CF) Kingmax 4MB(CF) Kingmax 8MB(CF) Maxell(SanDisk) 2MB(CF) Canon(SanDisk) 2MB(CF) Canon(SanDisk) 4MB(CF) LEXAR 4MB(CF) Viking 8MB(CF) SanDisk 20MB(CF) Simple 4MB(CF) Simple 4MB(Flash) IBM 10MB(Flash) Tested Operating System -------------------------------------- MS-DOS 6.20 / MS-DOS 6.22 Windows 3.1 / Windows 3.11 Windows 95 Windows NT 4.0