Targus PA950 Installation guide

TARGUS PC CARD SLIMLINE CD-ROM (PA950)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Last Updated 3/16/00
•Ease of Installation
•Playing Audio CDs from the PA950
•Audio playback through my Notebook computer speakers
•PC Card insertion not recognized in Windows 95/98
•Running with 3rd Party Card Services under Windows 95/98
•Specifications of the Optional AC Adapter
•Installing Windows NT 4.0
•Device not found in Windows NT 4.0
•Download Driver Disk
•Accessing the CD-ROM with an empty Hard Drive
•General PC Card Troubleshooting
•Technical Support
•Customer Service
Q.Ease of Installation. How easy is it to install to work with my Notebook?
A.Under Windows 95/98, the installation is completed by simply connecting
the PC Card and cable to the Drive unit and inserting the PC Card into your
Notebook PC Card slot. The operating system will detect the PC Card.
Follow the prompts as they come up to load the appropriate drivers. Once
complete a drive letter will be assigned to the PA950 providing access to the
drive. For WinNT 4.0 there are additional steps necessary; refer to the
installation instructions in your User Guide.
Q.Playing Audio CDs from the PA950. How can I play audio CDs from the
PA950?
A.Once attached to the notebook, you can hear audio CDs from the drive
unit itself using either the audio cable or headphones. For personal listening,
plug your headphones into the mini headphone jack on the back of the drive
unit. For listening through your notebook’s sound system and speakers,

connect the audio cable from the mini headphone jack on the drive unit to
your notebook’s line in jack. Run the CD audio player application and click
play (In Windows 95/98 do the following: Click on Start; select Programs,
select Accessories, select Multimedia, select CD-Audio Player).
Q.Audio playback through my Notebook computer speakers. How can I
hear audio through my notebook speakers rather than using headphones?
A.Use an audio cable (the PA950 comes with a standard Audio Cable) to
connect from the mini headphone jack on the back of the PA950 and connect
it to the line in on your notebook. Run the CD audio player application and
click play (In Windows 95/98 do the following: Click on Start; select
Programs, select Accessories, select Multimedia, select CD-Audio Player.
Q.PC Card not recognized in Windows 95/98. I've inserted the PC Card,
Targus logo up, but nothing happens. How do I get the PC Card and drive to be
recognized?
A.Before you begin the steps below, make you've inserted the PC Card with
the correct side facing up (TARGUS Logo sticker should be facing up and
FCC Sticker should be facing down). Remove the PC Card from the
notebook. If you are running a 3rd party Card Services under Windows 95/98,
please refer to the next Q&A.
1. Go into Control Panel and double click on "Add New Hardware"
2. Tell it you do NOT want Windows to search for new hardware. (Win98
will search by default)
3. Windows (95) will open a dialog box for you to select your hardware
type. Select "Hard Disk Controllers"
4. Windows (95/98) may build a driver information database at this time.
5. Select "(Standard hard disk drivers)" and "Standard IDE/ESDI Hard
Disk Controller"
6. Accept default settings.
7. Reboot machine.
8. Re-insert the PC Card card (Targus sticker up!) and Windows should
detect new hardware and load the driver for it.
Q. 3rd Party Card Services.My PC Card application doesn’t recognize or
won’t configure the PC Card when I insert the card on my Windows 95/98
Notebook.
A.Most 3rd Party Card Services (i.e., System Soft/Card Works or Card Exec)
will not handle ATAPI/IDE PC Cards correctly. However, since the PC Card
is configured when running native Windows 95 or Windows 98 Card service
support, you will need to uninstall the 3rd party card service support.

To uninstall, Run Start | Settings | Control Panel and select Add/Remove
Programs. In the program list, locate your 3rd party application (i.e., Card
Works), and click on the Add/Remove button. Once it is removed and
Windows restarts, Windows should detect new hardware and proceed to
reinstall the native PCMCIA controllers. You can verify if your PCMCIA
controllers are operating correctly by looking in Device Manager. Device
Manager will list PCMCIA support and the controllers should not be marked
with yellow exclamation points or red “X”. In addition open Start | Settings |
Control Panel and click on PC Card (PCMCIA) to make sure your PC Card
wizard has been run.
NOTE: If you fail to uninstall Cardworks correctly, the PCMCIA controllers in
Windows will be rendered inoperative. If you are using an IBM Thinkpad 600
or 770, there is a Support note from IBM (Document ID: THID-3W8LV7)
which addresses this scenario and how to correct it.
Q. Optional AC Adapter specification.What are the power specifications of
the optional AC Adapter?
A.The specifications are as follows:
Input: 100-240VAC, 50/60Hz, 0.2A, 8W
Output: 5.0V === 1.0A
Polarity: Center positive
Q.Installing WinNT 4.0. Can I use the PA950 to install NT on my system?
A.Yes, to install NT on your system using the PA950, you will need to move
your Windows NT installation files over to your hard drive using one of the
following two procedures:
Installing over Windows 95/98
1. Boot to Windows 95/98 and connect the PA950.
2. Copy the i386 folder from your Windows NT 4.0 CD from the CD to your
hard drive.
3. Restart your notebook to MS-DOS.
4. Change to the i386 folder on your hard drive and run WINNT.exe to begin
the installation process.
Installing on a re-formatted hard drive
You will need to follow the StartupDisk procedure to boot up MS-DOS and
have access to your PA950. Once that is complete follow steps 2-4 listed
above. Note: one of your partitions will need to be formatted as FAT in order
for this to work.

Q.Device not found in Windows NT 4.0. I've installed everything per the
instructions, but yet my CD-ROM drive is never listed in Device Manager. Why?
A.Under Windows NT4.0 PC Card resource assignment and plug and play
can be problematic. Hot swapping or Hot inserting and extracting PC Cards
will not function in Windows NT 4.0. So first make sure the card is inserted
when the Notebook powers on and loads Windows NT 4.0. If, after the driver
is installed and the system is restarted with the PC Card inserted, the drive is
still not seen, verify the resources being assigned to the card.
1. Click on Start then Settings and open Control Panel
2. Double click on the PCMCIA icon
3. Double click the PC Card Manufacturer PCMCIA ATA/ATAPI device name,
and click on Properties.
4. Click on the Resources tab and verify that the Interrupt (IRQ) is not listed
as IRQ9.
Windows NT assigning the PC Card to IRQ 9
If it is IRQ9, IRQ masking is necessary. For some Toshiba systems there is a
tool on their web site at www.toshiba.com. Go to their support/service area
and search for driver updates for your notebook model. Enter in the model
number you are looking for in the Portables box (i.e. 7010), click on GO.
Locate the PCMCIA Windows NT utility to download; i.e. for the Tecra 8000
or Portege 7000/7010/7020 it is the T8KSYSNT.EXE file.
Another tool is included on the PA950 NT Driver disk. In the WINNT folder
there is a file called ARC_IRQ.exe. Locate this file on the disk and double
click to execute.
Windows NT not assigning IRQ 9 to the PC Card
If the IRQ listed is not IRQ9 and you are using a Toshiba Portege 3010/3015
notebook, there is a conflict with their custom Windows NT IDE driver. The
symptom in this environment is that the PC Card and CD-ROM drive will
function only when the CD-ROM PC Card is inserted in Slot 0 (right side) and
the bundled modem card is inserted in slot 1 (left side). If this is the problem
you are experiencing, follow these instructions to determine if it is installed on
your notebook and how to uninstall it. The updated driver file is on our web
site and is called NT4-ExtIDE-3010.exe.
Extract the files
1. The file you downloaded is named NT4-ExtIDE-3010.exe. After you've
completed the download, locate the file and double-click on it to extract
the necessary driver file you'll need to install. The files will be
extracted to the folder c:\temp.
Determine if the old one is Installed:
1. Log on Windows NT 4.0 with administrator privilege

2. Double-click "SCSI Adapters" icon in control panel
3. Click on Drivers Tab
4. Verify if Toshiba Extended IDE Controller is listed - if so continue to
uninstall and install the new driver. If not installed then there is another
conflict occurring, continuing reading the FAQs and contact Technical
Supportfor additional assistance.
Uninstall the old version of the Toshiba Extended IDE Controller
5. Select the Toshiba Extended IDE Controller and click Remove
Adding the update:
6. Click on the ADD button
7. Click on the "Have Disk" button
8. In the "Copy manufacturer's file from", type in the path and the folder
where the new driver resides (C:\temp) and click on "OK" button
9. Select "Toshiba Extended IDE Controller" and click "OK" button.
10. Click "Yes" in the "System Setting Change" dialog box when
prompted to restart Windows NT.
Q.Accesssing the CD-ROM with no operating system. My Hard drive has
nothing on it and I need to use the CD-ROM to restore my factory Image. How?
A.The Driver disk included with the PA950 (or you can download the disk)
has a startup disk utility. See the StartUp Disk instructions for creating a
bootable floppy which allows access to the PA950.
Q.Driver Disk. How can I download a new driver disk?
A.The driver disk image which was included with your CD-ROM is on our
web site, www.targus.com. Any updates will be posted on our web site.
Q. General PC Card Troubleshooting. What other PC Card troubleshooting
steps are there?
A.If you are still having difficulty getting the PC Card to be recognized,
review our General PC Card troubleshooting information.
Q.Technical Support. How do I get further assistance with my TARGUS
PA950?
A.If after reading the FAQ information you need additional assistance:
•TARGUS Technical Support for the PA950 can be reached at 1-(800)
283-6325, 8:00am to 8:00pm EST or email: [email protected].
•For assistance outside of the US and Canada, check our office
locations on the web at www.targus.com/support for the technical
support group or Targus office near you.
Q.Warranty. What is the warranty?

A. This product is covered by the Targus one year warranty. If the unit
fails to operate as specified contact Technical Support as indicated above.
Technical support will troubleshoot the failure and make arrangements if a
replacement unit is needed.
WARRANTY: Targus warrants this product to be free from defects in
materials and workmanship for one year. If this product is found to be
defective within that time, Targus will repair or replace your product. This
warranty does not cover damage from everyday wear and tear, or from
transportation by a common carrier.
Under no conditions is Targus liable for any of the following: loss or damage
to a computer; loss of, or damage to, programs, records, or data; and
consequential or incidental damages, even if Targus is informed of their
possibility.
Warranty Registration at www.targus.com