HELP: USB Under NT4.0

[That]

I have installed a VIA PCI USB 2.0 card into an old P1 machine running NT4.0
Workstation SP6a. And of course it doesn't come with any NT4.0 drivers. Does
anyone have any ideas how I can get NT to recognise and use these USB ports?
TIA.

[Pegasus]

Post by That
I have installed a VIA PCI USB 2.0 card into an old P1 machine running NT4.0
Workstation SP6a. And of course it doesn't come with any NT4.0 drivers. Does
anyone have any ideas how I can get NT to recognise and use these USB ports?
TIA.

USB is not supported under NT4 - time for an upgrade! However,
some USB devices (e.g. mice) will work with a driver from here:
http://www.ntcompatible.com/story22577.html.

[Calvin]

Aaaargh !!!

I thought I had finally stopped people making this comment.

Please read http://nt4ref.zcm.com.au/usb.htm for a far more thorough and
accurate representation of USB and NT4.

Calvin.

[Pegasus]

Post by Calvin
Aaaargh !!!
I thought I had finally stopped people making this comment.
Please read http://nt4ref.zcm.com.au/usb.htm for a far more thorough and
accurate representation of USB and NT4.
Calvin.

Aren't you a little pedantic here? I wrote that USB ***is not supported
under NT4*** but that there is at least one driver from a third party that
works with some devices. Your point is that ***Microsoft don't support USB
under NT4*** but that some third parties make some drivers that may work.
Seems a fairly minor difference in wording - the ultimate point in both
replies is that the OP may be able to get some USB drivers from third
parties.

[Calvin]

True Pegasus,

I apologise - unfortunately, it's almost a bit like Pavlov's dogs here - I see
the words 'USB is not supported under NT4' and I see red !

I think the point that needs to be made here is: Micorosft made the COMMERCIAL
decision not to support USB under NT4, there is no TECHNICAL reason why they
could not, simply that they wanted to FORCE everyone into an OS upgrade :-(

On principle as a result (with my character type) I'm not about to let them have
their way! - and I'll take very opportunity I can find to remind everyone else
of what Microsoft have done and why.

Calvin.

[Calvin]

PS:

I don't think the guy who asked this question could upgrade to Win2k + even if
he wanted to, it's a P1 system (which means that most likely there is NO way
he'd make minimum hardware requirements for Win2k), and even if he could get it
to work, it would run like dog :-(

Calvin.

[tim majoch]

Here's the unfortunate and crushing news. USB was never provided with a USB
DRIVER FROM MICROSOFT. Yeah, we all know NT4 was their most stable OS, but
they were to myopic with their XP to add the USB stuff to NT, although there
are a few hints to a driver that Dell supplied with their laptop/NT
products. A few people even installed the package on their desktops and
suppossedly got access to USB memory sticks, but AFAIK this is not certified
by MSoft. Here's a link that I found to one person's efforts and a driver
file to download: I wish you luck. I don't have a box with NT4 currently, so
I haven't tried it.

[http://www.x-3dfx.com/modules.phpname=News&file=print&sid=304]

Post by That
I have installed a VIA PCI USB 2.0 card into an old P1 machine running NT4.0
Workstation SP6a. And of course it doesn't come with any NT4.0 drivers. Does
anyone have any ideas how I can get NT to recognise and use these USB ports?
TIA.

[Calvin]

Hi Tim,

the Dell 62200.exe files that this guy is referring to in his article are in
fact a Dell OEM version of the IONetworks stack that I have previously referred to.

InsideOut Networks seem to know what they are doing in this area - the USB stack
works well, and the matching drivers for their WatchPortV USB camera also work
very well - as I have previously announced, the WatchPortV is in fact the famous
3Com HomeConnect USB cam, renowned as one of the best USB web cam solutions ever
offered in the retail environment.

I'll have to pull the Dell OEM install apart at some stage and work out what
memory device driver they have bundled that allowed the guy to use 'disk on key'
devices that he was describing. Could be useful to know and use at some time in
the future here.

I agree with your comment too - Microsoft should hang their heads in shame at
the shabby way in which NT4 (undoubtedly there best ever product) has been
treated :-(

See my comments at http://nt4ref.zcm.com.au/usb.htm for a more thorough
assessment by me of their behavior.

Calvin.

[Andrew Rossmann]

Post by Calvin
I agree with your comment too - Microsoft should hang their heads in shame at
the shabby way in which NT4 (undoubtedly there best ever product) has been
treated :-(

Maybe one of the reasons NT was so stable was it's lack of PnP and
drivers popping in and out?

By the time USB became stable, most of MS's efforts on NT were on NT5
(Win2K).

[Calvin]

Hi Andrew,

Post by Andrew Rossmann
Maybe one of the reasons NT was so stable was it's lack of PnP and
drivers popping in and out?

Exactly so, in my opinion. I've argued all along that PnP was one of the dumbest
moves they ever made. On the whole I find it SO unreliable that it has been
christened 'plug and f#$k it' here. The rate of PnP misconfiguring /
misdetecting any device I find is about 10-15% of instances. Often the device
will function, but is 'crippled'. The rate of misconfiguring SO badly that it
renders the machine unusable/unstable is about 1 - 2 %, these are VERY BAD
statistics!

If Microsoft had any brains at all one of the first things you would be offered
during OS setup would be a switch with a title of: "Disable all PnP features" -
I know, a very unrealistic expectation, since the PnP is now all pervasive
throughout the OSes (Win2k and above) but the fact is, a manually configured
machine and peripherals (by somebody who knows what they are doing) is far less
likely to have any problems. Even in the new OS world of 'shifting sand' I try
hard to 'lock down' as many settings as I can, this does seem to help.

I know I am probably 'preaching to the converted' here, but I wanted to go on
record publicly stating my opposition to the approach taken. This, along with a
ridiculously large footprint of Win2k and above, are the primary reasons why I
have NO intention of moving away from NT 4.0 until I am left with absolutely NO
choice. The probability that what replaces my NT4.0 installation will be
non-Microsoft is also extremely high.

Calvin.