Installing Madge Smart 16/4 PCMCIA Ringnode Under WinNT 4.0

• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0
• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

The installation of the Madge 16/4 PCMCIA PC Card Ringnode in Windows NT 4.0 shows no problems when carrying out a fresh installation. However, when upgrade from Windows NT 3.5 or Windows NT 3.51, the miniport driver will not be properly installed and will not work.

CAUSE

The Product Software Name (PSN) for the Madge miniport in Windows NT 4.0 is "MadgeMPort"; the Driver File Name (DFN) is "MdgMPort.SYS". In the case of the PC Card adapters, Windows NT keeps a database in the Registry that tells which driver to use for an adapter with the given CIS ID. The database uses the PSN to identify drivers. In Windows NT 4.0 the database refers to "MadgeMPort"; whereas in Windows NT 3.51, it referred to "MdgMPort".

In a clean installation of Windows NT 4.0, the Madge miniport driver is installed with a PSN of "MadgeMPort", which will match the PC Card database. But during an upgrade of Windows NT 3.5 or 3.51 to Windows NT 4.0, the Madge miniport driver has already been installed with a PSN of "MdgMPort". This does not match what is in the PC Card database. The result is an error message during the subsequent log on attempt:

   At least one service or driver failed during system startup.

   The MdgMport service failed to start due to the following error. A
   device attached to the system is not functioning.

RESOLUTION

During the upgrade to Windows NT 4.0, the user will have been asked if they want to upgrade the various Madge miniport files. Whether this has been chosen, the entry in the PC Card database must refer to "MdgMPort."

Make an entry in the registry to update the database. To make this entry, perform the following steps:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe) and go to the following key:

         HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PCMCIA
         \Database\MADGE\ SMART 16/4 PCMCIA
   

   NOTE: The above registry key is one path, it has been wrapped for readability.

2. Double-click Driver:REG_SZ:madgemport, edit the string so that it reads "mdgmport".

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

Keywords          : kbbug4.00 ntsetup NTSrvWkst kbsetup
Version           : WinNT:4.0
Platform          : winnt
Issue type        : kbbug