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    AST RESEARCH, INC.           TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 0983              9-23-94

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              ASCENTIA 900N PARALLEL PORT AND COLORADO TRAKKER TAPE SOFTWARE

    PROBLEM:        When some third party devices are connected to the Ascentia
                    900N parallel port, the software does not properly recognize
                    the interrupt on LPT1.  For example, the following error
                    message may appear on the display:

                         "IRQ 7 could not be found on LPT1"

                    The Colorado Trakker 250 tape backup unit does not support
                    Windows operation through the Ascentia 900N parallel port.
                    DOS software does not see the IRQ 7 interrupt.

    CAUSE:          Older versions of software do not recognize the VLSI
                    implementation of the super I/O chipset.

    SYSTEMS
    AFFECTED:           AST
                    PART NUMBER          DESCRIPTION

                    501299-2XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/50 CS10
                    501300-3XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/50 CT9
                    501302-2XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/75 CS10
                    501304-3XX      ASCENTIA 900N 4/75 CT10

    SOLUTION:       To resolve the Colorado Trakker 250 tape backup problem,
                    upgrade the Windows version of the Colorado tape backup
                    software to 2.01 and the DOS version of the Colorado tape
                    backup software to 4.05.

                    For other software conflicts contact the third party software
                    manufacturer for the latest drivers that support the VLSI
                    implementation.