New too all this

z3pr68138 · Post by **z3pr68138** » September 5th, 2007, 5:50 pm

Being the cheap skate I can be, and that I like cool looking toys, I ordered a LCD display that fits the 5.25 bay in my computer off Ebay. (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0154815158) It uses Smartie. I'm running XP Home. I'm still waiting for the LCD unit too arrive. Anyways, ran a search for info on it and came across this site. I'd like too ask for advice. I know I'll need too download drivers and what not for it. If it makes a difference, my computer has a AMD 64X2 (4200) processor, 2gb of OCZ 800mhz ram, DVD drive and a DVD burner. What do you recomend ??? Links would be good.

rfryar · Post by **rfryar** » September 5th, 2007, 11:23 pm

Since by the look of it it is HD44780 compatible through the parallel port. So the only driver you will need is port95 which is available right next to the main lcd smartie program downloads. http://lcdsmartie.org.

Just install port95, reboot, then install lcdsmartie select HD44780 and type in your printer port (Most likely LPT1).

Let me know if you run into any trouble.

Rick

z3pr68138 · Post by **z3pr68138** » September 18th, 2007, 12:33 am

Okay, I installed the unit, downloaded the driver/software and notta. It's lit up, back light, but not displaying any info.

z3pr68138 · Post by **z3pr68138** » September 18th, 2007, 1:23 am

Still can't get this figured out. I've connected the parallel, and connected the power. Downloaded the port95. Still nothing. If it matters, I'm running Windows XP home SP2, my motherboard is a ASRock AM2NF6G-VSTA I'm running a AMD Athlon 64X2 4200 and I'm running 2 gig of mem. I'm lost. What do I need too do too get this thing too work ???

Post by **limbo** » September 18th, 2007, 7:26 am

Win 32 or Win 64?
Can you see one line of blocks on your LCD while power up?

z3pr68138 · Post by **z3pr68138** » September 18th, 2007, 2:06 pm

I'm seeing 2 lines of blocks. (if 4 lines, and looks like there is room for 4 lines, I'm seeing line 1 and line 3. Lines 2 and 4 I do not see.) If I remember correctly, XP home is a 32 bit OS.

Post by **caesar** » September 18th, 2007, 9:49 pm

The display is ok if you can see those two lines.

Now, it might sound silly, but you haven't mentioned that you actually started LCDSmartie... have you?

display plugin is hd44780, Startup parameters: LPT1.

Post by **limbo** » September 19th, 2007, 4:43 pm

As caesar said you have to choose the right driver for you display and configure it to LPT1.
Then restart the program and see whats happening.

z3pr68138 · Post by **z3pr68138** » September 19th, 2007, 6:38 pm

caesar wrote:The display is ok if you can see those two lines.

Now, it might sound silly, but you haven't mentioned that you actually started LCDSmartie... have you?

display plugin is hd44780, Startup parameters: LPT1.

How do I start it ??? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to this stuff. How about a step by step for dummies kind of thing.

Post by **mattcro** » September 19th, 2007, 9:17 pm

LCD Smartie doesn't have a proper installer (developers, we need to work on this!), so to get it running on your system, you need to unzip the ZIP file you downloaded (from www.lcdsmartie.org) to a folder on your system. You can put it basically anywhere, but it's best to make a new folder for it in a sensible place like C:\LCDSmartie. Unzip the files to there, and then just run the LCDSmartie program file by clicking (or double clicking) the file in explorer.

Once it's running, you'll see a little window that shows a preview of the display output. You then need to set the options for the LCD type and size (see caesar's and Limbo's posts above) etc by clicking the Setup button on the Smartie window. Then you can have fun setting up Screens to show whatever you want on the LCD. There are loads of examples on this forum.

You can set Smartie to autostart when Windows starts by setting the option in the Startup tab of the setup window. I have mine set to "Autostart Hidden" so it starts up transparently when I boot up the PC. You may want to create a shortcut to it on the Start menu too.

Have fun!

z3pr68138 · Post by **z3pr68138** » September 19th, 2007, 10:11 pm

mattcro wrote:LCD Smartie doesn't have a proper installer (developers, we need to work on this!), so to get it running on your system, you need to unzip the ZIP file you downloaded (from www.lcdsmartie.org) to a folder on your system. You can put it basically anywhere, but it's best to make a new folder for it in a sensible place like C:\LCDSmartie. Unzip the files to there, and then just run the LCDSmartie program file by clicking (or double clicking) the file in explorer.

Once it's running, you'll see a little window that shows a preview of the display output. You then need to set the options for the LCD type and size (see caesar's and Limbo's posts above) etc by clicking the Setup button on the Smartie window. Then you can have fun setting up Screens to show whatever you want on the LCD. There are loads of examples on this forum.

You can set Smartie to autostart when Windows starts by setting the option in the Startup tab of the setup window. I have mine set to "Autostart Hidden" so it starts up transparently when I boot up the PC. You may want to create a shortcut to it on the Start menu too.

Have fun!

Witch one do I need ??? I see quite a few on that page. Please post link to the download I need. Thanks.

Post by **mattcro** » September 20th, 2007, 3:40 pm

OK, sorry for the confusion! I meant to link to the downloads page. Click the Download link under Latest Official Release (version 5.4) at the top of http://lcdsmartie.sourceforge.net/smartied.htm and you should be prompted to save the ZIP file to disk. Then follow my previous post to install.