If an hourglass appears on the monitor and the computer remains inactive for more than 30 seconds, an error message appears that states “spectrometer is not ready”, or the computer does not collect spectra when the instrument is clearly on and running, check the following:

PP mode 
Insure the parallel port is set to standard bi-directional or EPP mode. This setting is found in different places on different computers - usually in the BIOS.

• If there is not a parallel port available, use a PCMCIA to parallel interface card. ASD recommends the Quatech SPP-100.
• If the computer is set to Bi-directional under the system Bios, yet there are communication problems, try changing the Bios setting to EPP rather than Bi-directional. Entering the Bios is different for every computer type and model. Here are a few known Bios enter keys and the optimum communication parallel port setting:
  
  Compaq Evo Reboot , F10 EPP 
  
  Panasonic Toughbook CF-37 Reboot , F2 EPP 
  
  Compaq Armada Reboot, F10 Bi-directional 
  
  Dell Latitude Reboot , F2 EPP 
  
  Panasonic Toughbook 33 Reboot, Fn + F1 EPP 
  
  Dell Latitude LS Reboot, Fn + F1 Bidirectional 
   
•  If there seems to be communication problems between the instrument and the computer, check the Port address and IRQ settings. These can be found under Start\Setting\Control Panel\System\Hardware\Device Manager\Ports (Com & LPT correctly). Choose the LPT port your device is configured to, right-hand click on the port and scroll to Properties\Resources. Take note that there are no conflicts and note the Port address and IRQ settings. After noting these details, open the asdhw.ini and compare the listing against the computer details.

Regional Settings

International customers using non-English versions of Windows must alter the Regional Settings under Start\Settings\Control Panel. The default language must be set to English ( United States ) in order for the RS 3 code to be registered and operate correctly.