PicBasic Pro and Windows 7

[markk5xh]

Please excuse me if this has been covered before. I searched on "Windows 7" and got nothing that helped.

I have been away from PicBasic for a few months and during that time I switched my office computer from XP to W7 (32 bit Pro version). The other day I had a need to make a minor change to an older program and discovered that it would no longer compile without a bunch of errors. I guess I never tried to actually compile anything after reinstalling PBP and the IDE. I always used the PM assemblier in the past.

I ordered an upgrade and installed version 2.60C. It still will not compile without errors.

I typed in the little blinky light example from the manual and it will compile as long as I use the MPASM assembler. Without MPASM I get errors like:
Error TEST01.MAC 6:[236] label 'rs?rp' undefined in pass 0

In the program I wanted to edit I use statements like:
@ device pic16f684, INTRC_OSC_NOCLKOUT
to set up the fuses in the PIC. Do I need to simply use MPASM and change these statements to the MPASM form?

Is there something I'm missing that will allow PBP to work as before with WIndows 7?

Thanks,
Mark

[ScaleRobotics]

This should get you farther. Let us know if you still get stuck: http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/content.php?r=143-Installing-MicroCode-Studio-with-Vista-Win7

[Darrel Taylor]

2.60C and the PM assembler works fine with Windows7-32.

Did the error actually read ... label 'rst?rp' undefined ...

Was that the very FIRST error listed?
Always fix the first error in the list, and ignore any following errors or warnings.

[markk5xh]

scalerobotics: Thanks for the link to the ME Labs page. I will try that today as time permits.

One thing on that site does puzzle me. It says that if I have a blue disk then all is well but if I have the OLDER black/white disk then I need to follow the proceedure outlined on the page. I just received the upgrade yesterday and it came on a black/white disk. I will go through the proceedure anyway later today.

Darrel:Yes it was the first error and yes I mistyped and left a letter out. I would be glad to fix this error first if I had any idea what it meant. That text string does not appear anyplace in my code. I assumed it was some internal thing that normally one would never see.

Thanks again and I will post my results.

Mark

[Darrel Taylor]

You don't need to do the procedure from that link.

The black and white disk it refers to is for very old versions of Microcode Studio Plus.
The version of MicroCode Studio that is on your PicBasic Pro 2.60C disk will work on Windows 7.

Since you are getting errors like that, it sounds like Microcode Studio is running.

RST?RP is a macro in PBP's library.
What you are seeing is not a common error, and can't be explained without more information and troubleshooting.

If you can post you code, it may help. Cut & paste it here or send it to [email protected] or call me at (719) 520-5323

[markk5xh]

Thanks Darrel. When you mentioned Microcode Studio I remembered that I have been using Microcode Studio Plus and when I installed the 2.60C I allowed it to install a new copy of Microcode Studio. I never use any of the extra things in the 'plus' version anyway. The icon on the desktop apparently switched over to the newest version. I reverted back to the Plus version and everything works as it should. So, apparently I have some issue with the newest Microcode Studio but at least the older 'Plus' version works OK. I recompiled the code that I was wanting to edit when all this started and the hex file's hash code matched the original. Thanks again for your help!
Mark

[Darrel Taylor]

That's good news.
Thanks for the update Mark.

[BrianT]

Trouble with Win7. When I try to compile with PBP2.60L and MCSP3.0.0.5 on a Dell Inspiron 'all-in-one' running Win7 I get an error message "The program or feature "\??\c:\pbp\PM.EXE" cannot start or run due to incompatibility with 64 bit versions of Windows.
I have tried right click on PM.EXE and clicked away at the Compatibility Options but to no avail.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
BrianT

[cncmachineguy]

Maybe this will help:
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=14701&highlight=win7

[BrianT]

OK, I got around the 16 bit incompatibility by forcing MPASM as the default assembler.
Then I get the Duplicate label "DEBUG" problem.
I modified c:\Program files (x86)\Mecanique\MCSP\MPASM\P18F4620.IBC to comment out the DEBUG statements but Win 7 won't let me save the modified file back to the Mecanique directory.
I found I could create a new directory as C:\ MPASM. I moved the entire MPASM directory from the Program files Mecanique\MCSP\MPASM to the new C:\MPASM where I could modify P18F4620.INC.

Hooray my known good code now compiles.

Now I cannot run my MeLabs USB programmer with ver 4.40 code. The code compiles and the small meProg box appears in the top left corner of the screen but it is locked. I cannot move it, view the code, or get any drop down box to open.

I removed meProg 4.40 and tieid to reinstall meProg 4.20 but then I get an error
NT_installer. Cannot start the meProg Win NT/2000/XP service ...

Very frustrated.
BrianT

[Darrel Taylor]

On 64-bit systems, programs are not allowed direct access to the printer port that was used for the old EPIC programmers.
And any attempt to access it results in errors or lock-ups.

The 4.40 installer should have recognized the 64-bit windows, and disabled the printer port access. But it can be overridden by old .ini files or the port menu.

First, uninstall previous versions of the melabs programmer software.
Delete the folder and any contents if it still remains. C:\Program Files (x86)\melabs Programmer

Delete the application data folder.
C:\Users\Your Name\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\melabs Programmer

Then re-install meProg 4.40.
Select ONLY the U2 programmer when the installer asks.

After installing, start meprog using the (melabs programmer shortcut) first.
Don't run it from MicroCode Studio until it has been opened from the shortcut.
Then close meprog, and try it from MCS.

And make sure you have the U2 programmer plugged in before starting the program.

[BrianT]

Thanks Darrel,
I have now got it all working. Starting meProg before doing a 'compile and program' complains about an instance of meProg already running. After a couple of goes I got the compile to work but then meProg complained 'no port found'. Under meProg\file\port I could not select 'AUTO' for some reason - all greyed out. After a complete shutdown and restart it eventually all came good. I now have Win7, PBP 2.60L, MCSP 3,0,0,5 and meProg 4.40 all playing. I lost a full day farting about with this Win7 nonsense.
On my workshop PC I am sticking with WinXP and have bought a second identical XP system (while they are still available0) which I am ghosting so both PCs are identical.