Lego MindStorms Question

I waded through the FAQ on the Lego MindStorms website and did not find an answer to my question. So, I'm hoping someone here can give me an answer.
My husband purchased MindStorms Robotics Invention System in January 1999. I assume it is 1.0, but it doesn't actually say that anywhere. He also purchased the Extreme Creatures Expansion Pack. He never opened either of them. They sat in a corner until we moved in May 2002. Then they sat in a moving box until I unearthed them today. Here's my question - we are obviously well beyond Windows 95, which is the recommended OS. Is there any way to upgrade this for use on Windows XP? It seems a great shame to throw away $280 without ever using it. I appreciate your responses. Thank you, Jennifer

Jennifer wrote:
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Yes. You can upgrade the software from the Lego site. I'm not sure where it is, but it used to be able to be reached from http://www.lego.com /
I wish I could be more specific, but I sold all my Lego stuff last year. -- D. Jay Newman http://enerd.ws/robots /

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 16:45:41 -0800, Jennifer wrote:
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You can tell if its 1.0 by looking at how the infrared tower connects to the pc. If its a serial port plug, 9 pin, then its 1.0. I believe 2.0 uses USB.
Dave

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You can buy an upgrade disk to the 2.0 software. It allows you to use either tower. There is some tweaking required to install on XP. I don't think there is any solution to running the software for Extreme Creatures on XP. That is not a big loss. There is much to be enjoyed in those two sets. Remember XP allows you to run dual operating systems. Adding Win 98 lets you use all the good old programs. Check http://www.lego.com for the upgrade disk. About $20 I think.

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You don't need to install another os. Go to the folder or directory of the program you want to run after you have installed it.
Right click on the executable(or dll's) go to properties. Select the compatability tab
properties-> compatability -> win95 or win98 have to tick the box run this program in compatability mode first
This allows most older programs that may have problems to run.
For a uni subject I tutor doing this allows turbo c++ 1.0(1987) and pc-xinu to run without problems under windows xp. (pc-xinu is a library that simulates parallel programs in c or c++)
Easy way is to select every exe in a directory (hold cntrl key to select multiple files) right click ->properties->compatability
You may also need to install parallel port driver software if a program needs to acess the parallel port due to changes in the way the ports are accessed.
Alex

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If you use the parallel port for control and have a problem on an XP computer, then you should try a program called userport (search google for userport.zip). It gives user level access to the parallel port hardware, and allows dos types of programs to control the port pins. I use it on my XP pro machine to operate the parallel port video switcher I made for my webcams at the below link.
http://www.geocities.com/zoomkat/ppswitcher.htm

I can't get my RIS 2.0 to install on XP. The install locks up at the point where it wants to program the RIS computer from the USB tower. It works fine on my old 450MHz Win 98 PC. PLEASE HELP !!!!
Best regards,
RG
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What brand computer are you trying to load? Notebooks have some problems recognizing the USB tower. Toshiba seems to have some USB problems that this program does not like.

Hello Bob,
I am using a HP Pavilion model, a250n. It has a 2.60 GHz Pentium 4 with hyper threading. 512MB DRR SDRAM. 120 GB Hard Drive, less than 1/4 full. USB 2.0.
Thanks for asking,
RG
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Here is a possible solution I found in the news groups.
I solved the problem going to the LEGO USB Tower at the control panel, switching to the Advanced Tab and setting the Read Timeout (1st Byte) to 300 msec.
Give it a try. I will keep looking.

Bob,
Thanks. I'll try it this evening and post my results.
Respectfully,
RG
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300

Bob,
I tried it (changing the value to 300 on the first byte) and it still locked up the same. Then I tried running the install in Win 98 compatibility mode, it made my video shut off at the same point where the Tower is supposed to load the RCX. I am so very disappointed with Lego. If you have any other ideas, please advise. Thank you for your earlier suggestion.
Best regards,
RG
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with

Maybe you need this patch: http://mindstorms.lego.com/eng/products/ris/index.asp
J;-)
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Jennifer,
You could also use the LegOS (BrickOS) operating system for Lego Mindstorms. Its free and you can program the robots in C.
http://www.noga.de/legOS /
Andrew
Jennifer wrote:
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