My ACR38 issues with Vista

The first time I typed ACR#* .. I almost left it that way.

In brief: I'm having ACR38 problems.. maybe my datacard is bad?

More details I now have my ACR38 connected to the computer running windows vista home premium (32 bit) . So far I am unable to get it to work with resscan 3.7 (or really at all). I shows up in the device manager as ACR38 Smart Card Reader with Driver version 1.1.6.0 from ACS Driver Date 1/23/2009 but does not show up as a drive in my computer.
I ran the ACS quickview utility http://www.acs.com.hk/card-utility-tools-form.php?id=1
It said lots of stuff (see at end) the main details perhaps being that the utility says: ACS ACR38U 0 is present in the system & Card is detected on reader

ACS ACR38U 0
The smart card is not responding to a reset

although this is also of interest:
Loading ACR38 library...
No ACR38 library found

I've tried various iterations of wireless card disabled, rebooting etc. I did have to go through some tricks to get the correct driver to install. Details if desired.

Full disclosure: I couldn't resist trying the ACR38 CCID . That did not help anything and for I while I though I had it installed but it was installed as CCID card reader and not as ACR38. Could that be a problem?


gory details:

ACS QuickView Log : 7/28/2009:14:13:26
Starting diagnostics routine...
Reading System Information
Operating System : Windows Vista 32-bit
OS Build: 6001
CSD Version: Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel - Xeon or Core 2 Duo/Extreme
Processor speed: 2194.633342 MHz
Submodel: Primary
Model ID: Family 6 Model 15 Stepping 13 Level 10
No of Processors: 2
Physical Memory Total: 2,147,483,647 Bytes
Physical Memory Free: 1,745,465,344 Bytes
Virtual Memory Free: 2,077,413,376 Bytes

Checking for Proprietary readers

Loading ACR30 library...
No ACR30 library found, loading acsr2032 library...
No ACSR2032 library found

Loading ACR38 library...
No ACR38 library found

Loading ACR80 library...
No ACR80 library found

Checking for PC/SC readers

Loading PC/SC library...
PC/SC library is loaded
Checking PC/SC functions...
PC/SC functions loaded
Calling SCardEstablishContext...
Success!
Calling SCardListReaders...
Success!
Calling SCardConnect...ACS ACR38U 0
The smart card is not responding to a reset.

I should add: The card reader entry in the device manager has 4 tabs the 2nd tab has these drop down lists

Card type: I changed it from MCU (T=0o/T=1) to Auto detection
Card Voltage: I left this at Auto Detect (other options 5 3 and 1.8 ) (or without the space after the 8.... 1.

SFDT (I left this checked)

Mine works only with the wireless card disabled, and sometimes I have to reboot. XP SP3.

I left the card type set to the default.

You are inserting the data card gold contacts up, right. It's upside-down from how it goes into the xPAP. And without the card the software doesn't detect the reader.

Are you getting the Visual C++ DeviceScan.exe requested temination in an unusual way error message?

mine doesnt show up in my computer listing of devices. It only works with the software.

I do have Vista.
I have the data card gold contacts up.
I was just fooling with the ATS analyze program from ACS. It says card removed until I insert it correctly and then it says Card Status: unresponsive
no visual C++ messages at all

Take a peek in Task Manager (or whatever it may be called in Vistese) and see if there is a process called "devicescan2.exe". I believe that it is resposible for finding card readers and xPAPs for ResScan.

Mathman, my experiences are similar to yours. One difference is that my copy of Resscan hasn't arrived yet. It's on a slow boat from Australia, so I've just been trying to see if the ACR38 works. I'm running Windows XP Professional, so at least it may help to know that Vista's not to blame.

I installed the 1.1.6.0 drivers. The cardreader shows up in Device Manager. It doesn't show up as a disk drive the way a memory stick does, but on the other hand my best intuition is that it shouldn't. I'm certainly no expert, but I believe that most smart cards have an internal processor and are designed with security in mind. The computer queries the card using a different kind of protocol than would be used to move data out of a simple memory device that uses a file system.

Like you, I downloaded the Quickview utility from ACS and get the same answers. It knows there's a card reader and it can identify it. It knows when there is no card. But when I insert my Resmed data card, Quickview's log shows the same sequence (except different system info) ending with "The smart card is not responding to a reset." I think that it is compulsory for smart cards to respond when reset to identify what protocol to use to communicate with them. It's the first step in handshaking. So something is wrong.

ResScan uses the standard PC/SC protocol to communicate with the ACR38. The ACR38 can also use ACs's proprietary protocol, but that requires a different driver.

jdm2857 wrote: Check the task manager for devicescan2.exe

As soon as I fire up Resscan the task manager does show devicescan2.exe starting up.

jdm2857 wrote:ResScan uses the standard PC/SC protocol to communicate with the ACR38. The ACR38 can also use ACs's proprietary protocol, but that requires a different driver.

Are you saying that I might do better to uninstall these drivers and use the drivers on the Resscan 3.7 disk?

You should install the newest driver from http://www.acs.com.hk/drivers-manual.php?driver=ACR38

Choose either the MSI Installer for PC/SC or just the PC/SC driver if you want to install it yourself. Pick the one for your OS, of course.

I have XP Pro and use those 1.1.6 drivers.

Shows up as a Smart Card in the Device Manager and in the Computer Management Services,Smart Card is set to Automatic and Started.

In the Task Manager Processes it shows as scardsvr.exe


I can even read and write data to a cell phone Sim Card,no problems.
Sorry,no Vista.

jdm2857 wrote:You should install the newest driver from http://www.acs.com.hk/drivers-manual.php?driver=ACR38

Choose either the MSI Installer for PC/SC or just the PC/SC driver if you want to install it yourself. Pick the one for your OS, of course.

Thanks, that is what I did. I did have to tell Windows to use that driver even though it protested that it might not work.

Well, you've got a different problem than I had. I don't know where to go from here.

I would edit your first post and change the topic to include that you're running Vista. Others have gotten it to work and may chime in.

mathman wrote:I shows up in the device manager as ACR38 Smart Card Reader with Driver version 1.1.6.0 from ACS Driver Date 1/23/2009 but does not show up as a drive in my computer.

That is normal. It should never show up as a "drive".

Cheers,

Bill

billbolton wrote:

mathman wrote:I shows up in the device manager as ACR38 Smart Card Reader with Driver version 1.1.6.0 from ACS Driver Date 1/23/2009 but does not show up as a drive in my computer.

That is normal. It should never show up as a "drive".

Cheers,

Bill

Thanks. But it should be able to read a card when one is in it. Is there any way to know if Resscan is aware of a reader being on the computer or can one only tell if Resscan is seeing a card?