Win 7 and PCMK card?

[waterboy 7]

I have no doubt this subject is beaten to death - But I have to buy a new laptop - Probably a toughbook CF 52 - But my question is about the interfaces used. Most new laptops come with win7, no serial port and no PCMCIA slot. This model has the serial port and the PCMCIA slot but since it is also Win7 I will no doubt have an issue with the PCMK card. XP will not be supported forever so its time to consider what the options are to communucate with older PLC5's and SLC's using DH+ and RSLinx communications under Win 7. I am aware of the Ethernet to DH+ converter that is available but I would like to keep this simple and within the confines of the laptop if possible.

[Armadillo852 25]

According to this knowledgebase article by AB. http://rockwellautomation.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/117503/kw/windows%207%20pcmcia Windows 7 home premium 32 bit has been tested and works fine. Windows 7 64 bitl has not been tested. It also says to not install the driver from the desktop or my documents folder.

[Ken Roach 194]

It can't hurt to try; make sure you have a Restore Point configured before you install the driver and before you try to create a driver instance in RSLinx. The "official" method is the 1784-U2DHP USB interface, which works with Windows 7 and RSLinx 2.57 very well. PCMCIA is rapidly going the way of ISA slots, and the PCMK has been out of production for quite a while, so eventually I'm going to bite the bullet and get a U2DHP. A new interface module every fifteen years isn't so bad.

[jkerekes 0]

I thought there weren't any windows 7 drivers for A PCMCIA cards?

[waterboy 7]

I have one of those I bought a couple years ago and I made work on win7 by gutting most of win7's interface candy, but it was still "iffy". That was several iterations of RSLinx ago when Rockwell said it wouldnt work and I had more time on my hands. so I'll try that again. But it looks like the adaptor is not going to be the only problem. Attached is the compatibility matrix and while I expected that I would have problems with DH+ support, it looks like even the newer hardware is not yet fully supported. V19 is the only Win7 supported version of Logix. Here's hoping that they will patch V15 and up. I have a piece of hardware on v15 that I can't update. SupportMatrix.xls

[JRoss 84]

I haven't made the leap to Win7, but I have been consider VMWare for all my backwards compatibility needs. Here's a great blog article that covers the subject. http://www.dougbrock.com/FactoryAutomation/2011/03/11/windows-7-or-xp-or-98-or-whatever-with-automation-software/

[jkerekes 0]

I dought that they will go back and "update" earlier versions. They never have done that in the past. Bug fixes yes, new operating systems, no. That's why so many of us use VMs. Make life much easier.

[waterboy 7]

I did get the word from Rockwell that running an older version on VMware is the only option for these older FW revisions. Thanks to all.