AST RESEARCH, INC.         TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 0976                  9-1-94




                     ADVANTAGE! NB/BRAVO NB PRINTER PROBLEM


PROBLEM:        The following message appears on the screen when trying to
                install a printer on an Advantage! NB or Bravo NB system:

                CANNOT ASSIGN A PORT TO THE SELECTED PRINTERS BECAUSE THE
                [PORTS] SECTION OF WIN.INI FILE IS MISSING.  CHOOSE OK TO SET
                OTHER OPTIONS, OR CHOOSE CANCEL, AND THEN USE NOTEPAD TO
                EDIT THE WIN.INI FILE.

CAUSE:          The Ports section of the WIN.INI file is ignored because there
                is a missing remark (;) statement at the beginning of the
                second line.  An incorrect example is listed below:

                [ports]
                ; A line with [filename].PRN followed by an equal sign causes
                 [filename] to appear in the Control Panel's Printer
                ;Configuration dialog box. A printer connected to [filename]
                ;directs its output into this file.

SYSTEMS
AFFECTED:           AST                                               REVISION
                PART NUMBER          DESCRIPTION                        LEVEL

                500883-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 386SX/20                     All
                500866-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 386SX/20                     All
                500901-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 386SX/25                     All
                500945-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 386SX/25                     All
                500966-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 386SX/25                     All
                500967-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 386SX/25 Color               All
                501460-XXX     ADVANTAGE NB 486/33                       All
                501247-XXX     BRAVO NB 486SX/25 Mono                    All
                501248-XXX     BRAVO NB 486SX/25 Color                   All
                501249-XXX     BRAVO NB 486SX/25 ColorPlus               All
                501373-XXX     BRAVO NB 486SX/25 Color STN               All

SOLUTION:       In the WIN.INI file, under the Ports section the first three
                lines should be remarked (begin with a ;).  Add a ";" to the
                beginning of the second line.  A correct example is listed
                below:

                [ports]
                ; A line with [filename].PRN followed by an equal sign causes
                ; [filename] to appear in the Control Panel's Printer
                ; Configuration dialog box.  A printer connected to ;
                ; [filename] directs its output into this file.

                The software will now recognize the ports.