Tablet problems with ME10 v7.2

[Zoran]

I'm trying to install a tablet, HP A4365A, on a computer running Windows NT 4.0.
I'm using ME10 v.7.2

ME10 will not recognize my tablet. The tablet is connected to COM1.

What do I need to do, to make ME10 recognize my tablet?
Do I need to install any driver on the computer?
Is there anything special thing, I need to write in the startup file?
Do I need to install Wintab-drivers on the computer, or should ME10 recognixe the tablet anyway?

I'm looking forward to any help I could get.

Best regards
/Zoran

[John Scheffel]

Wow, ME10 v7.2 and a serial tablet, it's like a classic question from the late 1990s. :D

It has been a long time since I had to deal with tablets, but I believe you need to edit the ME10.INI file and set some variables. This may be directly under the main ME10 install folder, or may be in a subfolder named old_ui. I think the following settings will work with a HP A4365A.

MELOCATORPORT=COM1
MELOCATORDRIVER=
(set to null)

Or you can set these same variables as Windows environment variables. Make sure the tablet is turned on when you boot Windows NT.

If you install Wintab drivers, you might try setting MELOCATORDRIVER=wintab instead of null.

Getting the serial tablets to work reliably under Windows was always a struggle. I wasted a lot of time dealing with driver, configuration, and even hardware problems. One time a tablet suddenly quit working and it turned out to be a faulty power supply. It did not go completely dead, the LEDs were lit up, but there was something wrong with it that prevented the tablet from being recognized. I spent about 5 hours messing with it before I finally replaced the power supply and got it to work. To make it even more fun, you have to reboot after every hardware/driver change, which is really slow for NT. My advice is to get away from tablets if at all possible, they are just a lot of aggravation.