[ntp:questions] Meinberg NTP monitor, silly question

[G8KBV]

In article <BSoXm.17134$Ym4.1871 at text.news.virginmedia.com>, david-
taylor at blueyonder.delete-this-bit.and-this-part.co.uk.invalid says...
> 
> > Device Mangler just reports the standard MS driver for that port, also
> > not reflecting the actual currently in use baud rate settings either, so
> > nothing new there.  (I've never yet seen that tool actualy reflect what
> > the actual conditions are, on 2k or XP!)
> 
> Then the device driver isn't installed correctly.  On my Windows-7 system, 
> in Device Manager selecting the COM port, Driver tab, Driver details 
> button, I see three entries:
> 
>   <directory>serenum.sys
>   <directory>serial.sys
>   <directory>serialpps.sys
> 
> where the first two have a certificate icon against them, and the third 
> not, and the details display if you click the third are obviously 
> different.
> 
> > SerialPPS and the ppsapi-provider DLL are installed and pointed to in
> > the appropriate way, that I can tell, and the machine has been rebooted
> > several time since then, with no errors.   I will poke about and check
> > again though, as there has been one Windows Update since then.
> 
> I haven't found Windows update destroying the updated serial drivers.
> 
> > If the SerialPPS driver was not installed, accessable and working, would
> > not the Meinberg NTP status panel show an error?
> 
> The event log on the startup of NTP might show something, and the program 
> continues in a "degraded" mode (i.e. with the user-mode timestamps).
> 
> > I'll let things run like this for a while, before messing some more.
> > But for now, for Faros use, it's a *HUGE* improvement on the NTP access
> > I was getting via my ISP (Demon) so, so far, so good.
> >
> > I'm going to start to write all this up soon, for others who also run
> > Faros, and have timing issues.   I was always told the best way to learn
> > something, is to have to teach others about it.  How true!
> >
> > Seasons Greetings etc.
> >
> > Dave Baxter.
> 
> 
> What I see on PC Feenix (Windows XP) is this, trimmed:
> 
> 12/12/2009,07:49:09,NTP,Information,None,3,N/A,FEENIX,Using user-mode PPS 
> timestamp for GPS_NMEA(1)
> 12/12/2009,07:49:07,NTP,Information,None,3,N/A,FEENIX,GPS_NMEA(1) serial 
> /dev/gps1 open at 4800 bps

Your confused!...

How are you getting to those driver display details?

In Win2k, I'm going in via the control panel, system, then device 
manager.

In there, expand the "Ports (COM and LPT)" selection, select Com2 (the 
one with the GPS) right click, Properties, Driver, Driver details.  
Nothing about serialpps, or 4800bd for that matter in the port settings 
tab either..

In the Driver File Details dialog, it just shows:-
C:\WINNT\System32\DRIVERS\serenum.sys
C:\WINNT\System32\DRIVERS\serial.sys

But as earlier, I've *Never* seen those dialogs reflect the actual port 
settings that are in use at the time you look, up to and including XP.

I don't have 7, and the one Vista PC I have I leave well alone!

I don't doubt I might have not done something right, but at the moment 
I'm at a loss to decide what that might be?

Hmm...  Poking arround...   The only thing I can see, is the file is 
called "serialpps.sys" and the registry entry has "Serialpps.sys".  
Could that be the issue?  (upper/lower case 'S' ?)

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Serial
ImagePath  REG_SZ  system32\drivers\Serialpps.sys

The pps-api dll is in it's own folder:-
C:\serialpps\serialpps-ppsapi-provider.dll

Also, the system environment variable PPSAPI_DLLS (Is that right?) 
points to that path & file.  But, I notice that I got the drive letter 
in the environment variable as c not C.

Idea's ??

Regards.

Dave B.