I just installed protel 99se. after creating a sch file, I go to tools, find, looking for component I need, but the program doesnt find it.
I know that 2n3904 is in BJT.LIB in sim.ddb and this ddb file exists in the path which is put in path edit box of "find schematic component" window. to the best of my knowledge, setting of this window is correct but it cant find the component.
when i go t browse sch to add a new library ddb like sim.ddb to the list, i get an error saying" file is not recognized"
thank you for your help
I know that 2n3904 is in BJT.LIB in sim.ddb and this ddb file exists in the path which is put in path edit box of "find schematic component" window. to the best of my knowledge, setting of this window is correct but it cant find the component.
when i go t browse sch to add a new library ddb like sim.ddb to the list, i get an error saying" file is not recognized"
thank you for your help
No problems with Protel in Win 7 so far. But I'm downgrading it to XP 
That came up with a "format '% X' invalid" error. I found the solution on some Chinese site (Google translate does an excellent job), and that is to remove (or rename) any libraries that it might be trying to load (as part of a project for example), then load them back in. Might be related.
That came up with a "format '% X' invalid" error. I found the solution on some Chinese site (Google translate does an excellent job), and that is to remove (or rename) any libraries that it might be trying to load (as part of a project for example), then load them back in. Might be related.
This problem has something to do with windows 7 strict permissions when a file is being read, ive monitored the file load when the protel client.exe starts up, it reads outside the executing directory, ie: windows/system 32/*.cfg ect.. this might be the issue in terms of security.(Also i am not an administator on the windows 7 os but i do have rights to execute and install apps) there might be an issue where protel is trying to access configuration settings in the windows folder when attempting to "add libs or footprints"
Ive tested the same install on a windows-xp system it works 100% no issues, you might have no issue on windows 7 cause you are an administator on your os like me on xp pro.
renaming lib files wont do the trick im almost certain about that.
Let me know if anyone had / has similar issues. i would like to solve it when i get home today
and yes i do have the latest protel se sp6 installed.
Ive tested the same install on a windows-xp system it works 100% no issues, you might have no issue on windows 7 cause you are an administator on your os like me on xp pro.
renaming lib files wont do the trick im almost certain about that.
Let me know if anyone had / has similar issues. i would like to solve it when i get home today
and yes i do have the latest protel se sp6 installed.
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Yes, I am administrator, I can't remember if it asked for admin priveledges when installing, I don't think so.
I installed it with UAC enabled, which redirects all the silly files Protel puts in the windows directory to the virtual store. A nice idea, but Windows' implementation is a little flawed - if you then execute the app "as administrator" to solve some compatibility issue, then it forgets about the files in the virtual store and recreates them in \windows or wherever. That can make a mess of your config.
Interested so trying it now on my new (but useless) 8 core machine - I'm an administrator, but UAC enabled. Damn, same error you get when loading libraries, can't go any further. (Another reason to downgrade Win 7 to XP.)
Now run Protel as administrator. Of course it loses all my settings (or rather recreates them from scratch as above). Won't load anything. Make a new DDB - locks up and can't go any further.
That's an eye opener - had I known that I would have made the decision to downgrade Win 7 much earlier and saved myself a lot of time! Protel was one of the first apps I checked as it's a "must work" for my job, I obviously didn't go deep enough. Roll on that XP downgrade.
Sorry I can't help, other than to say the lastest version of VMware Player worked quite well with Protel in Windows 2000 / etc except for a small annoying mouse click delay. Screen redraw faster than native I think (another Win 7 problem?). Virtualbox has nasty redraw delays making it unusable for anything with polygons (fast until it reaches a certain track limit then it freezes repeatedly during redraws). Virtual PC aka "XP Mode" works (all this from fairly quick tests obviously) but is vastly slower than native so might as well stick with a 5 year old PC if you want to use Protel 99SE.
I'd be interested to know if you get this one solved, becasue we're all going to have to move to Win 7 or some derivative some time and need be able able to access our old files from old versions of CAD SW (to the *nix fanboys: no, Protel/Altium is not supported on Linux/Mac etc so that's not a choice we can make).
I installed it with UAC enabled, which redirects all the silly files Protel puts in the windows directory to the virtual store. A nice idea, but Windows' implementation is a little flawed - if you then execute the app "as administrator" to solve some compatibility issue, then it forgets about the files in the virtual store and recreates them in \windows or wherever. That can make a mess of your config.
Interested so trying it now on my new (but useless) 8 core machine - I'm an administrator, but UAC enabled. Damn, same error you get when loading libraries, can't go any further. (Another reason to downgrade Win 7 to XP.)
Now run Protel as administrator. Of course it loses all my settings (or rather recreates them from scratch as above). Won't load anything. Make a new DDB - locks up and can't go any further.
That's an eye opener - had I known that I would have made the decision to downgrade Win 7 much earlier and saved myself a lot of time! Protel was one of the first apps I checked as it's a "must work" for my job, I obviously didn't go deep enough. Roll on that XP downgrade.
Sorry I can't help, other than to say the lastest version of VMware Player worked quite well with Protel in Windows 2000 / etc except for a small annoying mouse click delay. Screen redraw faster than native I think (another Win 7 problem?). Virtualbox has nasty redraw delays making it unusable for anything with polygons (fast until it reaches a certain track limit then it freezes repeatedly during redraws). Virtual PC aka "XP Mode" works (all this from fairly quick tests obviously) but is vastly slower than native so might as well stick with a 5 year old PC if you want to use Protel 99SE.
I'd be interested to know if you get this one solved, becasue we're all going to have to move to Win 7 or some derivative some time and need be able able to access our old files from old versions of CAD SW (to the *nix fanboys: no, Protel/Altium is not supported on Linux/Mac etc so that's not a choice we can make).
I assume the same as running as administrator (ie a crash). Trying it now... I stand corrected - same behaviour as with UAC on and not running as admin = works but fails to load libraries with the error message you mentioned.
No, that was a Windows XP fix (needed after doing a Windows 2000 to XP upgrade).
BTW I've been using 64 bit Windows 7 for this.
Nope. I went to XP and never looked back. If I had to use Win 7 I'd run Protel under Vmware (or check if vbox is any better these days) - runs faster than native anyway.
Actually out of interest, installing it under latest virtualbox now (the benefit of a fast machine!), single processor, Win2k, all graphics accelerators on. No, that's fast, not a problem, I think they fixed the problem I had with it locking up halfway through redraws. There is some mouse lag, but nothing like we were used to using machines of the day, and nothing like what I remember from my last attempt.
I had to actually buy a copy of XP to get the suitable legal media/key to do the downgrade, so never did of course, and can legally dual boot Win 7 - but it's still broken, I haven't got around to repairing it, and have no need for it yet (Win 7 has the best 64 bit support).
Actually out of interest, installing it under latest virtualbox now (the benefit of a fast machine!), single processor, Win2k, all graphics accelerators on. No, that's fast, not a problem, I think they fixed the problem I had with it locking up halfway through redraws. There is some mouse lag, but nothing like we were used to using machines of the day, and nothing like what I remember from my last attempt.
I had to actually buy a copy of XP to get the suitable legal media/key to do the downgrade, so never did of course, and can legally dual boot Win 7 - but it's still broken, I haven't got around to repairing it, and have no need for it yet (Win 7 has the best 64 bit support).
Protel/Altium
Hi to OP,
Not sure with 99SE but Windows 7 does not allow the user to mess with the files in program files. You might want to try installing 99SE in a different folder not in program files. I think all the support libraries are dumped in "program files" as well. I've had trouble with the newer Altium because of this.
Good luck!
Hi to OP,
Not sure with 99SE but Windows 7 does not allow the user to mess with the files in program files. You might want to try installing 99SE in a different folder not in program files. I think all the support libraries are dumped in "program files" as well. I've had trouble with the newer Altium because of this.
Good luck!
OK figured it out, see attached zip file. You have to edit the ini files directly. The ones with copy in the name are the originals, the others are my new ones. Now when I open PCBs or SCHs in protel it loads the libraries I'm after.
Notice that in ADVPCB99SE.INI there is no .lib extension on the end of the library name as there was in the original file.
These ini files on my machine are located here
C:\Users\Standard\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Windows
Protel is installed at C:\Design Explorer 99 SE rather than in the usual program files folder. I haven't tried it in Program Files folder, I don't know if it would make any difference.
So far I've only just started using 99SE on windows 7, will see how I go.
Notice that in ADVPCB99SE.INI there is no .lib extension on the end of the library name as there was in the original file.
These ini files on my machine are located here
C:\Users\Standard\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Windows
Protel is installed at C:\Design Explorer 99 SE rather than in the usual program files folder. I haven't tried it in Program Files folder, I don't know if it would make any difference.
So far I've only just started using 99SE on windows 7, will see how I go.
Tried the above, didn't work for me...what did work though was renaming the PCB and Schematic libraries you use to have no spaces in the filenames, despite this working on a standalone XP machine, in XP Mode on 64-bit windows 7 I changed "XXX PCB.ddb" to "XXX_PCB.ddb" and "XXX Schematic.ddb" to "XXX_Schematic.ddb". Perhaps it's a network addressing problem through the virtual space...strange, but it worked for me!
The above didn't work for me, but what did work was ensuring your library names do not have spaces in them (must be a virtualisation network access issue). So by changing "XXX PCB.ddb" to "XXX_PCB.ddb" and "XXX Schematic.ddb" to "XXX_Schematic.ddb" I was able to load the libraries in straight away.
Also ensure your virtual machine networking settings are set to your actual network card (not internal or shared network) for Adapter 1.
I'm running Protel99SE on XP Mode within Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.
Also ensure your virtual machine networking settings are set to your actual network card (not internal or shared network) for Adapter 1.
I'm running Protel99SE on XP Mode within Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.
Dave's Solution work.
Dave's solution work for me. First need to find out the name of the ddb and llb names that you are interested than close the program and edit the ini file. Save and load the program file again. There are two locations to change and those are [PCB Libraries] and [CachedFiles] sections. Below is my changes to include the Transistors.ddb(Transistors.lib).
Regards,
[PCB Libraries]
Path=*.ddb
Prompt=PCB Libraries
SelFileType=All files(*.*)
EditorName=All
Sel File Type=All files(*.*)
WholeProject=False
TypeCount=2
Count=2
File0=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Advpcb.ddb$OP>$ON>PCB Footprints.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
File1=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Transistors.ddb$OP>$ON>Transistors.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
[CachedFiles]
Count=2
File0=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Transistors.ddb$OP>$ON>Transistors.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
File1=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Advpcb.ddb$OP>$ON>PCB Footprints.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
Dave's solution work for me. First need to find out the name of the ddb and llb names that you are interested than close the program and edit the ini file. Save and load the program file again. There are two locations to change and those are [PCB Libraries] and [CachedFiles] sections. Below is my changes to include the Transistors.ddb(Transistors.lib).
Regards,
[PCB Libraries]
Path=*.ddb
Prompt=PCB Libraries
SelFileType=All files(*.*)
EditorName=All
Sel File Type=All files(*.*)
WholeProject=False
TypeCount=2
Count=2
File0=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Advpcb.ddb$OP>$ON>PCB Footprints.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
File1=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Transistors.ddb$OP>$ON>Transistors.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
[CachedFiles]
Count=2
File0=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Transistors.ddb$OP>$ON>Transistors.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
File1=D>MSACCESS:$RP>C:\Program Files\Design Explorer 99 SE\Library\Pcb\Generic Footprints$RN>Advpcb.ddb$OP>$ON>PCB Footprints.lib$ID>-1$ATTR>0$E>PCBLIB$STF>
Dave's Solution -- Modified
OK, I spent a lot of time on this one and also contacted people on the PEDA (Protel EDA) Forum, dedicated to Protel 99SE users. It took a while and I finally got it to work, but it may be different for every machine. I am using Win 7 Professional 64 Bit with Protel 99 SE SP6.
I always use my own footprints as I hate the ones that Protel supplies. All of these are kept in a DDB. When you create a DDB, the default is that it creates a "Documents" folder and I have always put my files in that folder.
Don't do that. If you have done that, move your LIB file to the root directory of the DDB, delete the Documents folder and empty the Recycle Bin of that DDB.
That's the first step. The next thing I tried was to install the default Protel libraries to see if there was something wrong with my file. I rewrote the INI file to point to the "Transistors.ddb" as in ThisIsNewID's example just above. But when I did, the program automatically rewrote the INI file and installed the "Advpcb.ddb" with the "PCB Footprints" library.
No matter what I did, it would always install that one DDB, as if it were a magnet. So I tricked it.
I temporarily renamed the "magnet" DDB to something else. Then I copied my DDB to the same directory as the magnet DDB, renamed it to "Advpcb.ddb", and worked on the INI file. At this point it should already be pointing at the right place. You only need to change the name of the LIB file from "PCB Footprints" to whatever LIB is in your DDB.
At this point it should work fine. Once it is working, you can revert everything. You can delete the copy of your DDB altogether, rename the original Advpcb.ddb to the correct name, and finally, change the INI file to point to your original DDB, in its original location, with its original name.
I think all of this is necessary because somehow the system becomes confused if you tell it to use a DDB with the LIB file inside a folder instead of the root. Then you have to beat it over the head with a 17" laptop until it cries for mercy and does what you want.
There is probably a simpler method, but the one thing I am sure of is that you have to have the LIB file in the root of your DDB. I know because everything was working and I put it back into a new "Documents" folder and it stopped working and went back to the "magnet" DDB. Good luck!
OK, I spent a lot of time on this one and also contacted people on the PEDA (Protel EDA) Forum, dedicated to Protel 99SE users. It took a while and I finally got it to work, but it may be different for every machine. I am using Win 7 Professional 64 Bit with Protel 99 SE SP6.
I always use my own footprints as I hate the ones that Protel supplies. All of these are kept in a DDB. When you create a DDB, the default is that it creates a "Documents" folder and I have always put my files in that folder.
Don't do that. If you have done that, move your LIB file to the root directory of the DDB, delete the Documents folder and empty the Recycle Bin of that DDB.
That's the first step. The next thing I tried was to install the default Protel libraries to see if there was something wrong with my file. I rewrote the INI file to point to the "Transistors.ddb" as in ThisIsNewID's example just above. But when I did, the program automatically rewrote the INI file and installed the "Advpcb.ddb" with the "PCB Footprints" library.
No matter what I did, it would always install that one DDB, as if it were a magnet. So I tricked it.
I temporarily renamed the "magnet" DDB to something else. Then I copied my DDB to the same directory as the magnet DDB, renamed it to "Advpcb.ddb", and worked on the INI file. At this point it should already be pointing at the right place. You only need to change the name of the LIB file from "PCB Footprints" to whatever LIB is in your DDB.
At this point it should work fine. Once it is working, you can revert everything. You can delete the copy of your DDB altogether, rename the original Advpcb.ddb to the correct name, and finally, change the INI file to point to your original DDB, in its original location, with its original name.
I think all of this is necessary because somehow the system becomes confused if you tell it to use a DDB with the LIB file inside a folder instead of the root. Then you have to beat it over the head with a 17" laptop until it cries for mercy and does what you want.
There is probably a simpler method, but the one thing I am sure of is that you have to have the LIB file in the root of your DDB. I know because everything was working and I put it back into a new "Documents" folder and it stopped working and went back to the "magnet" DDB. Good luck!
The ini files...
On my system there were several versions of the .ini files and the key was to find the ones in use. I did this by opening a project and closing it then shutting Protel.
Next do a file search from the root for all files AdvSch99SE.ini (for schematic libraries) and ADVPCB99SE.INI (for PCB libraries).
When the search has finished look for the files which have data and time matching the moment you exited Protel - these are the ones to edit to add you library paths to as suggested by Dave and others in the thread.
Good Luck!
On my system there were several versions of the .ini files and the key was to find the ones in use. I did this by opening a project and closing it then shutting Protel.
Next do a file search from the root for all files AdvSch99SE.ini (for schematic libraries) and ADVPCB99SE.INI (for PCB libraries).
When the search has finished look for the files which have data and time matching the moment you exited Protel - these are the ones to edit to add you library paths to as suggested by Dave and others in the thread.
Good Luck!
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