Windows2000/XP -- README.TXT
FlashPath (for SmartMedia) by Ricoh Company, Ltd.
November 2001

  * All documentation and programs Copyright 1998-2001, SmartDisk
    Corporation.

  * FlashPath is a registered trademark of SmartDisk Corporation.

  * SmartMedia is a registered trademark of Toshiba Corporation.

  * Windows 2000/XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

  * All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks
    of their respective owners.


1. ===[SOFTWARE REVISION HISTORY]===

   
   Rev.     	Date and Comments
   ---------    -----------------------------------------------------
   3.60.07 	November 16, 2001	FlashPath for SmartMedia.

1. Supported SmartMedia capacities: 
   FS-A10= 32MB, 16MB, 8MB, 4MB and 2MB
   FS-B10=128MB, 64MB, 32MB, 16MB, 8MB, 4MB and 2MB

2. Software supported on IBM PC/AT compatible PCs (Intel x86 or fully compatible CPU) running either of the following:

* Windows 2000 
Pentium(R) 133 MHz or higher or fully compatible CPU (English, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German).
                   
* Windows XP 
Pentium(R) 300 MHz or higher or fully compatible CPU (English, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German).

*A 720KB/1.44MB, 3.5-inch floppy disk drive connected by a standard interface

3. The following operating systems are not supported. 

* Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me 
* Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
* Microsoft Windows NT 3.5
* Windows 3.x
* MS-DOS

===[CAUTION]=======

Please note the following cautionary items.

HANDLING
* When not in use, please store your FlashPath adapter in the case provided.
* Please pay special attention to the details when inserting or removing SmartMedia.
* When inserting SmartMedia, please make sure that the SmartMedia contact points face OPPOSITE the FlashPath metal cover.
* After using the FlashPath adapter, please remove it from your floppy disk drive.

PREVENTING DAMAGE
* Please do not attempt to bend, fold, or twist the FlashPath adapter.
* Please do not drop the FlashPath adapter.
* Please do not leave the FlashPath adapter in your computer's floppy disk drive when it is not in use.
* Please store the FlashPath adapter in a cool, dry place.

INSTALLING THE DRIVER SOFTWARE
* Please be sure to install the driver software before using the FlashPath adapter.
* When you install the driver, please log in as the administrator.
* When the installation finishes and the "Setup complete" dialog appears, click on the Finish button, then remove the setup disk.
* After the installation, please restart your system.

UNINSTALLING THE DRIVER SOFTWARE
* After the uninstallation, please restart your system.

INCOMPATIBLE DEVICES
* Floppy disk drives other than those connected via a standard interface (for example, those connected via PC card, USB, or parallel port) cannot be used. 
* Floppy disk drives other than the 1.44MB variety (for example, drives that support 2.88MB or 120MB high-capacity drives) cannot be used.

INCOMPATIBLE USES
* The FlashPath adapter cannot be used as a boot disk. Please insert into the floppy drive only after the system has booted completely.

BATTERY LIFE
* Due to the special characteristics of the battery, its lifespan is reduced in low temperatures.
* Writing data to the FlashPath adapter consumes more energy than reading data from it.
* To preserve the life of the battery, remove it from the floppy disk drive when not in use. Doing so will turn off its power source, causing it to consume less energy.

BATTERY REPLACEMENT
* When replacing the batteries, please replace both of them at once.
* When inserting new batteries, please make sure that the plus side is facing up.
* When the FlashPath status monitor displays a low-battery warning, it may temporarily become impossible to write to the SmartMedia (reading from it will be possible). If this happens, please replace the batteries as soon as possible.
* When the FlashPath status monitor displays a low-battery warning, it may appear that applications are still able to save data to the adapter when in fact they are not. Please be careful to protect your data in such cases.

SOFTWARE
* Please do not remove the FlashPath adapter when data is being recorded on it. The data will not be saved properly if you do. Also, it could render the SmartMedia unusable.
* If the FlashPath adapter is removed from the floppy disk drive while data is being recorded, Windows will display an error message. If you follow the instructions and press a key, the screen will revert to normal, but the data that was being recorded on the SmartMedia may be saved as an incomplete file, so please check your data carefully.
* If the FlashPath status monitor is not operating (i.e., the icon does not appear in the task bar) at the time the adapter is first accessed, but is launched later on, it will not immediately reflect the current internal status of the FlashPath adapter. This is because the status monitor program starts operating the moment it detects the first access made after the FlashPath adapter has been inserted in the floppy disk drive. In order to make sure that the status monitor reflects the internal status of the FlashPath accurately, eject the FlashPath from the floppy disk drive, then insert it again.
* When writing to or reading from the FlashPath adapter, please check the status monitor if you suspect an error. Error messages are not always correctly displayed in applications.

3-MODE FLOPPY DISK DRIVE COMPATIBLE SOFTWARE
* FlashPath driver software cannot coexist with 3-mode floppy disk drive compatible driver software.
* If FlashPath driver software is installed on a PC that already has 3-mode floppy disk drive compatible driver software installed, 1.2MB floppy disks become unreadable. If it is necessary to read from those disks, temporarily uninstall the FlashPath driver software.

USE OF TWO FLOPPY DRIVES
* If you attempt to access two floppy drives at once, the one that was accessed later will produce a message indicating that the resource is already in use and it will not be accessed. Please understand that this is part of the specifications of Windows 2000/XP and not a FlashPath defect.
   

===[FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS]=======

Q: FlashPath is asleep. How do I wake it up?
A: Take the FlashPath adapter out of the floppy drive, then put it back in.

Q: FlashPath is not recognized by the system. Why?
A: There could be many reasons, among them:

1) If more than five minutes have passed since the FlashPath adapter was inserted and it has not been accessed, it will go to sleep. Take it out of the drive and reinsert.
2) If the battery is almost out of energy, the FlashPath adapter will not be recognized. Check the batteries.
3) If the batteries are not set properly, the FlashPath adapter will not be recognized. Make sure the + signs are facing up.
4) If the FlashPath driver software has not been installed, the adapter will not be recognized. Install the driver (requires a system restart).
5) If the the FlashPath adapter is accidentally inserted into the floppy disk drive and accessed, it may fail to be recognized, producing a message that says the disk is unformatted. If you remove the the FlashPath adapter and reinsert it, the system will recognize it properly.

Q: Why can't I format my SmartMedia card?
A: It is not possible to format SmartMedia with Explorer. Please use your digital camera or the FlashPath utility software to format your SmartMedia card.

Q: Why is the reading speed faster than the writing speed?
A: Data is written to the the FlashPath adapter while it is communicating with the driver software, which takes about twice as much time as producing data already stored.

Q: Why doesn't the file-copying animation appear?
A: This is not limited to the FlashPath adapter, it sometimes happens when Windows copies files to 1.44 floppy drives. Please check the floppy drive's access lamp to determine whether it is copying data or not.

Q: When copying an existing file from within the A drive to another part of the A drive, the PC doesn't respond after Explorer is closed. Why?
A: When copying files from the the FlashPath adapter, copying to the My Computer icon on the desktop is recommended.


NOTE:  You must uninstall any prior ALPHA, BETA, or "RELEASE CANDIDATE" version of "FlashPath", BEFORE installing this version.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT WHEN YOU INSTALL "FLASHPATH" ON THE ABOVE LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THE OPERATINGS SYSTEMS, THAT THE FLASHPATH "USER INTERFACE" AND ALL "FLASHPATH" MESSAGES ARE DISPLAYED IN ENGLISH.


2. ===[GETTING READY]===
   Please read the following information before installing
   FlashPath.

    A. IBM PC/AT COMPATIBLE PC - SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

       1. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS:

	  a.  IBM PC/AT compatible PCs Intel x86
	       Pentium or fully compatible CPU.

		  Does NOT work on RISC based systems
		   (Alpha AXP, MIPS R4x00, or PowerPCs).


	  b. At least a single 3.5 inch floppy disk drive:
	     3.5 inch, 1.44MB floppy disk drive, or a
             3.5 inch Japanese 3-mode floppy disk drive.

	     DOES NOT SUPPORT:
		- LS-120 SuperDrives (120mb / 1.44mb).
		- External floppy drives (USB, serial, parallel
		   or other external interface).

       2. OPERATING SYSTEMS:

            a. Microsoft Windows 2000/XP ( Intel x86 
		(Pentium, 486) or fully compatible CPU).

		NOTE:
		In order to install or uninstall FlashPath software
		on Windows 2000/XP, you must be a user with 
		"Administrator Privileges".

            b. DOES NOT INSTALL ON:
		1. Windows NT 4.0
		2. Windows 98
		3. Windows 95
		4. Windows NT 3.51
		5. Windows 3.x or MS-DOS



    B. LANGUAGE NOTE:
	These drivers have been tested under the following
	language versions of the operating systems:
	  English, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German.

	PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT WHEN YOU INSTALL FLASHPATH ON
	THE ABOVE LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THE OPERATINGS SYSTEMS,
	THAT THE FLASHPATH "USER INTERFACE" AND ALL FLASHPATH
	MESSAGES ARE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.



3. ===[KNOWN ISSUES]===

      Using some cameras to format the media, with an obsolete 
      format, may cause the media to become read only.  File 
      transfer (writes) to the media then can not be performed.  

      Using the FlashPath Format program, the media can be 
      restored for file transfer (writes) and used in the camera. 



4. ===[IMPORTANT NOTES (CAUTION)]===

   A. Incompatible Floppy Disk Drives (FDDs) with which FlashPath 
      cannot be used:

      The FlashPath cannot be used with a FDD which is connected 
      via a different interface from ordinary FDDs. Such FDDs 
      include the following:

      1. An external FDD connected via a PC card (PCMCIA), or 
         USB/ serial/ parallel ports.

      2. A high recording capacity FDD such as a Imation SuperDisk
         (LS-120) 120MB/ 1.44MB floppy disk drive (they connect to 
         the PC through an IDE cable or parallel (printer) port, 
         rather than the standard floppy drive port).
  
      3. If you access the FlashPath when the "FlashPath Status
         Monitor" program is not activated (i.e. while its icon
         is not shown on the task bar) and then activate the
         program later, the display will not immediately reflect
         the current internal status of the FlashPath.

         This is because the "FlashPath Status Monitor" program
         starts operating the moment it detects the first access
         made after the FlashPath has been inserted in the FDD.
         Therefore, in order to make sure that the "FlashPath
         Status Monitor" reflects the internal status of the
         FlashPath, eject the FlashPath from the FDD, and then
         insert it again.


5. ===[NOTES]===

   A. The copyright of this README.TXT file, the manual and the 
      software is owned by SmartDisk Corporation.

   B. This software and manual may not be reproduced in whole or 
      in part. Duplication of the software for any purpose other
      than backup is prohibited.

   C. Analysis, reverse engineering, disassembly, coupling with 
      another application, incorporation or printing of the main 
      application, DLLs and other files in this software is
      prohibited.

   D. SmartDisk Corporation assumes no liability for any loss or 
      damages relating to the operation of this software or to 
      information provided in the manual, or this README.TXT
      file.

   E. To accommodate technical improvements, the contents of the 
      software and manual may be subject to change without prior
      notice.

   F. SmartDisk Corporation has taken every reasonable effort to
      ensure that its products meet the highest standards of
      quality and reliability.  Please do not hesitate to contact
      us if you find any problems, mistakes or disk defects.