StenoRam II and Premier Power

[ronni]

Does anyone use Realtime on Premier Power with a StenoRam II? I can't get the Realtime to work. When I go to Translate, Realtime, and Direct, the program just freezes and I have to Ctrl, Alt, Delete. Any suggestions?

[Michael Smith]

Hi Ronni,

What type of computer do you run Premier Power on?
What version of Windows or Dos is on the computer?
What version of Premier Power do you use?
How do you enter in to Premier Power (be descriptive)?

Although I'm pretty sure I've tested the StenoRam II with Premier Power, I'd be happy to test again sometime next week (whever I get a chance to).

[ronni]

Actually, I still run Premier Power on my old, old Windows 3.1 computer. Although, I also have it on a Win 98 computer as well where I partitioned the hard drive. I have the Premier Power 2.0. I enter it through DOS because that works better. Everything runs great except I can't do Realtime. So I'm not going to get an old laptop until I know Premier Power will work with StenoRam II for Realtime. I sure would appreciate your testing it to see if yours works.

[Michael Smith]

Hi Ronni,

On my test notebook I was able to get the StenoRam II working just fine for realtime (realtime had about a 4-5 second lag but still worked nonetheless). So the StenoRam II is compatible with Premier Power.

I can't however guarantee that your StenoRam II will work on any older computer you purchase unless you sent it in for testing (we charge $64.50 to install & test CAT software) or if you purchased a refurbished computer from us.

Hope that helps.

[ronni]

How much would you charge for a refurbished laptop computer? I see the installing and testing is $64.50. What if my StenoRam II still won't run realtime on the new setup?

Another option. Can I pay you to go over everything on the phone with me to see if everything is set up right with my computer & writer?

[Michael Smith]

Hi Ronni,

The best computer I've run Premier Power on is a Toshiba Tecra 8000 (266MHz). It has Windows 98SE (fully licensed copy), and a 13.3" screen. These run $400. We include a 3-month warranty with the option to extend your warranty for up to three years past the initial warranty (which is paid at the end of your warranty period at a rate of $150 per year). We pre-install your software as well as test it. If you would like, you are welcome to send your SRII in and we would test it out for you. Otherwise I would test with our StenoRam II prior to shipping. If the SRII does not work, then we would let you know before buying. There is no charge for any install/testing. Just the price of the notebook and shipping (sales tax as well if you live in AZ). You get support directly through JM Steno, and we have been trained in both computers as well as the many CAT software's available.

If you want to send me your existing computer (as well as your writer if you would like). We would install and test Premier Power for $64.50. Unfortunately if your SRII is incompatible, we cannot refund that fee.

Phone support is $60 per hour and we would need a credit card provided up front. I really don't recommend this method unless I have a previous test record of running your version of Premier Power on your exact computer model. Since we do not know yet if it is incompatible, what might happen is we spend an hour going through your setup, determine that it is incompatible, and then we would still have to charge $60 for the time spent. Furthermore, we are limited in what we can do since I cannot do anything that would compromise running Windows. When you send the computer in, I can actually re-adjust settings because we can always recover our work.

I noticed in a previous post of yours that you have your hard drive partitioned. Make sure you install Premier Power on the C: partition only. Also ensure that your SRII is selected on the correct COM port (usually Com1) in your settings. Here is how to verify that:

From Windows, right-click 'My Computer'. Left-click 'Properties'. Left-click on the 'Device Manager' tab. Scroll down and look for 'Infrared Devices' and click the little + sign next to it. All inrared devices must be disabled. Double-click any infrared drivers and check 'Disable in this hardware profile'. Click 'Ok'. Scroll down further to 'Network adapters'. Click on the + sign. Make sure there are no infrared devices listed here. If there are, disable those as well using the same method as above. Click 'Ok'. Scroll further down to 'Ports (Com & LPT)' and click the + sign next to it. You should have a Com port installed and it will give you the Com port #. Record that number and double-click the Com port. Click on the 'Resources' tab. The 'Input/Output Range' should be any of the following only:
03F8-03FF
02F8-02FF
03E8-03EF
02E8-02EF
The 'Interupt Request' should only be 3 or 4. If your setup does not match any of the Input/Output ranges AND Interupt Requests, then Premier Power will not be able to find your writer and we would need to attempt to change those resources to the correct one. Unfortunately I cannot give any more information on that as using incorrect resources could stop Windows from starting. I would actually need you to send me the computer to troubleshoot that problem.

If your Com resources match the above resources, then hit the 'Ok' button and close the 'Device Manager'. Go into Premier Power and verify you have realtime setup for a StenoRam II and that it is on the correct Com port.

Login to Premier Power. From the 'Setup' menu, choose 'User Options'. Press 'i' for 'Realtime Translate Options'. Select 'StenoRam II/III' from the list and press 'Enter'. Next, choose the correct Com port that you wrote down from the previous steps in your device manager and press 'Enter'. Press your 'End' key once to go to the previous screen, and then once again to exit user setup. Press 'Enter' to exit and when asked if you want to save your changes, choose yes and press 'Enter'.

Now it's time to test realtime. Plug in your StenoRam and then turn it on. Press at least one stroke on the writer to initialize the job. You MUST have at least one stroke waiting on the writer prior to starting realtime or it might not communicate with your computer. Once you have a stroke waiting in memory, start realtime translation from the 'Transcribe' menu. Hopefully at that point realtime should start fine for you. Make sure you wait at least 10 seconds if realtime does not start immediately.

Hope that works for you.