Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support for SPB Products and OrCAD 10.x Products

December 2, 2004

Dear Cadence Customer,

Cadence's Silicon Package Board Group (SPB) has recently completed testing SPB 15.x and OrCAD 10.x releases on Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2). The SPB releases supported under XP SP2 are 15.0, 15.1 and 15.2. Since release 14.2 (Orcad 9.2.3) support is ending in December 2004, it will not be supported under XP SP2.

The single issue found pertains to activation of the Windows Firewall. The Firewall is enabled by default when SP2 is installed. Windows Firewall blocks unsolicited connections to your computer. For a more complete discussion of this issue see Microsoft article 842242 (Some programs seem to stop working after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2):

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;842242

Cadence programs make extensive use of network communication for licensing and inter-program communication. Using the Windows Firewall to disable these capabilities will cause Cadence programs to malfunction.

To run Cadence programs under XP SP2, you have two choices:

  1. Disable the Windows Firewall

    - Or -

  2. Allow each Cadence program to access to the network

In most situations, the use of the Windows Firewall is a policy set by your company's Information Technology (IT) group. Cadence does not recommend that you disable the Windows Firewall just to run Cadence tools.

If the second approach is used, you will be presented with a Windows Firewall Security Alert dialog box each time a Cadence program requests network access. This dialog gives you three choices:

  1. Unblock the program

  2. Keep blocking this program

  3. Keep blocking this program, but ask me again later

Select choice 1 (Unblock the program), then click OK.

If you accidentally close the dialog without allowing Firewall access then access is not granted. To reverse this decision, or to view what the Windows Firewall program is allowing or blocking:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.

  2. Click Windows Firewall.

  3. In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.

  4. In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate your program. If you cannot locate your program, see the next section.

  5. After you select your program, click OK.

  6. On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK.

    Note:  If you later decide that you do not want the program to be an exception, clear this check box.

A less likely cause of Cadence program failures under XP SP2 is if your IT organization uses the Windows Firewall to block network ports. Check with your IT group if this is their policy (see the previously mentioned Microsoft Solution for more information).

By the end of 2004, Cadence plans to post a Cadence Program Windows Firewall management utility to SourceLink. This will provide an automated way to pre-register Cadence applications for network access through the Windows Firewall.

As mentioned in our original letter of November 8, 2004, Cadence SPB has developed an application to add SPB programs to the Windows firewall exceptions list programmatically. The utility may be downloaded here.

Return to top of page