Boe Bot Gui Software

belfast pat

I recently decided to down load the Boe Bot GUI soft ware to 30 laptops so that i could use the Boe Bots with younger students using the GUI program.
I am using Dell 910 mini's with XP operating system. some computers are 8Gb but others are 16Gb hard drives.
I have also loaded Scribbler 1 and S2 software as i also use these Robots.
On four of the computers all programs work perfectly without any issue's However on 2 computer although it downloads PBasic to the Boe- Bot when using the same cable and Boe Bot it will not download the GUI program. It states either invalid Port or No Robot. I have re installed the software without success also on these 2 computers i cannot download to the Scribblers either.
I have even used the authorised Parallax Cable and adaptor without success.
I constantly have USB cable issues which is why i purchased some R340 cables from China as these seemed to fail less than the Parallax product.
I am keen to resolve this issue as my older Scribbler 1's are getting past their best and i would be grateful for any help, support or idea's you may have.

Pat
patjamison@hotmail ,com Belfast Northern Ireland.

Mike Green

Make sure you have the proper I/O driver for your serial port. Are you using a USB to serial adapter? Who is the manufacturer? All of the USB to serial adapters that Parallax sells use an FTDI chip and you can download the proper driver from their website (here). You'll need their VCP (Virtual Comm Port) driver. If you're using someone else's adapter, that may be part of the problem. Not all of them work properly for downloading. Also make sure the batteries for the S1 or S2 are fresh.

belfast pat

Thank you for your prompt reply, I have downloaded the Parallax FTDI chip software and i have tried to download using the authorized Parallax adaptor and cable but without success. I find it difficult to understand why it will download the Pbasic program and then using the same Boe Bot and Parallax cable it will not download using the GUI software although it does on 4 of the 6 computers. All batteries are New.

Pat

Mike Green

I don't understand why either. The fact that the Stamp Editor works tells me that the USB to serial adapter and driver are working. I've not used the GUI software personally. For the download from the GUI to the S1 or S2, almost the same software is actually used internally. I'm not sure what to suggest further other than be patient. Perhaps someone with more ideas will see this and chime in.

NWCCTV

On the machines that are not working try uninstalling ALL of your com ports through device manager. Once they are uninstalled do a hard shut down. (Completely power off). Start the system back up and wait for com ports to be reinstalled. After they are reinstalled do a restart and see if that resolves the problem. If not, check the settings on the systems that are working against the ones that are not to see if there are any noticeable differences. Make sure you have all service packs up to date and all of the latest Windows updates.

belfast pat

Thank you, I did uninstall all coms as suggested and closed down and restarted the computer but without success. On the Del 910 i got one that worked perfectly and the other that did not and switched the Hard drives over and the problem moved with the hard drive. I am now going to get a clone the good hard drive and reformat the 2 bad ones and hopefully that might work, i am looking to upgrade from my existing Toshiba M2's to Del 910 for ease of transportation.

I also loaded the Boe- Bot GUI software onto my 35 Toshiba M2 laptops on 32 i had no problem and i have all the Parallax software and cables working as advertized but on 3 the GUI will not work.
I accept that i just might have to live with that.

The Parallax Cable and adapter are not particularly user friendly, i have had to use Electrical installation tape to keep them together as younger students keep pulling the cable out of the adapter which eventually breaks the housing. I bought the R340 cables from China and although they do cause some problems the final attrition rate and cost is not as high as replacing the Parallax cable and adapter, Its a pity that Parallax don't make a molded version of the USB/ R232 cable.I have only just taken delivery of 60 cables from China and 7 were defective on receipt.

Thanks for all your help i will let you know if the cloning of the hard drive works.

Best Wishes

Pat

belfast pat

After spending many hours trying to resolve this issue, as a mechanical engineer i am not very good at electronics or maybe its my age! I decided to go back to basics, I went to my computer , then properties, then hardware, device manager then ports, i highlighted the cable attached and it took me to the virtual port listings, the port highlighted was not in use so i manually allocated a port and and saved it.
I then opened the GUI program and it worked as advertised, I am pleased this has now worked and hope no one else will ever have to experience the frustration of invalid port again.
Many thanks to all who helped.

Regards

Pat