Problems with AVG and Vista?

[HEMI6point1]

Last I heard Vista doesn't support 9-pin serial. Could be wrong, though.

 

[Jenn]

Last I heard Vista doesn't support 9-pin serial. Could be wrong, though.

Belkin has one for the 32bit version of vista, and so do the other serials that I've gotten. I do have a 32 bit version of Vista but it's at home and I'm in Las Vegas. Both of them have a female serial port on the side of it. The problem is that the cable that I have is also female so I have two female ends. I was told by the guy at the local computer store that a little gadget with two male ends wouldn't work because the port on the computer is for visual purposes or something.

But most of the other racers have the 9-pin to USB adapter, which is what I bought, but couldn't use on this computer. I can use it on an old XP laptop that i have but it doesn't have the hardware requirements for the Crew Chief Pro.

 

[downtime]

I should have done that before I came back for the second Vegas because the Belkin driver caused my computer to do some weird memory dump thing.

Anybody know where I can find an adapter and driver for a 64 bit Vista version to take my weather station 9 pin serial port and convert it to a USB port?

I was told that a cable place would make one, but it wouldn't have the driver and the driver was needed to convert the signal or format or something that's way too techy for me to figure out.

The manufacturer of the weather station would need to provide the driver. Sometimes, (only sometimes), devices such as weather stations are made one way but branded to several different companies... It is possible the physical manufacturer (not the name brand on the device), has a "driver" that may or may not work. It also may be that you can operate the software in XP or 32 bit Vista mode and "map" the serial port to the USB port, like you can with a print driver.

Ad far as adapters and "doo hickies" I have a local electronics store that has about everything know to mankind but in a pinch radio shack might have just what you are looking for. Sometimes the driver will just work regardless of whether the interface is USB or serial. Sometimes one brand of adapter will work and another brand not work. Serial connectors have always been finnicky so see if you can find different brands and try them out.

Always make a complete backup first so you can "put it back" if it does not work out.

I personally think that since the big box stores are moving a lot of 64 bit product, the move to 64 bit architecture for third party devices will be greatly accelerated.

 

[downtime]

Jenn,

According to Don Higgins at Crew Chief:

"All of our trailer weather stations with pagers will interface with Vista 64. An entire setup with everything you need including a pager, wind sensor, download kit, power supply, and software is ready to go."

You can email him at: [email protected]

if you do so, please let him know I made the suggestion as he took the time to email me with the answer. Thank you.

 

[Jenn]

Jenn,

According to Don Higgins at Crew Chief:

"All of our trailer weather stations with pagers will interface with Vista 64. An entire setup with everything you need including a pager, wind sensor, download kit, power supply, and software is ready to go."

You can email him at: [email protected]

if you do so, please let him know I made the suggestion as he took the time to email me with the answer. Thank you.

Don was in our Toter yesterday trying to figure it out. I had installed the software on the Vista computer Friday and apparently I had a bad disk or something because he had to come fix it. I called him because i was getting error messages, he came over and updated the software and gave me the update procedure. Then I called him because I was having a couple more problems with it, and he told me I had to get the 64 bit adapter driver because the 64 bit adapter allows instant feeding into the CCP software and thus my weather station paging system (which isn't set up yet because I don't have this straight). Another racer had told me that the adapter that he bought from Altalab didn't work on the vista 64 bit either and he wound up taking his computer to the geek place and having them install XP.

I'll call him again during the week and see, but yesterday he kept telling me he'd be here in 15 minutes and he'd show up 2-3 hours later and I'm told by other racers that he didn't even get around to all of them.

My older XP computer doesn't have the computer requirements that the program would like (it is a VERY big program). The tutorials weren't working for me yesterday either, so now that it's fixed, I can go through the videos either.

 

[Jenn]

Ad far as adapters and "doo hickies" I have a local electronics store that has about everything know to mankind but in a pinch radio shack might have just what you are looking for. Sometimes the driver will just work regardless of whether the interface is USB or serial. Sometimes one brand of adapter will work and another brand not work. Serial connectors have always been finnicky so see if you can find different brands and try them out.

I tried just plugging it in but it didn't recognize the COM port. I'll play with it after I have a chance to back this computer up like you suggest. In the mean time, the CCP software seems to be great (now that it's 'fixed). It just doesn't auto enter the weather or send out pages (yet!)

 

[downtime]

Specialy "high end" usb-serial adapters often have "drivers" that include port mapping software. basically this interface tells the computer that USB port (name of the port) is mapped to serial port (port number). In finicky devices such as some medical equipment and most likely your weather station, the the numbers/names of the ports can be very important.

The sequence would be to remove all weather station software. Remove any existing port mappings. Reboot... A "cold" boot (all the way off and then back on).

Then install only the usb-serial adapter and software. Make sure it functions (try a mouse on it for example). If it works, do another cold boot.

Then install the weather station as per instructions.

If it does not work, then check the firewall settings... better yet, on a temporary or test basis, disable the firewall (Windows/CA/Norton) and make certain ALL firewalls are disabled. Often Windows update will re-enable the Windows firewall, or Norton will re-enable their firewall and you can easily have two running at the same time.

Then try the Weather station setup again.