Technical help needed with card reader for Remstar Auto

hopeful · Post by **hopeful** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:36 am

I'm having trouble with the software driver for the Infineer / Mako card reader through a USB port. I was able to get it to work on a Windows 2000 computer borrowed from a friend, but never on my XP even though it is supposed to work on this operating system.

I'm running XP on a laptop. When I install the driver software -- being careful to follow directions and install the driver before I connect the physical card reader -- it can't find the driver. It doesn't help that the computer says the software driver is "not Windows certified -- installing may de-stabilize the operating system."

When I run the Mako utility that comes with the card reader to check the status, my computer can't recognize it or read it.

This is not really an Encore software issue -- the computer itself can't find the card reader. I'm sure if I can get the computer to recognize it, Encore will work.

I've de-installed and re-installed the software driver 6 times, also downloaded the software driver from the Mako (developer of the software driver) website and tried that driver as well. All to no avail. I have contacted the Mako people. So far they have just blown me off (of course), even though it sounded like a known problem to which they may have a work-around.

If anyone can help, let me know. I know this is on the very techie side of questions on this website!

Or, of there is another way to read the card from the Remstar Auto -- I'm open!

On the more positive side, I've logged about 100 hours on my Remstar Auto. Today, I'm feeling absolutely wonderful!! I don't think I've felt this good since childhood.

Cheers -- and thanks in advance for any help / ideas

wading thru the muck! · Post by **wading thru the muck!** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:56 am

Do you have more than one USB port. I am running the identical set-up to yours and could get the computer to find the reader on only one of the USB ports. Try another if you have one. Unfortunately Windows XP is not as Plug N Play as you would like.

derek · Post by **derek** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:28 am

Hopeful,
Are you using the driver installation CD that comes with Encore Pro? Or just the one from Mako?

I just discovered this weekend that if I unplug the reader from the USB port, it is not recognized when I plug it back in - says it found a new device, do I want to install it, etc, etc. However if I turn off the machine and plug the reader in and then turn it on, so that it boots with the reader installed, everything is fine. That's not the way USB is meant to work! It doesn't show up on the "Safely remove hardware" icon on the System Tray either.

Have you tried plugging it in while powered down?

derek

Zees Pleez · Post by **Zees Pleez** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:08 am

Derek,

A nit, but not really, with USB...

Almost all USB devices are "Plug and Play", but a device can be USB compatible without being PNP. I think that's what you are encountering. The driver looks for hardware and probably tries to initialize it at boot time and it isn't there so it fails.

Anyway, people tend to think of PNP as an inherent part of USB, but it isn't.

hopeful · Post by **hopeful** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 10:17 am

Have I said before how nice it is to have this on-line community...?

Oops I guess I have!!

Technical help needed with card reader for Remstar Auto

Technical help needed with card reader for Remstar Auto

Thanks guys!! I'll give these a try...!