Cannot Find Active Ports

[gary_k]

I got a new computer to run my PRSAlpha/4g and the new computer is running Windows 7. Downloaded the software version 3.6.44 and I get an error message "Cannot Find Active Ports". Any suggestions?

I hooked it back up to my old computer and it still works fine. According to that - the Control Box Firmware is Version 140. On the old computer I have also been running an IOGEAR UH-275 2.0 Hub. I tried to start with and without on the new computer and it didn't make any difference.

I have tried looking through all the forums and tried everything I know but cannot get it to run, I always get the same error message. Thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

[bruce_taylor]

When you downloaded the new software did you download the same as your old computer? If not you have to update the firmware on your bot.

[gary_k]

I down loaded the same software on both computers, the old computer which is running xp and has updated firmware, had to turn the control box off and back on to finish the download. On the new computer the preview mode works, but everything else I tried results in an error msg CAN NOT FINE ANY ACTIVE PORTS

[bruce_taylor]

Try restarting the computer, sometimes I have to restart my computer for it to see the bot. You may try changing the usb port or checking it with something else to make sure it works.

[adrianm]

Have you tried all the USB ports on the new PC?

I've come across some new PC's where the drivers for the additional set of USB ports wasn't installed. The last one had NVidia based on the motherboard and another set that required NEC drivers.

[srwtlc]

Does your machine still use the USB to Serial adapter (IOgear) and if so, do you have the drivers for that installed?

[gary_k]

I have tried the machine in all of the USB ports and it didn't work but it recognizes my flash drive in all of the ports so I am assuming they work.

On my old slow computer I have been using the IOGear and it works with and without it on that. On my new computer, I did download the original disk I received from ShopBot for the IOGear and it has not made any difference. I have tried with and without it on the new computer as well and it still doesn't work. I am not sure if there is an updated disk I would need for Windows 7.

Thanks for your input.

[jerry_stanek]

I have a windows 7 laptop that will connect to my shopbot.

[calgrdnr]

are your comm port settings correct ? is your new pc seeing the adapter ?

right click on computer icon then Manage then double click Device Manager
see what shows under Ports .. hopefully you see your adapter .... I just checked mine 2001 prt com is set at 9600,8,none,1,none.

this is first think IO would check when not communicating ...


good luck

Kent

[myxpykalix]

Along with shutting everything down (computer, control box, ect) I would go over to the circuit breaker that controls your bot and shut that down for a minute also. Your control box is a computer in and of itself and sometimes things get stuck in the memory which cause issues like this.

Go look on the shopbot website to see if there is a different version of firmware that runs windows7 as opposed to xp (I don't know). I'd then fire everything up and do a firmware update.

It sounds to me like it is not a physical issue but a software issue. You could also switch your usb cable into different receptacles on your machine to see if that might be an issue. I know that i alway plug it in to a specific port on my laptop and on occasion when i plug it into a different one, i get the error message that it can't find the bot.

[gary_k]

I think I am getting closer to solving this problem. On my old computer I have the same port setting as you mention but when I plug my machine in to my new computer it pops up as other devices – when I click on that it says USB Serial Controller D. I then double clicked on that and it shows I don’t have any Driver Provider. When I click Update Drivers, it goes to my C\Programfiles(x86) ShopBot \Shotbot3\Drivers when I click next it tells me windows cannot find any drivers.

So if I don’t have any drivers, where do I find them and how do I load them in. I have already tried shutting everything down and restarting the computer but that did not help.

[adrianm]

So if I don’t have any drivers, where do I find them and how do I load them in.

Links to the IOGear drivers are on this page - http://shopbottools.com/mSupport/drivers.htm - under the USB Drivers section.

If none of those work you can try the iogear site directly - http://www.iogear.com/product/GUC232A/ - I think this is the model ShopBot used and the download link for the drivers is at the bottom left of the page.

As for installing them some driver packages do it automatically when you run (if they're exe files for example) others require you to unzip them to a folder and then point Update Drivers to that location using the manual option.

[gary_k]

I finally got my new computer with windows 7 on my PRS alpha /4g up and running with the help from ShopBot support. The first thing you want to do is open up the control box on the ShopBot, to see if you have a straight USB connection... if you look inside the control box, does the cable go straight into the smaller control card? If so Windows 7 blocks our drivers from installing correctly. First, disconnect the ShopBot from your computer, then follow these instructions:
You'll need to turn off something called the UAC (user account controls) and re-install the USB drivers. To do this, click the Start menu on your desktop and type UAC into the search bar. The User Account Controls window should come up. With this window open, slide the bar down to 'never notify' and click OK.
The easiest thing to do next is to re-install the software, then plug your ShopBot back in and you should be good. If you look inside the control box, and the cable goes through to a 10" long USB to Serial cable, and then plugs into the larger control board the problem is that the installed drivers are not compatible with Windows 7.
Download the correct driver here (make sure to select Windows 7): http://www.iogear.com/support/dm/driver/GUC232A#display <http://www.iogear.com/support/dm/driver/GUC232A#display>
When asked, choose to save the download to a file location that you'll remember.
Once the download completes, open the device manager again and you should see something under "unknown" or "other devices" that indicates a USB/Serial connection. Right-click on this device and select "update drivers." A box will pop up, asking you to allow Windows to search for the driver. You don't want it to do that... when given the option, select "manually browse for the driver." Then browse to the location where you saved the driver download. If it installs correctly, you'll now see the ShopBot appear under "ports" in the device manager, along with a COM port #. Open the control software and if it does not automatically connect, select "connect under a different port" and choose the correct port #.

[mbeconst]

Thanks for the help. My Windows 7 shopbot computer has been running great......until I plugged my serial Garmin chartplotter into the serial plug for an operating system update, which worked fine. I didn't think of any consequences until I went to fire up the Shopbot today. My computer couldn't find the Shopbot. The original disk, which I found, didn't work and my computer wanted to load a Prolific driver, which didn't work. Your advice was spot on. Thanks, were back in business.

[kevinwood]

Gary K., Thank you, thank you. I have a 2004-2006 model PRT w/Alpha Upgrade that I've been trying to get working again and today I finally got it to power up with three drivers and motors locked in (Y, Z, Indexer). I think I've got bad drivers for X1 and X2 but I'll check them out over the next two days. However, I did not get to actually moving the Y, Z and Indexer motors yet because I was having, like you, problem with no Com port recognized. However, and I am so grateful to you, I took your advice in your post above and downloaded the active USB to serial adapter (it's a powered voltage level shifter to match the serial high voltage to the USB low voltage) driver from IO Gear from your link above. It's a one size fits all driver for almost every version of windows and OS. I've loaded the same package on both my Win 7 and XP laptops and the download is an automatic executable program file so you don't have to go through the hassle of manually hunting for and installing the right driver. For anyone else with an old system, PRT or PRT Alpha, just follow Gary's link again at: http://www.iogear.com/support/dm/driver/GUC232A#display <http://www.iogear.com/support/dm/driver/GUC232A#display