richards
09-12-2007, 12:35 PM
I've been wanting to update to SB3 version 3.5.3 for some time, but everytime that I tried to make the switch, the Yellow Screen reported Comm Port seems ok, but no connection to Control Box made (Port 9)
I added a PCI USB 2.0 card to my computer and an external USB 2.0 powered hub. Then I tried three different USB to Serial devices. They all reported the same error. Finally, I emailed Shopbot support and asked for help. (I should have done that first, but I really hate to admit that simple problems like this can't be worked through logically.) Anyway, Frank sent back a quick reply and suggested that I load the firmware by just manually runnng the ControlBoxLoader program in the Shopbot folder. Of course, when I tried to do that, the program could not run. But, that made me think that possibly something else was going on, so, I turned off the ASUS motherboard's USB devices, unplugged the external USB hub, reinstalled the USB to Serial device so that it showed up as COMM 4 - then ran the ControlBoxLoader program. This time it worked. As soon as the firmware was updated, SB3 version 3.5.3 worked. Then, just to tempt fate, I reconnected the external USB hub and started up SB3 again. It automatically found the USB to Serial device on COMM 9. So, all is well.
The problem was my computer and not anything related to Shopbot. In fact, had I contacted Shopbot yesterday, before trying to logically work my way through it, Frank would have had me up and running in a matter of minutes. Instead, I messed around for several hours, made three trips to CompUSA to try different USB to Serial devices, and then finally emailed Shopbot.
I added a PCI USB 2.0 card to my computer and an external USB 2.0 powered hub. Then I tried three different USB to Serial devices. They all reported the same error. Finally, I emailed Shopbot support and asked for help. (I should have done that first, but I really hate to admit that simple problems like this can't be worked through logically.) Anyway, Frank sent back a quick reply and suggested that I load the firmware by just manually runnng the ControlBoxLoader program in the Shopbot folder. Of course, when I tried to do that, the program could not run. But, that made me think that possibly something else was going on, so, I turned off the ASUS motherboard's USB devices, unplugged the external USB hub, reinstalled the USB to Serial device so that it showed up as COMM 4 - then ran the ControlBoxLoader program. This time it worked. As soon as the firmware was updated, SB3 version 3.5.3 worked. Then, just to tempt fate, I reconnected the external USB hub and started up SB3 again. It automatically found the USB to Serial device on COMM 9. So, all is well.
The problem was my computer and not anything related to Shopbot. In fact, had I contacted Shopbot yesterday, before trying to logically work my way through it, Frank would have had me up and running in a matter of minutes. Instead, I messed around for several hours, made three trips to CompUSA to try different USB to Serial devices, and then finally emailed Shopbot.