Version 3 Software Problems

[nealg]

Well....this has been a nightmare....ok, here is what I did.

Unplugged the unit.
Uninstalled 2.11
Rebooted

All okay to this point. Then:

Installed 3.0 from the .exe I downloaded.
Installed successfully.
Rebooted.
Plugged the unit back in.

Here was first indication of possible problem ; the USB 'tone' sounded normally...quit...then sounded once more. Hmm..ok...but no new hardware found, as in very first install? And as manual says will happen? Oh, well, I presume the uninstall didn't affect that, so.... then:

Clicked on the Icon...software comes up. Working...it is tracking. Checked each screen, to familiarize myself....ok...no huge difference....went to Tracking screen...uh oh. Tracking screen opens...and opens a twin in the upper left corner of my desktop!?! Only the twin doesn't track! And won't go away when I close the program.

But the main screen is working, so I check it out...looks better than the old version, cool. Decide I want to try FB, so I close TIR and reboot....click on TIR Icon...it says it cannot find the device! Huh? Sure enough, it seems to not recognize it. Software opens ok, but refuses to track. Close and reboot again....same thing.

By now, I am not very happy. So, I unplug the unit, uninstall 3.0 - or, tried to....when I clicked Remove from Add/Remove Programs, it gave a me a message that it was going to uninstall all previous drivers and proceed with installation.

Huh?

But I went ahead, and sure enough, it uninstalled something, then started the TrackIR2 installation program!! What? I decided to see what it would do....well, it asked for the first CD!! Hey...I went to browse to get the .exe I dl'd....it would not recognize it! Hit Cancel. Sheesh...what a pain!

Well, appears it was uninstalled....Icon gone, no entry in Add/Remove....but just to see, checked device manager, and the ECT entry is gone. Ok. But out of curiosity, I opened Regedit and checked for Naturalpoint entries.

I quit after the 20th one. There are entries all over the registry that didn't get removed.

Figured, oh well, Hell, try installing again. Did so...it again installed ok. This time, plugged unit in before rebooting...same weird tone stuff. No 'new hardware' again. But it seems to be working again...it tracks...same twin window, though, when opening the Tracking screen.

Rebooted. This time, it didn't lose the unit...ok, must be there, then. Rebooted again....still sees it. Ok, that much seems ok. Still have that twin tracking screen, though, if I open Tracking, and it won't go away unless I reboot or use another program. However...loaded up my FB profile and loaded FB....working good, though cannot see any major change from 2.11.

Shut down FB, then clicked on the NP tray icon to open the software....still working there, too....so clicked 'X' to close it, and got a message saying it had encountered a error and needed to close.

So...that is where I am at. Pretty much right now, I am without TIR totally as I am reluctant to use it after all this. Any ideas? Anyone come across this in testing? It all worked fine before as shipped with 2.11, and I am using the same USB port I was using for 2.11 ( not a hub, BTW )...in fact, no system changes at all.

System:
P4 3.06 CPU
Win XP Home w/SP 1
1 G DDR RAM
GF4 Ti4600

Thanks for any assistance...

[Reinhard]

Hi, Nealg!

Sorry for my sense of humour, but it's always the same answer to questions like yours:

NEVER (!!!) be the first to install any kind of "new" software. Being a reasonable PC user means learning to be patient...

Greets Reinhard

[Jim]

Hearing the USB plug in noise twice can be normal. The tracking screen problem has been noted. A new version of 3.0, 3.01, will be up later today.

[nealg]

Reinhard....hehe, no problem...that is a caveat I usually use on others. I should have waited one more day....

Jim...ok, thanks for the response. I will look for 3.01 when it comes out....then wait a day or two....