Re: [Apcupsd-users] Trouble installing apcupsd driver on Windows 7

[Mark F. <mf...@no...>]

To developers:

I found the answer to my problem.

The problem is in the wording of the install.txt instructions.  I think you need
to change that to make it clearer so people don't spend several hours heading
down the wrong path when easily avoidable. 

Paragrah e.:

e. (Abbreviated) Do not allow Windows to search for a driver,
       specify one yourself. Depending on your version of Windows, the exact
       sequence of dialogs and options is different, but essentially you need
       to get to the list of devices with the "Have Disk..." button. When you
       get there, choose "Have Disk..."

is a little too "abbreviated". I suggest:

e.  Select "Browse my computer for driver software".  Select "Let me pick from a
list of device drivers on my computer". Select "Have Disk". 

The difference from the default installation procedure is in selecting "Let me
pick from a list of device drivers on my computer" instead of the default
"Search for driver software in this location". 

XP and Vista (probably WIN10) are sufficiently similar to this WIN7 procedure
that the key point of "pick from list" should be explicitly mentioned in the
installation instructions.  Unless one does a lot of manual driver installations
(rare nowadays) and knows all about the "have disk" path, the defaults lead one
in a different direction which doesn't allow the driver to be installed and
gives the message, "Windows has determined the driver software for your device
is up to date."

My suggested change would save Windows apcupsd users a lot of wasted time.

I would also suggest a FAQ posting somewhere if it does not exist (I could not
find one).

--Mark

-----Original Message-----
> From: Mark Foley <mf...@no...>
> Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2016 12:37:27 -0500
> Organization: Novatec Software Engineering, LLC
> To: apc...@li...
> Subject: Trouble installing apcupsd driver on Windows 7
>
> This question has probably been asked dozens of times before, but I'm new to the
> list and have not found the answer elsewere.
>
> I have an APC model BE750G connected via USB to my Windows 7 computer. I've
> installed the apcupsd 3.14.13 software. During installation, it says, "The USB
> driver could not be automatically installed ... please see ... install.txt for
> instructions on installing the USB driver by hand." 
>
> I followed those instructions, but I get the message "Windows has determined the
> driver software for your device is up to date." However, status for the UPS
> shows, COMMLOST.  Also, under Device Manager > Batteries, "American Power
> Conversion USP UPS (Apcupsd)" is not listed, only "HID UPS Battery" and
> "Microsoft Composite Battery" are listed.  I am concluding that the correct
> driver was not installed. 
>
> Also, things differed a bit for me than what was written in the instructions. 
> At steps f. and g.  the instructions say:
>
> f. Browse to "C:\apcupsd\driver" and hit Open
>
> g. Select "American Power Conversion USB UPS (Apcupsd)" and hit Next.
>
> When I browse to C:\apcupsd\driver, there is no "American Power Conversion USB
> UPS (Apcupsd)" listed.  I show only 2 folders: amd64 and i386.  Each of these
> contain the files: WdfCoInstaller01009.dll and winsusbcoinstall2.dll. 
>
> Perhaps this download is missing the correct driver?
>
> Do I need to somehow force Windows 7 to use what it thinks in *not* the most
> recent driver?
>
> btw - I had this UPS connected to WIN7 and PowerChute, and connected to Linux
> using apcupsd and everything worked just fine.  it's not the UPS itself. 
>
> Thanks, Mark
>