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

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

On Mon, 22 Feb 2016 19:25:08 Daniel Maloney <tel...@gm...> wrote:

> Can you share your experience with the Windows driver after it has been
> running awhile?  I get a lot of crashes with mine on the latest version.

Will do. I suspect (or perhaps hope) it might be WIN10 related. We've decided
not to go the WIN10 route for servers at all for various reasons. 

How frequent are your crashes?

I have a client/server arrangement with the WIN7 machine (our SQL Server 2014 DB
server) acting as the server and having the USB connection to the APC, and a
WinXP machine (our SQL Server 2005 legacy server) acting as the client; both
powered from an APC BE750G.  I have the apcupsd status window running on the
server continuously so I can see what's happening.  So far, this setup has been
running a whole day without problem!

The WIN7 server has only the APC, an external backup drive, and the
mouse/keyboard KVM line (seldom used) plugged into USB ports, so not really a
lot of USB activity. 

Since the Windows version of apcupsd does not have email notification, in two or
three days I will be swapping the XP to a different UPS where a Linux host is
the apcupsd server, and I'll be replacing the XP with a Linux box on this UPS,
probably as the apcupsd server, in order to get email notifications if/when
power is lost on this UPS.  This arrangement may not be useful to you, but I'll
keep you posted. 

--Mark

-----Original Message-----
> Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2016 19:25:08 -0600
> From: Daniel Maloney <tel...@gm...>
> To: Apcupsd Discussion List <apc...@li...>
> Subject: Re: [Apcupsd-users] Trouble installing apcupsd driver on Windows 7
>
> Mark,
>
> Can you share your experience with the Windows driver after it has been
> running awhile?  I get a lot of crashes with mine on the latest version.
> It happens more frequently when other USB devices are actively being used.
>
> I have a DEVCON script that restarts the driver but I should not have to do
> this.  I just want to know if I am the only one out there seeing this.  I
> have this driver on five identical machines running Windows 10 Pro and they
> all have this issue with the driver.
>
> Best Always,
>
> Daniel
> On Feb 22, 2016 8:32 AM, "Mark Foley" <mf...@no...> wrote:
>
> > 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
> > >
> >
> >
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