Serial to USB adaptor problem

[ginneswatson]

Like so many others I recently downloaded the newest upgrade of Activstudio to run on my Mac Mini under 10.5 Leopard.

Software runs fine but my Mac and board are not communicating.

Downloaded latest driver for my Keyspan USA-19HS adaptor, but this has not solved my problem.

My Mac 'sees' the adaptor but is acting like my board is a dial-up modem in Network and is expecting a telephone number etc to allow it to connect.

My board is now over 4 years old and Promethean are sending me a firmware update for the board, which they hope may fix the problem (though they also warn that it may damage my board!).

Just wondering if anyone else has a similar set-up and whether they have had a similar problem - maybe even a fix.

[History8]

Have you downloaded and installed the latest ActivBoard Driver?

[scaulfield]

I would try to pinpoint the problem.

Try hooking up your computer straight to your board without the adaptor. If it works, then you know the adaptor is probably the cause.

Try hooking up a differenet computer to your board. If this works, it might be a setting in your computer.

Try hooking up your computer to a different board. If this works, then it might be the electronics in your board.

This is good advice for all, as it will save you some time when you call tech support, and will help you (and tech support) figure out the cause of the problems.

[ginneswatson]

I should have posted this weeks ago.

It took a few days and quite a few attempts, but we (me and Promethean Support) did manage to get things working.

Eventually, what seemed to be the problem was that the installation of the latest board driver wasn't really working despite all the right numbers appearing.

I got the board working with a 'clean install' on my home Mac that I brought into school to test.

I was then able to uninstall the driver on my school computer and do a 'clean install' of the latest driver.

This was, however, after bringing the firmware for my board up to date. (Slightly nervy procedure as my board is old enough to be out of warranty and any glitch in the procedure can render the board unusable).

I also installed the latest version of my Keyspan adaptor prior to 'the fix'.

To summarise, for anyone else having a similar problem, don't just update the board driver, uninstall the old driver first.

Thanks to those who replied.

[scaulfield]

Thanks for posting the solution! It is always helpful for people to see the final solution.

Great to hear that you got it working! :)