PSR-800 & Windows 8

[zzdiesel]

Anyone tried using EX-Scan on Win 8? As usual even though it has been RTM; released to manufacturer there is not a working driver.

 

[SCPD]

I still run XP . . and until it dies I am not going to go with anything else. I believe in the old saying "If it isn't broken .. don't fix it". So .. I am not one that is going to use the latest and greatest as it is usually more trouble than it is worth.

 

[zzdiesel]

Thanks, I've every one of them so far.

 

[kruser]

I guess we are at GRE's mercy with this one.
I tried all my FTDI based adapters and they work fine under Win 8 but I did not try the PSR800 nor any of my Prolific based interfaces and adapters.

 

[zzdiesel]

My FTDI Radio Shark 2047 works well on Win 8, but I can't use my Prolific serial Uniden cable yet either.

 

[kruser]

I guess the HP1 users may be in the same boat also. I did not think about that one either when I tried the RTM of Win 8.

I just can't force myself to like the metro interface in Win 8 so I'd imagine I'll be one of the slow ones to use it on a regular basis.

I also still have a bunch of XP machines at home and work but I mainly run Win 7 at home and maybe 35% of the machines at work.

 

[mike_s104]

If you don't like the new interface, I believe the program Display Fusion can show a Win7 interface. I use it at work and home but not on Win8. I'm pretty sure I read in a change log that they added that in a recent version.

If I have a chance tomorrow, I'll try the EZ Scan software on it.

 

[mike_s104]

EZ Scan v1.06 installs, loads and updates correctly in Win8 as far as I can tell. I did not try a lot of the settings and functions. I also did not try it with the scanner.

 

[zzdiesel]

EZ Scan v1.06 installs, loads and updates correctly in Win8 as far as I can tell. I did not try a lot of the settings and functions. I also did not try it with the scanner.

The program itself works fine in Win 8, but there is no driver for the 800's cable in Win 8. I just used a usb adapter to update my micro sd card.

 

[KeyWest35]

I had problems too with a new computer and windows 8. Someone who knows more than i do figured it out that i had to hookup my 800's cable to the USB port then restart the computer. Once it is restarted it recognizes my device and the USB port. It is a bit of a pain but hey it works.

 

[kc2kth]

Here's what I've done

I still use ARC250 with my BC296D as well as Win500 for my pro-197 (and possibly soon a psr-500 as well). To avoid all of the upgrade headaches I keep Windows XP around in the form of a virtual machine and these apps run in that vm. My computers have all been Mac for the past six years, but I'm still able to use the above apps in XP (including using a serial to USB converter). I happen to be using Parallels to host my virutal machine, but free solutions like Virtualbox would likely work just as well. I believe vmware still has a free solution as well?

 

[zzdiesel]

With Windows 8 being officially released; hopefully they update the driver soon.

 

[djewel73]

Any ETA on a Win8 driver solution for PSR800?

I had to update the desktop to Win 8 due a major OS failure on my desktop and now I cant do anything with my scanner except to update the libraries through the USB cable (although Ive usually done it by taking out the memory card and putting it in a reader to work faster). Really wish this would get fixed soon but my worry is with the GRE failure Im thinking it may not be for awhile.

 

[JlMMY]

Windows 8

EZ Scan v1.06 installs, loads and updates correctly in Win8 as far as I can tell. I did not try a lot of the settings and functions. I also did not try it with the scanner.

Same here. I can use the software with an external card reader but the driver's for the scanner radio (used for DSP and CPU programming) do not work for me, running Windows 8 Pro. No problems with Windows 7.

 

[GrumpyAeroGuy]

Not that it is convenient...... but........

Guess one could set up a virtual machine (assuming your hardware supports it) with XP, and run it that way....

VMWare has a free client... and MS offers a VM with XP for free (at least they did with Win7). Maybe overkill, but a solution none-the-less.

 

[RonnieUSA]

Same here. I can use the software with an external card reader but the driver's for the scanner radio (used for DSP and CPU programming) do not work for me, running Windows 8 Pro. No problems with Windows 7.

Have you tried running it in compatibility mode?
That should solve your problem.

 

[JlMMY]

Windows 8 firmware update driver support

Have you tried running it in compatibility mode?
That should solve your problem.

Thanks. The software works fine and recognizes the SD card whether via the USB - scanner or an external reader. I am having no problem saving profiles and updating the library. I just can't get the PSR-800 driver to communicate (yellow triangle in device manager) with the scanner for updating the dsp and cpu? I had to use my Windows 7 machine to get the latest firmware updates.

 

[MORSEMAN]

Windows 8 installation of unsigned driver

After getting a hint from GRE and doing some more looking into this I wrote down how I got Windows 8 to work with the PSR 800 driver for updates. I am not sure if this is called compatibility mode or not but the following worked for me. I could not find that this had been posted anywhere so I thought that I would add it. I hope this helps someone.

Windows 8 installation of unsigned driver for GRE PSR800

1-Copy .inf file from the PSR800 CD to a folder on your computer
2-When you are signed in to Windows 8 as Administrator connect the PSR 800. It will then attempt to load the driver and appear to succeed but the driver will not be working at that point.
3-Load the Charms Bar by pointing the mouse at the upper right hand corner of the screen.
4-Select Power and hit restart while holding down the Shift key.
5-A selection of Troubleshooting options will come up, select the Troubleshoot option
6-Another page will appear, select Advanced Options.
7-The next page will display several repair options, Select the Startup Settings to change the behavior of Windows Startup and then click restart on the next page.
8- A menu with 9 selections will appear. Select #7 or F7 to disable Driver Signature enforcement.
9 Windows 8 will restart.
10-With the PSR 800 still connected open Device Manager from the Control Panel. Select the Com port assigned to the PSR 800 and select Update Driver.
11-Select Browse and point it to the folder in which you copied the .inf file from the PSR 800 CD.
12-Install this Driver. An alert screen will pop up to warn you that this is an unsigned driver, Select install anyway. This will load the unsigned driver and allow it to work with EZScan
13-Check to see if it is working by Starting EZScan and selecting Scanner SD Card and select to set the Real Time Clock to Computer time. If it does it successfully you are good to go.

 

[EricMCSE76]

Windows 8 COM driver - this works

After getting a hint from GRE and doing some more looking into this I wrote down how I got Windows 8 to work with the PSR 800 driver for updates. I am not sure if this is called compatibility mode or not but the following worked for me. I could not find that this had been posted anywhere so I thought that I would add it. I hope this helps someone.

Windows 8 installation of unsigned driver for GRE PSR800

1-Copy .inf file from the PSR800 CD to a folder on your computer
2-When you are signed in to Windows 8 as Administrator connect the PSR 800. It will then attempt to load the driver and appear to succeed but the driver will not be working at that point.
3-Load the Charms Bar by pointing the mouse at the upper right hand corner of the screen.
4-Select Power and hit restart while holding down the Shift key.
5-A selection of Troubleshooting options will come up, select the Troubleshoot option
6-Another page will appear, select Advanced Options.
7-The next page will display several repair options, Select the Startup Settings to change the behavior of Windows Startup and then click restart on the next page.
8- A menu with 9 selections will appear. Select #7 or F7 to disable Driver Signature enforcement.
9 Windows 8 will restart.
10-With the PSR 800 still connected open Device Manager from the Control Panel. Select the Com port assigned to the PSR 800 and select Update Driver.
11-Select Browse and point it to the folder in which you copied the .inf file from the PSR 800 CD.
12-Install this Driver. An alert screen will pop up to warn you that this is an unsigned driver, Select install anyway. This will load the unsigned driver and allow it to work with EZScan
13-Check to see if it is working by Starting EZScan and selecting Scanner SD Card and select to set the Real Time Clock to Computer time. If it does it successfully you are good to go.

This workaround worked perfectly for me. The clock updated, firmware update check worked. Thanks!

 

[N4KVE]

I still run XP . . and until it dies I am not going to go with anything else. I believe in the old saying "If it isn't broken .. don't fix it". So .. I am not one that is going to use the latest and greatest as it is usually more trouble than it is worth.

I'm with you 1000% on this. I have 6 machines, & they are all on XP which is stable & does everything I need. No need to have the latest & greatest, only to be a lab rat for Microsoft. All my machines are used for programming radios, & using Windows 7, or 8, wont make programming any better. So why use it. If I was a major gamer, then yes, I'd have a new machine & only use it for gaming. XP works, is stable, so no need for the latest & greatest. Hey, all those people who waited outside Best Buy to get the latest machine last week probably have an XP machine with a serial port to sell for $100, or less. Buy that & make it the dedicated radio programming machine.