FB & Win7 32bit

**Iamthehor** · 06-13-2009, 11:06 AM

I haven't installed MDX yet, but the drivers and .dll + VB control seem to work normally. Using the FBdemo by MX270a & my re-written version, i had no errors & everything worked fine.

I'm just using win7 as a 2nd boot OS to test/code for my pyro controller as i ordered a new laptop with vista 64bit. I'll probably go win7 when available (and laptop sound is sorted out-doesn't work right now), it's a better all-around OS than Vista.

**2k1Toaster** · 06-13-2009, 11:12 AM

Good to know it works.

The limiting factor for 64bit systems is the Managed DirectX dll's that MDX uses for graphics. For some reason Microsoft in its infinite wisdom did not make them 64bit compatible, so for the app to use them, it basically limits it to 32bit. Everything else is written in .NET so it should work on any OS or system that can run .NET.

**PaulF** · 06-13-2009, 11:23 AM

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

The limiting factor for 64bit systems is the Managed DirectX dll's that MDX uses for graphics. For some reason Microsoft in its infinite wisdom did not make them 64bit compatible, so for the app to use them, it basically limits it to 32bit. Everything else is written in .NET so it should work on any OS or system that can run .NET.

Microsoft was probably trying to get programmers to migrate to DirectX 10.

Have you checked if the libraries exist in DirectX 10?

**2k1Toaster** · 06-13-2009, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by PaulF

Microsoft was probably trying to get programmers to migrate to DirectX 10.

Have you checked if the libraries exist in DirectX 10?

I have not checked but I thought that DX10 was all unmanaged. I rarely ever code with non-GDI graphics so it was simplest to use managed DX9 with managed code, rather than wrapping it all to DX10. I can give it another shot I suppose but like I said I do not do DX very well.

**Iamthehor** · 06-15-2009, 09:46 AM

So MDX is the limiting factor on 64bit? I tried quickly on vista 64bit & the drivers didn't load properly & allow the FB to connect properly (didn't try to troubleshoot very hard). Might try a little harder, but i left my power supply at home today (dumb considering my network is down & i have time to screw around).

**2k1Toaster** · 06-15-2009, 09:55 AM

The drivers may or may not work but CAN work. I dont think I included all the x64 dependencies since the software cant be used currently.

Also note that with Vista x64 you are in a whole different ballpark with unsigned drivers. It wont install them without some registry hacking. So unless you have done that, no drivers that are not signed or do not contain a backdoor will not install properly.

**Iamthehor** · 06-15-2009, 10:31 AM

MDX & VB both seem to work normally on Win7 32bit. The updater said "no install paths found" on the first 2 tries, but worked normally just now. configurator seemed to work ok as well (didn't make any changes, but it opened & ran normally)

vista 64 loads the drivers, but the VB demo can't connect to the v3 or v4 (only have v3 here to test right now, but it worked the same at home). is there something different in how 64bit OS handles usb addressing? Would the .dll not function properly?

**mx270a** · 06-22-2009, 09:32 PM

Originally Posted by 2k1Toaster

The drivers may or may not work but CAN work. I dont think I included all the x64 dependencies since the software cant be used currently.

If you're bored, add me to the list looking for x64 driver support eventually. My development box is currently running on Windows 7 64bit (which is working great).

-Lance

**Iamthehor** · 06-23-2009, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by mx270a

If you're bored, add me to the list looking for x64 driver support eventually. My development box is currently running on Windows 7 64bit (which is working great).

-Lance

The little testing I've done leads me to believe it's the .dll that doesn't like x64. the drivers loaded fine & the brain shows up in the device manager the same as x86 windows, but i can't get your FBDemo program to connect to either a v3 or v4.

I'm currently re-learning VB, I hope to look at C# once i feel a little more informed (I can edit code, not great at starting from scratch - I'd never have gotten any of this to work w/o your FBDemo). I'd like to poke around the .dll, but don't hold your breath. But hey, if the weather is anything like it is here, you should have plenty of time waiting for it to dry out enough to plant. My grandparents still have a couple hundred acres of EARLY beans to plant, once the wheat is cut anyway

**mx270a** · 06-23-2009, 04:33 PM

For now, I'm going to continue to do FB testing on a 32 bit XP machine. All the production hardware is 32 bit. x64 drivers would simply be a convenience thing for me on the main development machine.

I did try the FB drivers, and they wouldn't even install on this Windows 7 64 bit machine.

One possibility I haven't tried yet is to map the USB device to a Virtual PC Windows XP instance.

We finished planting over a month ago, and our crops look great. Been a bit on the wet side for the last week, but with this 90 degree weather, wet soil is much better than bone dry.