 Help page
Tekin's HotWire requires drivers to allow Windows to communicate
between the software and the HotWire/Speed Control. The drivers
currently used are Human Interface Device (HID) and are included as part of
Windows XP and Windows Vista. Older HotWire software required that
special drivers get installed (USBExpress) before connecting the HotWire to
the PC. The best approach to determine if you are having troubles
related to an older HotWire unit is to connect it to your PC and observe the
LED display on the unit. If you have an older HotWire unit, it will
brightly display one green LED and five red LEDs when it is attached to the
USB cable/computer. Newer HotWire units will display one green LED
brightly on with the 5 red LEDs dimly visible. Some things that may
help are:
- New HotWire unit with the HID software (one bright green LED)
when connected will automatically be identified and are automatically
found when the HotWire software is run.
- Older HotWire units (one bright green LED, 5 bright red LEDs) can
be misidentified by the computer and cause problems. If you are
unable to connect to your speed control correctly, scan the list of
errors below to try to identify how to resolve your issue.
- Older HotWire units that are currently working when connected to
the computer will be automatically upgraded to the newer HID type when
the latest Hotwire software is installed and run.
Error Descriptions
Unable to find the
HotWire! Check that the HotWire is connected and the USB cable is plugged
in then try restarting the HotWire software.
If anything other than exactly ONE HotWire is
connected to a PC, then the software doesn't have an easy way of knowing
what to do with data transfers so it generates an error message and shuts
down the software. What I mean by exactly ONE is this: If no HotWire unit
determined to be is connected, the HotWire software will generate the same
error as it would if someone were to connect 2 HotWires to the computer. Try
checking the USB where it plugs in to the HotWire, it needs to be seated
pretty firmly--the power pins will connect and make it light up the HotWire
even if the data pins are not connected.
If that didn't work, the next part is a little
more involved but not to bad; The original HotWire release required that
several drivers be installed BEFORE connecting the HotWire to the PC--this
has been changed but may be causing trouble as well. Basically, if the
HotWire was connected to the PC before the software was installed, Windows
would register the HotWire with the system as an "unknown device". The fun
part is that even if the drivers were then correctly installed, Windows had
already decided what to do with the HotWire any time it saw it--it just
listed it as an “unknown device” again and left it at that. Whee. To find
out if this is the problem and fix it, try the following:
1. Disconnect the Hotwire from your
computer, then in Windows, click the "Start" button and right click "My
Computer" (just "Computer" in Windows Vista)
2. Click the "Properties" item to open up
the System Properties window.
3. Select the Hardware tab and click the
Device Manager button to open the Device Manager window (in Vista just
choose the "Device Manager" item in the left pane). This shows all the
devices connected to your computer.
4. At the bottom of the window there should
be a little '+' symbol next to the line 'Universal Serial Bus
controllers'. Click the '+' to display all the USB devices used by your
PC--there will likely be a bunch of items even if you have no USB
devices actually connected (most are internal hardware used by your PC).
5. Plug the HotWire into the USB cable and
watch to see what changes in the Device Manager window--we want it to
list the HotWire in the USB controllers list. If it shows up as an
unknown device, particularly if it has a yellow circle with an
exclamation point in it, right click it and choose "Uninstall"--this was
the problem. Actually, even if it is recognized as the HotWire, we want
to right click it and choose uninstall.
6. So, if everything up thru number five
has happened, we have gotten rid of the "Unknown Device" and should now
be able to get things fixed pretty easy--just follow the next few steps.
(BTW, if you were NOT able to do all the steps above, you might need to
contact tech support for some more personal assistance. You can either
call us or email, calling might get things resolved the quickest.
7. Disconnect and reconnect your HotWire,
this should start the "Found New Hardware Wizard". When it asks you if
it can connect to the internet to look for drivers, choose "no" then hit
"next". Choose the "Install from a specific location" then hit
"next"--we will tell it where to find the drivers so that Windows is
sure to get it right this time.
8. Check the box that says "Include this
location in your search". This will light up the "Browse" button, click
on it and use the "Browse For Folders" window to navigate to the where
the HotWire software is installed--the default location is under "My
Computer" and is C:\Program Files\Tekin HotWire. Choose the "Drivers"
Folder and the OK button should light up--click the OK button.
9. You should be back in the Hardware
Wizard, click the next button and the wizard will start the search. It
should find the drivers and flash a warning that says "this software has
not passed Logo testing"--Hit the "Continue Anyway" button.
After the drivers install, click finish and
you should be good to go! Try running the HotWire software, because you
said you downloaded and installed the latest version from the web, it
may automatically perform an update to the software in the little
HotWire device and then shut down again--it will tell you if it does
so--you might need to restart the HotWire software one past time. If all
is well, you can now plug in your speed control and it should establish
communications and proceed to the adjustment window.
Please do call us if there are any issues,
we all have been there and get pretty frustrated when software that we
have paid good money for gives us any problems, so we hate to see anyone
in this situation with our software.
HotWire Installation Help/Instructions |
