Does Zoomfloppy V8 firmware upgrade remove compatibility with Win XP?

[Gerald Rankin]

Hi, I hope I am not intruding here as a home user.

I managed to create my own problems with my ZoomFloppy recently. 

My Win 7, X64 was setup with VICE x86 v3.1, and CBM Xfer. It hadn't been updated and I was able to communicate with my 1541 over ZoomFloppy.(Zoomfloppy 2.0). It had been on for a while.

My bright idea was to upgrade VICE to X64. I have an Intel machine.

I didn't realize until , it didn't work that I had to have a matching X64 version of OpenCBM as well.

I attempted to get that corrected and wound up losing communication with Zoomfloppy.

I uninstalled OpenCBM, VICE and CBM Xfer multiple times and finally removed the libusbxx.dll s from System32 and SYSWOW. 

 I was trying to start from a blank canvas.

I even updated ZoomFloppy to V.8, thinking that may help. It didn't solve my problem.

I also have a Win XP x32 PC that was using VICE x86 and Zoomfloppy and worked well.

After upgrading the Zoom, I saw a message that said, in effect, that WinXP wasn't new enough for my ZoomFloppy anymore.

Currently I have CBM Transfer able to work with my ZoomFloppy, but VICE V3.2 x86 on my Win 7 X64 won't talk to it. CBM Transfer is in the programs (X86) folder and OpenCBM is on my F:\ drive.

Here is my question, can I downgrade my Zoom back to version.7 firmware?

If that gets done, will I  be able to reconstruct everything back to the X32 versions I was using and still work on my Win XP PC? 

It was working fine, and I caused the problem by trying to upgrade for no better reason, than upgrading.

Does anybody have time for some advice?

Thanks

[Spiro Trikaliotis]

Hello Gerald,

the ZF firmware 8 should work the same on XP as did firmware 7. Don't
worry about that part.

I assume you also upgraded the OpenCBM version. I do not know which
version you had before, but the new one is, most probably, one of
0.4.99.100, 0.4.99.101, 0.4.99.102 or 0.4.99.103, right? These changed
the libusb driver that is needed; while older versions needed libusb0
(which is really outdated), the newer ones need libusb1. In order to
install this, it used zadig.exe or libwdi.

* On Thu, Apr 01, 2021 at 03:58:30PM -0700 Gerald Rankin wrote:

> After upgrading the Zoom, I saw a message that said, in effect, that WinXP
> wasn't new enough for my ZoomFloppy anymore.

The exact message would have been important. I assume it was zadig.exe that
said it does not support XP (or, depending on your version of OpenCBM,
it might also be my installation script).

In this case, use zadig.exe in a version of XP (a web search showed me
this one:
https://www.afterdawn.com/software/system_tools/manage_external_devices/zadig-for-windows-xp.cfm)
and try to reinstall the driver. Make sure to use the "WinUSB" driver
(as shown on the screenshot on this page) for the zoomfloppy device.

> Here is my question, can I downgrade my Zoom back to version.7 firmware?

You can, but for this, you must have a working setup. Additionally, this
should not be your problem.

Regards,
Spiro.

--
Spiro R. Trikaliotis
https://spiro.trikaliotis.net/

[Gerald Rankin]

Thank you so very much for taking time to respond to me.

Happy Easter, if you observe.

I must ask, how are you and your family coping?

In my part of Canada, my age group will be eligible for vaccination soon.

At least the upgrade is not an additional problem to be concerned over.

With your recommendations, I will ensure my libx .dlls are libusb1.dll in either System32 ( for x32)  OR  SYS wow (for x64).

The Zadig link didn't work but I found v2.3 for all windows. I will attempt this  tonight.

Would it cause any problems if they were both present? 

I mean should only System 32 have the libusb and NOT SysWow for x32 bit usage?

The last OpenCBM I installed on Win7 was , I believe, V0.4.00.103, using i386(x32), so it is on my F: drive root.

I installed CBM Transfer, the latest version, as well and it is in Program Files (X86) for x32 bit use. It works by the way.

Now, will it make a difference which version of X32 VICE I use? Shall I just try and see which one works instead?

If I go that route, will I have a problem with lingering files, such as Vice.ini or Vice.log left over from versions that didn't work as I liked?

Do I have to search and destroy those files when changing versions? Does the active version of VICE overwrite the previous vice.ini and vice.log file?

Vice doesn't really have an installer, it just works from a folder.

I apologize for the length here, but if I am not clear to you, you will not be able to guide me.

Computer Science is not my first language, so I do blunder sometimes.

Many Thanks.

G Rankin

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[Gerald Rankin]

Hi, again. 

Reply when convenient for yourself.

I have some updates for my little problem.

On my Win 7 x64 PC, I was successful in installing 0.4.99.103 and it worked with CBM transfer.

I eventually reinstalled WinVICE v3.1 x86 ( I think I started with that one before upgrading to an X64 version) and it worked just fine with my CBM drive. The newer versions of x32 VICE and GTK x32 VICE would not , at least for me.

That should be settled, I hope. I at least now have the newer version of OpenCBM.

On my WinXp PC, I tried to install 0.4.99.103 but found I had to answer to the administrator password, which I have never created for a home machine.

I went ahead and made a password , but I got stopped during the installation, with an error stating looking for "xp.drv". I did the same install on a different WinXp laptop with the same result.

Can I bypass the administrator password query in the Install.batch file? Or, where can I get / create the xp-drv?

I expect the password is necessary on Win7 and higher, but is it needed for a home XP?

Regards'

G Rankin