Beyond Frustrated with Railpro

[emd_16645]

Tim,

Got internet access and have HC Sim 2.05 running from the link you sent me previously.  Direct download was problematic.  Got some sounds downloading for now.

How do I update HC Sim to 2.09?  I haven't figured that part out yet.

Thanks for the help.

[KPack]

The current version for HC-Sim is 2.05. 

The current version for the LM-3S is 2.09. 

The versions are specific to the piece of hardware...they do not all match up.  Originally everything was 2.00 when the last major update was released, but since then some products have had more updates than other.  The LM-3S has had more updates than the HC.

-Kevin

[emd_16645]

Thanks for clarifying.  I thought I read that HC Sim was up to 2.09.  My bad.

[emd_16645]

Ok, I have another gripe (you may slap me now).  Is it just me, or is the HC Sim/CI-1 plain stupid?  I sat down and loaded a bunch of sounds to the CI-1 this afternoon.  Now I go to load a LM3S, and there literally are no files there.  Secondly, it seems the HC Sim is constantly forgetting settings.  Locomotive names, pictures, etc. are all fair game to be forgotten.  Its like periodically it jumps back to a previous setting.  Is this avoidable?

[Alan]

<slap>

The CI-1 is nothing more than a transmitter/receiver. There is no loading anything to it. It sounds like you may have it confused with a USB memory stick.

[emd_16645]

<slap>

The CI-1 is nothing more than a transmitter/receiver. There is no loading anything to it. It sounds like you may it confused with a USB memory stick.

Thanks. I figured it had to work in that way due to the way it seemed to work. RPA shows the files on my computer, but HC Sim isn’t recognizing them. I can’t transfer them because the HC Sim is insisting on internet access again 🙄

[TwinStar]

<slap>

The CI-1 is nothing more than a transmitter/receiver. There is no loading anything to it. It sounds like you may it confused with a USB memory stick.

Thanks. I figured it had to work in that way due to the way it seemed to work. RPA shows the files on my computer, but HC Sim isn’t recognizing them. I can’t transfer them because the HC Sim is insisting on internet access again 🙄

Don't take this the wrong way...

I sat down a few months ago to update several LM's. I hadn't used HC-Sim and RPA in some time so I was going by memory. I'm a long time RailPro user and I know what I'm doing. 15 minutes into it and I'm cussing at my computer and Tim Ring at the same time. I finally got the user manual up online and started reading. I was doing it bass ackwards the whole time. Once I started doing things correctly it worked like a charm.

Long story, quick question: Are you following the steps in the correct order?

[KPack]

Lol, done that myself too.   

[G8B4Life]

you may slap me now

I'm not going to slap you, your safe from that 

First things first, now that you have HC Sim 2.05 installed does it recognise the CI-1 as "installed" when HC Sim is running and you can use HC Sim to access and control your locomotive?

HC Sim doesn't access the internet. Even though the update screen says "Waiting for Internet", it's actually communicating with RPA.

From the sounds of it you do have the procedure correct for downloading files as you said that you were downloading some sounds just a couple of posts back but we'll check anyway.

Both RPA and HC Sim are running at the same time when you try to download.
You do have a file in the "Download list to Handheld Controller" area in RPA.

What error message is shown when you say HC Sim "insists on internet access"? I'm guessing the error message you are seeing in HC Sim is one that says "Cannot Connect" after the "Waiting for Internet" screen? This would indicate RPA is not running.

As for HC Sim forgetting stuff, you can try running HC Sim with administrator privileges. You shouldn't need to but if something on your PC has decided that HC Sim has no right to write to the hard disk then changes in HC Sim (downloads, renamed locomotives etc) will be lost upon closing HC Sim.

- Tim

[emd_16645]

Don't take this the wrong way...

No worries, I have a thick skin.  I can be pretty dumb when it comes to this, so a thick skin is necessary.

First things first, now that you have HC Sim 2.05 installed does it recognise the CI-1 as "installed" when HC Sim is running and you can use HC Sim to access and control your locomotive?

Yes, I can access and control locomotives now.

HC Sim doesn't access the internet. Even though the update screen says "Waiting for Internet", it's actually communicating with RPA.

From the sounds of it you do have the procedure correct for downloading files as you said that you were downloading some sounds just a couple of posts back but we'll check anyway.

Both RPA and HC Sim are running at the same time when you try to download.
You do have a file in the "Download list to Handheld Controller" area in RPA.

Yes, that list is shown in RPA.  I added the files I wanted to the list, then used HC Sim to Update software.  Everything seemed to work as expected, except when I got home there were no files on the HC Sim.

What error message is shown when you say HC Sim "insists on internet access"? I'm guessing the error message you are seeing in HC Sim is one that says "Cannot Connect" after the "Waiting for Internet" screen? This would indicate RPA is not running.

Yes, when I am not connected to the internet, I get the "Waiting for Internet" on the HC followed by "Cannot Connect".

As for HC Sim forgetting stuff, you can try running HC Sim with administrator privileges. You shouldn't need to but if something on your PC has decided that HC Sim has no right to write to the hard disk then changes in HC Sim (downloads, renamed locomotives etc) will be lost upon closing HC Sim.

- Tim

That is a very interesting point.  My computer has not liked running RP programs, it sees them as a security risk.  I will try using HC Sim in admin mode and see if I get better results.

The question is, how can I get HC Sim to draw files shown as on the computer in RPA when there is not a connection to the internet?

[Alan]

That is a very interesting point.  My computer has not liked running RP programs, it sees them as a security risk.  I will try using HC Sim in admin mode and see if I get better results.

It is my understanding you must always run RP software in Admin mode (at least I always have) because the software writes to the C:Program Files directory. It is a good thing Windows requires authentication before allowing software to write there. Not doing so would present a huge security risk.

[emd_16645]

That is a very interesting point.  My computer has not liked running RP programs, it sees them as a security risk.  I will try using HC Sim in admin mode and see if I get better results.

It is my understanding you must always run RP software in Admin mode (at least I always have) because the software writes to the C:Program Files directory. It is a good thing Windows requires authentication before allowing software to write there. Not doing so would present a huge security risk.

I'm not complaining about the security, and I agree its a good thing.  However, I think it is foolish for Rind to setup his software to rely on the program files.  That's just one more area that can use improvement.

[KPack]

Be sure that when you are trying to transfer file to the HC-Sim that you are actually selecting files that are on the computer currently.  If you are selecting files from the upper row of buttons then you are downloading them from the Ring server.  You must select the lower row of buttons to use files from the computer. 

I just turned off all internet connection, wireless and otherwise, and confirmed that I can download local files from RPA on the to HC-Sim without having to be connected to the internet.

If the HC-Sim is showing "waiting for internet", it is really just saying that it's waiting for a response from RPA....nothing to do with the internet in this case.  Does RPA show that the HC-Sim is connected when you have both programs opened up?  If not, close HC-Sim and open it again and see if that makes a difference.

-Kevin

[emd_16645]

Opened both in admin mode and transfer between RPA and HC Sim appears to be running fine without internet. I’m happy it’s working but it’s so frustrating too.

[Alan]

Operating Rail Pro and landing rockets... same skill set.