Problems with PowerLinc 1132U

[garbel]

Hello,

I am having several problems with my PowerLinc 1132u X10/USB interface.

My old PC died so I purchase a new Windows 7 machine.

Problem 1:
I downloaded the latest version of HS2 and used the Installer to go out and get the PowerLinc USB Driver.

a.) If I reboot the PC, it will never boot with this USB device plugged in. I went into
the bios and disabled all modes of booting except for the internal hard drive. Very strange.
If I unplugged the 1132u, the PC will boot.

b.) If I connect the 1132, after the PC boots, HS2 doesn't find it. During the initialization sequence, it knows about the driver but cannot find the device itself. I tried plugging it directly into the PC and also a Power Hub (a hint from another thread).

So for this first problem, I cannot use the 1132u at all.

Problem 2:

As an experiment, I installed HS2 on a XP Laptop. I used HS to download the PowerLinc USB driver.

If I try to boot the laptop with the 1132u plugged in, it will hang .. never boots. If I unplug the USB cable it will boot. If I plug the 1132u back in, after the laptop boots, then HS does see it and works as expected.

I would like to get my system setup on the Windows 7 machine.

Any ideas?

Regards,
Gary B

[Rupp]

What drivers did you load for this device. This device uses the built in Human Interface and doesn't require a driver so if unplugging it and plugging it back in doesn't cause the OS to popup a new hardware message then it has more than likely died.

[garbel]

Response ..

Thanks for the reply.

When I first installed HS2, it didn't have support for the PowerLinc USB 1132u device. I tried plugging it in before and after starting HS2.

I went to "X10 Powerline and Wireless Interface Plug-Ins" section of the update website and selected "PowerLinc 1132(CU) USB Plug-in" and did the update. When I restarted HomeSeer, it did try to start this device but failed with: Com Plugin Error - Error initializing PowerLinc USB: Unable to fine PowerLinc Device.

It shows up in Control Panel/Devices/USB section as an Unknown Device.

I don't know if I have one or two problems: one problem being that it doesn't see the device and one problem of booting with it connected. Booting the PC with this device connection hangs forever. This also happens on the XP laptop that I have it connected to now.

It should be noted that I'm using the 30 day trial version. I need to get my license on it at some point but for now I just need to get it running.

Thanks again,
Gary B

[Rupp]

I'm not sure what to recommend unless the device is not working. It's typically as easy as plugging the device into the HomeSeer PC and enabling the Powerlinc plugin. Do you have other software running that may be "grabbing" the device prior to HomeSeer?

[garbel]

I don't believe I have any other software that is grabbing the device.

So, is it safe to assume the PowerLinc USB 1132u is ok on Windows 7 64-bit?

Instead of this device, do you have a recommended replacement? I know Smarthome
has a dual band one that does X10 and RF.

I would be interested on why both my Windows 7 and my XP laptop won't boot when
the PowerLinc is plugged in. This is even before Windows starts up so I assumed it
was a bios thing. I made absolutely sure that the possibility of booting off of a USB
device was disabled.

Thanks again ...

Regards,
GaryB

[langenet]

I'd be curious to see how this would behave with a PCI based USB controller. They are cheap. I would recommend one with the NEC chipset.

[Rupp]

I don't believe I have any other software that is grabbing the device.

So, is it safe to assume the PowerLinc USB 1132u is ok on Windows 7 64-bit?

Instead of this device, do you have a recommended replacement? I know Smarthome
has a dual band one that does X10 and RF.

I would be interested on why both my Windows 7 and my XP laptop won't boot when
the PowerLinc is plugged in. This is even before Windows starts up so I assumed it
was a bios thing. I made absolutely sure that the possibility of booting off of a USB
device was disabled.

Thanks again ...

Regards,
GaryB

Are you running any antivirus software? Is it common on both PC's? The best x10 interface left is the TI-103.
http://store.homeseer.com/store/X-C45.aspx

[garbel]

Looks like I found the problem..

Hello,
I got it working.

I used the updater and added the CM15a USB interface to my configuration. I rebooted everything and then went in and disabled the CM15A and left the PowerLinc USB enabled.

I am now able to reboot the machine without it hanging and Windows 7 now sees the 1132u X10 interface.

That was interesting....

Regards,
Gary B.