ActivBoard +2

[AlexPilot]

I have a problem with one of our interactive whiteboards that I can find no support or help for on the promethean website. I wondered if anyone has ever had the promethean icon flash red on and off and not connect via the USB cable. The problem started last week and when I replaced the USB cable it worked fine, now it has started again and its really bugging me as everything seems fine.

[witch]

Sure it's not the USB port on the computer? They do go after a while - I'm sure you have tried the other ports but sometimes we do forget the obvious

[ricki]

HI

Now please dont hold me to this as I am working off memory only, but I think I remember that some of these boards needed a firmware update.

I remember having to update a few myself but its been a long while back.

Have a look on the prometian site.

Richard

[mortstar]

Had something similar (can't remember the flashing light sequence on the board - but it wasn't solid white) and it was a faulty PSU - can you take a PSU from a different board and see if it works?

[penfold]

If you contact Promeathean they will ask you to ensure that you have the latest version of the software installed. The latest drivers and uninstall and reinstall everything. There is a folder somewhere (cant remember where sorry) where it stores all the local user settings, you can delete the contents of this folder and do a quick reinstall after doing this.

However, does the board work sometimes? You can try using a different pen(if you have another board that works) as it can sometimes be the pen - you may get "spiking" which is when the cursor jumps round the screen regardless of where you are trying to click. But when this happened to me it needed the circuit board replaced on the IWB. Promeathean sent out a guy and had it fixed straight away. Had to try all their phone help before they would send anyone out as they like to know you have the latest drivers before sending anyone.

Edit - If you have a spare laptop you can try connecting it up to the IWB to ensure that it's not the PC if the problem still persists. And officially they dont support any USB cable that goes over 5m.

[Promethean]

Hi,

Alexpilot, email Promethean at tech.support@prometheanworld.com.
They should be able to help you.

Radek

[Michael]

I recently installed the latest Promethean Driver and it is well worth installing.

[cmssbrie]

Hi AlexPilot,

Firstly, make sure you are using driver 4.1.13 or above. Secondly, if you are using any USB extenders, it may be worth eliminating these as the cause of the problem - we have seen similar incidents like yours, and it has been down to USB extenders without boosters in - and therefore the signal isn't strong enough getting to the PC.

If you are still having problems after this, it may be worth you giving Support a call, and telling them what you have already tried.

HTH

[AlexPilot]

What I have done is narrowed it down to the USB connection, however now sure which end. I unplug the cable and re insert it into a different USB slot. The board starts up fine two beeps and all is well the pen works and its still calibrated. However two hours later the problem recurred, and pulling the cable in and out is obviously not aceptable.

I spoke to tech support at promethean and the guy had never come accross this problem before, and advised me to re install the driver. Later on I did that, and it worked. But not being able to replicate the error without waiting for it to do it I cannot tell yet if it has worked. So we will wait and see tommorow.

Thanks for everyones help.

[elsiegee40]

Have you got another machine you run this board from?

It would prove whether it's the IWB or the machine

[AlexPilot]

Originally Posted by elsiegee40

Have you got another machine you run this board from?

It would prove whether it's the IWB or the machine

Yes, however if i cannot force the error instead have to wait for it to occour I cannot tellif any changes I make will fix it first.

[penfold]

As cmssbrie has said, it sounds like it could be a USB extention problem. I have had this problem in a room where the guys who installed it (not promethean) used 2 USB cables to go through the roof and down the wall where the sockets were mounted. By removing one of the USB cables and going directly to the PC solved the problem.

Have you got a USB cable going directly from the board into the PC or has it been installed through a wall mounted connection?

[DarrenC]

The red flashing light generally means a connection fault I agree that this does sound like a USB extender issue. If you have the USB running over 5 metres or 2 connected this will definitly be the problem.

[AlphaJoker]

This may sound strange, but with some of our installs, we have found that if it is not the generally accepted fixes (for flashing red) such as a bad power brick, firmware, or cabling - then the disconnect/reconnect issue has turned out to be either 1)the video splitter is incompatible (if you are using one), or 2) The video card driver. We have had instances wherein the actual video card driver was causing this issue. These problems were on Dell systems with the factory installed video. The other issue, with the video splitter, (odd as it seens) actually caused the board to constantly disconnect, then reconnect - over and over again; there was no flashing red in this case though. Just remember that when the problem isn't solved by the regular means - it's possible that something 'irregular' is causing it. We've installed over 2500 boards in the last 4 months - so we've almost come across everything. That said, I'm sure we've not seen it all - and something new will arise before long.

AJ