Anyone had luck with Digital Blue deployment?

[jumpinjamez]

I have created a .msi with wininstallle , it installs ok but when a user runs the app it complains about missing files.

 

please help me avoid a visit to 60 machine for tomorrow morning.

 

 

jumpinjamez

[CM786]

None so far....anyway....I could do with the excersie!

[Snuffkins]

Did you connect the digital blue camera before you built the msi? I had the same problem. So i did another msi(clean install) only i connected the camera and let it install all the drivers etc before building the package... Seemed to work ok...

 

Might be worth a try

[eean]

I had an ABSOULTE NIGHTMARE with digital blue! Just couldn't get it to work reliably (without trying to repair itself everytime it opened). Although, I didn't try Snuffkins idea. Then I thought that I could have a msi wrapper and use a silent command - but oh no! It has a pop up that freezes the whole thing.

 

My recipe:

1. Download & install autoit v3 (here) onto your admin computer.

2. Copy script (below) into a txt file and save with the au3 extension. This script checks to see if it has been installed and, if it hasn't, runs setup in silent mode then presses all the right buttons to complete setup.

3. Copy Digiblue cd onto server

4. Edit line: i:\graphics... line to your server location.

5. Compile script to an exe and copy to digiblue folder.

6. Make a username (digiblue). Domain admin rights. No password (temporarily!)

7. Assign digiblue user a logon script that will map a drive to your install share then run the new script exe. Then make it run, psshutdown or shutdown.exe to restart the computer (or you could add that command to the end of the autoit script).

 

Now you (only) have to type digiblue at each computer. It will install itself and restart the computer.

I now have it as part of my xp build, so new computers always get it.

NOTE: I have some computers with small hard drives. So the end of the script checks the hd size and if it is small it deletes all of the large files and then changes some reg keys so it can be run from the server. I then have a snazzy shortcut that will look for it on the local machine, and if it doesn't find it there will load it from the server.

You probably wont want that, so delete everything from the $drivespace line down.

 

;This script gets compiled into an exe

SplashTextOn ("Setup in Progress", "Do not touch this computer. Installing Digital Blue Movie Creator.")
IF FileExists ( "C:\Program Files\Digital Blue\PC Digital Movie Creator 2.0\Driver\dmc2.cat" ) THEN EXIT
$SPID = Run ("i:\graphics\DigitalBlueLocal\Setup.exe -s")
WinWait ("Digital Blue(tm) PC", "United Kingdom")
WinActivate ("Digital Blue(tm) PC", "United Kingdom")
Send ("{TAB}")
Send ("{SPACE}")
ProcessWaitClose ($SPID)


$drivespace = DriveSpaceTotal( "c:\" )

IF $drivespace < 9999 THEN 

; Drive Too small, so delete some of the files. Software will still work over network.
FileDelete ("C:\Program Files\Digital Blue\PC Digital Movie Creator 2.0\*.*")
DirRemove ("C:\Program Files\Digital Blue\PC Digital Movie Creator 2.0\Sounds", 1)
DirRemove ("C:\Program Files\Digital Blue\PC Digital Movie Creator 2.0\User Files", 1)
RegWrite ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Digital Blue\Digital Movie Creator 2.0\1.0", "InstallDirectory", "REG_SZ", "P:\Graphics and Video\Digital Blue PC Movie Creator 2.0\DMC.exe")
RegWrite ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\DMC.exe", "Path", "REG_SZ", "P:\Graphics and Video\Digital Blue PC Movie Creator 2.0")
RegWrite ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\DMC.exe", "", "REG_SZ", "P:\Graphics and Video\Digital Blue PC Movie Creator 2.0\DMC.exe")
RegWrite ("HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\StillImage\Registered Applications", "Digital Blue(tm) Digital Movie Creator 2.0", "REG_SZ", "P:\Graphics and Video\Digital Blue PC Movie Creator 2.0\DMC.exe")
ENDIF

 

P.S. I said to the teacher "Why don't you use windows movie maker?" (As we don't actually have digital blue cameras, but just bought one so we could use the software with our exisiting digital video cameras). "Oh no, it's way too complicated" (not that she'd even tried it!)

I got my year 2 children to make a short documentary with Movie Maker (including voice overs and cutting).

She got halfway through simple editing with year 4 using digiblue and gave up because it's just too annoying! GRRRR!

[eean]

My copy and paste has left some odd new line returns. So here is the the above as a file.

autoitsetup.txt

[CheeseDog]

Did you connect the digital blue camera before you built the msi? I had the same problem. So i did another msi(clean install) only i connected the camera and let it install all the drivers etc before building the package... Seemed to work ok...

 

Might be worth a try

 

Did the same thing but I still need to sit at the computer and install the hradware drivers manually.

 

Software appears to work fine. (Unless you plug the camera in and the drivers aren't installed)

 

Annoyingly I also have the issue where it asks for the drivers everytime it is plugged into a different USB port. (Not an issue with the MSI as it seems to do this anyway)

[_Bat_]

Well isn't this software a flipping pain. I have 50 PCs to install this on and I really don't want to have to visit each one and install it. I even tried the code from eean, but I suspect this was for the older version of the software as it didn't work.

 

I tried to e-mail them earlier today, however the form I'm supposed to fill in on their website is no-where to be found and the only tech support e-mail address I get, when e-mail is sent to it, it just gets returned.

 

I'm really not impressed. I don't see how people can make software for schools and not make it the slightest bit network compatible. Then worst of all, contacting tech support is seemingly impossible.

[Butuz]

Digital blue is a steaming pile of brown stuff.

 

Thank god we only bought 10 cameras before we realised!

 

No more!

 

Andrew

[Cmd.exe]

I second that.

The software is just sooo poor. very 3.1/95 ish.

 

as for the install, I never found a work around to roll out in the time frame provided by the teachers (" I need this for tomorrow"). So visit each machine was the only option.

[becktonboy]

Got the same problem and TOTALLY agree that it is outrageous that this problem has never been solved by the manufacturer or network suppliers (RM in my case). The problem seems to lie with the unsigned driver, requiring local installs.

There are apochryphal stories of strange hitchhikers with axes who knew how to get a db msi to work but ......

 

I worked with our tech one afternoon and we did get the wretched thing to install properly on a couple of stations but then it all went pear- shaped and we've never been able to re-create the magic of that day...

[eean]

Well isn't this software a flipping pain. I have 50 PCs to install this on and I really don't want to have to visit each one and install it. I even tried the code from eean, but I suspect this was for the older version of the software as it didn't work.

 

Quite possible. Try commenting out (using a ; at the beginning of the line) everything after the $SPID = Run line. Then watch to see what messages pop up - the AutoIt script is only required because the -s switch doesn't silence everything. You might need to run autoit in the reveal to get the names of the dialog boxes. Then edit the script for the updated titles and possibly key strokes (check the autoit script manual for how to do this.)

 

EDIT: Oh, and it is still crap.

[alonebfg]

we have 4 of these camreas and about the only good use for them is as a cheap webcam as as soon as you take them off and put them back need to reinstall driver. and need admin rights to do it just wait till the lovly children want to use them. even more fun if pcs are networked. these are only disgined for standalone machines. thats what i was told and to work them propley you need admin rights (like i am going to give a student admin rights even if it is just local.

[_Bat_]

Thanks eean, will give it a go.

 

Incidently, I finally found their REAL support e-mail address and got a reply back as well. It said:

 

"Hi,

You can run the install off of a Network Share, but the software itself must still be locally installed.

 

Best Regards,

Digital Blue"

 

Grrrrr!! I think we should complain about it. If people don't complain, they won't do anything about it (I may e-mail them back and point them towards this thread).

[david12345]

we have 4 of these camreas and about the only good use for them is as a cheap webcam as as soon as you take them off and put them back need to reinstall driver. and need admin rights to do it just wait till the lovly children want to use them. even more fun if pcs are networked. these are only disgined for standalone machines. thats what i was told and to work them propley you need admin rights (like i am going to give a student admin rights even if it is just local.

 

we are finding too, that the software only works when logged on as admin. however do the others on this thread all find that or can students/staff users use the software without admin rights? since this product is widely used across the country surely it must be able to work for users on a network without admin rights?

[becktonboy]

The drivers seem are the main problem, not the software, which is quite appealing to primary kids.

We can install via a distributed msi but then have to log in as admin at each machine to finalise the driver install. Additional pain, the camera then has to be plugged into the same usb port every time for use.

[Guest richard]

Just had 10 of the cameras turn up here and I am going to have to roll them out all over the school as they wan to move the cameras from yr group to yr group.

[Andi]

Well at least it would appear that the software on the CD no longer requires local admin access. That is making my install much easier this year. Still having to go around each requested station, but it's only about 15 so not a massive issue.

[Guest richard]

I've had a look at the very limited network install info and have decided that it will be easier to go round each machine and install it.

[_Bat_]

It annoys me when companies make products that are aimed for schools, then make the software as if it was being used in a home. Grrr! Do you think we should name and shame these companies? . Digiblue are an absolute nightmare on a lot of workstations to be honest. The workarounds mentioned in this thread should never have had to be done.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, digiblue e-mailed me to confirm that it couldn't be automatically deployed across a network... that's it. That was all the help they could give.

[ajbritton]

Elsewhere I proposed having some kind of 'EduGeek mark' whereby software that was easy to maintain could be hilighted.

[acrobson]

We introduced digital blue at my place (Well, not we, the head of IT) and as soon as the management heard about them, they queried if it to do with anythingh relating to 'p0rn', we were shocked, but then we looked at the name again, and...well....we had to laugh!

[david12345]

we have 4 of these camreas and about the only good use for them is as a cheap webcam as as soon as you take them off and put them back need to reinstall driver. and need admin rights to do it just wait till the lovly children want to use them. even more fun if pcs are networked. these are only disgined for standalone machines. thats what i was told and to work them propley you need admin rights (like i am going to give a student admin rights even if it is just local.

 

we are finding too, that the software only works when logged on as admin. however do the others on this thread all find that or can students/staff users use the software without admin rights? since this product is widely used across the country surely it must be able to work for users on a network without admin rights?

 

once it is installed - as admin- will the software work when users with limited rights eg students login to that computer?

[bandgeekmafia78]

I created a package for digital blue on my CC3 network last week - no problems whatsoever. Maybe thats because the only users of this software have a few admin privelages (?)

[ajbritton]

Part of the problem may be that the software wants to create temporary files under C:\Program Files\Digital Blue\PC Digital Movie Creator 2.0\User Files\Temp (and Temp Content)

 

Seems I was wrong about this being a permissions problem. The installer sets permissions on the 'User Files' folder to give Everyone Full Control. Nice one Digital Blue, you just shot people using Software Restriction Policies in the foot.

[becktonboy]

once it is installed - as admin- will the software work when users with limited rights eg students login to that computer?

 

Yes, it will, as long as they use the same usb port the admin used.