I-Pac/4 won't retain programming

[clhug]

I've had this I-Pac/4 for about a month or so and it has worked fine so far.  (Brand new, purchased directly from Ultimarc.)  I got to the point though where I needed to customize some of the keystrokes for some inputs. I was able to use WinIpac just fine to do my custom programming, but now the I-Pac/4 won't retain the programming when I shut down the PC. In fact it loses ALL programming. Every time I shut down the PC, then power it back up the I-Pac/4 won't generate ANY keystrokes from any inputs. I'm able to load up WinIpac and download the programming to the I-Pac/4 again and then it works fine, until the PC is shut down again. I even tried reprogramming back to defaults but now it won't even retain that when the PC is shut down.  Oh, the I-Pac/4 is connected to the PC via USB.  Is there something I need to do to get it to remember the programming, or do I possibly have a bad I-Pac/4?

[Hoopz]

Have you recently swapped USB ports?  This is posted on Ultimarc's site:

Problem: (USB Only) Board appears not to work until WinIPAC is run every time. Yellow exclamation marks in Control Panel, Device Manager.
This is a rare problem, and is caused by a registry error. It is suspected that this problem occurs if the board is regularly swapped from one USB port to another, or different board versions used on the same PC. Microsoft have been alerted to this problem. To fix this problem, download this file: Ipacfix and click on it. This deletes all references to the I-PAC in the registry. Then unplug and reconnect the board. If you would rather do this manually here is what to do:
The fix involves registry editing, the usual caution should be observed.
Run regedit, and open Hkey_Local_Machine/System/CurrentControlSet/Enum/HID and delete the keys containing VID D209 Also Hkey_Local_Machine/System/CurrentControlSet/Enum/USB and delete the same keys. You might have to right-click and set permissions to do this. Unplug and re-connect the board.

[clhug]

I haven't swapped ports that I can remember but it's definitely worth a try.  I'll download the utility and give it a shot.  Thanks!!

[Hoopz]

Good luck and keep us updated.

[clhug]

Okay, problem solved.  BUT NOT entirely by what that info says to do.

The I-Pac was showing up with a yellow exclamation point in Device Manager.

However, the reg file was no help.  I even ran the reg file, unplugged the I-Pac, shut the PC down and booted it back up and plugged the I-Pac back in.  Still came back in with the yellow exclamation point.

So, with the I-Pac still plugged in, in Device Manager I right-clicked on the HID item with the yellow exclamation point and selected Uninstall to remove it.  Then I unplugged the I-Pac and plugged it back and the I-Pac was redected as a new device and worked fine, even after shutting the PC down and back up.

So I loaded up WinIPac and reprogrammed it with my custom stuff again, worked fine, until I shut down the PC.  After booting the PC back up again, I was back to where I started, I-Pac didn't work and yellow exclamation point in Device Manager.  So I went through the procedure of uninstalling the unknown (yellow explanation point) HID device, unplugging and plugging the I-Pac back in, and it works okay now even after shutting down the PC.

So it looks like just the act of programming the I-Pac is what messed it up.  But if you do the above procedure after programming it, it should be okay after that, until you have to program it again.

Thanks for the pointer to Ultimarc's web site.  Even after you mentioned it was there though it took me quite a while to find it.  They should have a dedicated "Support" tab at the top of their screen and move or at least link to that troubleshooting stuff from that tab.

[Hoopz]

Sorry, I should have posted the link.  I didnt think about that. 

[clhug]

No problem.  It wasn't a complaint directed toward you.  I'm grateful for the tip.

[terabit]

clhug
I had the exact same problem. I had to unplug all of my USB devices, unistall and plug them into different USB ports than they were in. That was the only way I could get the Damn YELLOW QUESTION MARK to stop coming back. If you have any more problems try another USB port after uninstalling. It worked for me.
Good Luck.

[clhug]

So far I've been able to plug it back into the same USB port after uninstalling.  I'll keep that in mind though if I have trouble again.  This is a dedicated PC to MAME so I don't have a bunch of USB deviced plugged into it.  Just the I-Pac so far.  Eventually maybe a trackball and spinner too.

[BamBam]

I ditched the USB for the iPac and plugged it directly into the PS2 port for the keyboard.  Trackball and Spinner are hooked up to USB.  I can now turn my system with a assigned buttons and have no conflicts.

Hope this helps.

John

[Gunstar Hero]

I ditched USB too, and it solved pretty much every IPAC issue I ever had.

[clhug]

As long as I uninstall it from Device Manager after programming and then unplug and plug it back in, USB hasn't been a problem for me since I figured that out.