Vixen 2.1.4.0 with Windows 7 64 bit issue

J

jukingeo

New member
Hello All!

It has been a while since I had signed into the forums as I have stopped using sound to lights for Christmas about 4 or 5 years ago. I continued to use Vixen for my Halloween shows for a signing pumpkin display but I had stopped that 3 years ago. This year I wanted to revitalize the singing pumpkin display and I wanted to use Vixen 2.1.4.0 on Windows 7 (64 bit) and I have run into an issue.

Vixen starts up fine, but when I go to load the sequence up, nothing appears on screen. The song plays, but the preview display doesn't come up and nor do the channels.

I have .Net Framework 4.7.2 on my system as I believe the .Net Framework was one of dependencies.

It is possible that I am just not remembering what to do to set this up properly. I have searched the forum to see if running this version of Vixen was possible on 64 bit Windows 7, and read that it does run. I figured I might have had problems with configuring the COM port, but alas, I can't even get the sequence to show up on screen with the channels and preview display.

Any help would be appreciated. Here are some more of my system stats:

Intel i7 6700k CPU
16 gig ram
A few terrabytes HD space.
Graphic Card: GTX 1080 TI

Thank you,
Geo
 
Wow, been a while. Your PC has WAY more than enough horsepower to run Vixen (or whatever you want :biggrin:) As I recall, your sequence must be attached to a 'profile' to show up on your screen. You might check that out. A sequence can also be 'flattened' to a profile so that they travel together.
 
With Vixen 2.1 you also need to install .Net 3.5. There is a workaround to get it to work with .net 4.x if you can't get 3.5 installed though.

The workaround is to add
<startup>
<supportedRuntime version="4.0"/>
</startup>
to your Vixen.exe.config file. You have to add it within the <configuration> tags.
 
If your computer is connected to the internet, I highly recommend upgrading to Windows 10 though, for security reasons. If you do, you'll still need to install .net 3.5.
 
Hello guys,

I don't know what is going on with this forum, but certain pages are in text only format and others have the full graphics. I don't know what I am doing in text mode, so I am giving it a shot, but someone has to check this issue out as just plain navigating in text mode is a PAIN!

Getting back to my issue this is what I found:

.NET Framework 3.5 refuses to load on my system. .NET 4.x only loads. As such I have upgraded it now to 4.8.

When I had saved my Vixen files, there were "flattened" with the profiles associated with the files. For some reason, Vixen is separating them. When I re-associate the profile with the file, I do get the preview back, however, the sequence is empty. How do I get it to show my sequences? Also, Why does Vixen under Windows 7 separate my sequences from the files? THat wasn't the case when I used Windows XP. Is this because it is refusing to work with .NET framework 4.8?
 
You can either use profiles or keep everything in each sequence. Its really just a preference for that one.
I would suggest using .net 3.5 if possible, only because that has been tested tried and true. I have, however, been running it in .net 4.8 for awhile now with no issues.
What error are you getting for .net 3.5?
If you post your sequence and profile(maybe in a zip file), I can take a look.
 
ctmal said:
You can either use profiles or keep everything in each sequence. Its really just a preference for that one.
I would suggest using .net 3.5 if possible, only because that has been tested tried and true. I have, however, been running it in .net 4.8 for awhile now with no issues.
Click to expand...

Well, earlier I managed to find some of my older sequences and they DO show up intact. I have to see if the Renard controller works, but this computer doesn't have a com port, so I have to get an adapter to check if the controller works. However, 2 sequences I don't have an older version of. I might have to set up my old computer and see if I can get the sequences from there to test them out. So now with this information, I feel that the .Net 4.8 isn't the issue.

I am wondering if I had Vixen 2.5 on the newer sequences. I was reading that 2.5 sequences don't run on 2.1.X.X

What error are you getting for .net 3.5?
Click to expand...

It is isn't a message. When I click on the installer, it looks like it is 'unpacking' something in a small window, but then it just goes away and nothing happens. No error message or anything. However, if I install any variant of .NET Framework 4.x, it will properly install.

If you post your sequence and profile(maybe in a zip file), I can take a look.
Click to expand...

How do you do that? I know you can add pictures and videos, but I don't know how to post file attachments.

Oh! BTW, I figured out what was wrong with this website running in text mode. For some reason, it just doesn't like Firefox. I have Chrome as well and it is working fine with that.

Thanks,
Geo
 
I wonder if .net 3.5 is already installed then. I think you would have gotten a popup if it wasn't.
I know there's a converter for 2.5 back to 2.1 but I don't have a copy of it. Maybe someone who has it will chime in.
 
Oh, i found it. Here it is.

Also, you can add files by clicking the Go Advanced button when you're replying.
 

Attachments

  • 2.5 Downgrade Utility.zip
    8 KB · Views: 2
Please disregard this message and just read the one that follows this.

ctmal said:
I wonder if .net 3.5 is already installed then. I think you would have gotten a popup if it wasn't.
I know there's a converter for 2.5 back to 2.1 but I don't have a copy of it. Maybe someone who has it will chime in.
Click to expand...

No, I know it didn't install because it isn't on the list of installed programs whereas .NET Framework 4.x does show up on the list. Also, the unpacking or file fetching pop up only coms up for a few seconds and then goes away. Nothing else happens and I KNOW that the program takes a while to install, so it just seems that it flat out refused to install version 3.5.

As for the possibility of the newer versions being Vixen 2.5 files, I have to still set up my old computer and see what version of Vixen is on it. Alternatively, I could install 2.5 on my main computer, however, I cannot find that version on the Vixen download page. But, again, without setting yp.my old machine, I don't know if that is the case.

Thanks
 
Last edited:
ctmal said:
Oh, i found it. Here it is.

Also, you can add files by clicking the Go Advanced button when you're replying.
Click to expand...

Well, this turned out to be a proportionately big mess which I trace back to a mistake I made in backing up my Vixen folder the last time I had used the Renard rig. I will explain:

I hooked up my old computer and once I got it running I was a bit dismayed to find that it didn't even have Vixen 2.1 nor 2.5 on it. It only had Vixen 3 on it. Then I had remembered that the data drive, I removed from that computer and it is in my current computer.

Okay, so rewinding back to 2013/14 which where the last two years I used the singing pumpkins. I had still yet a computer older than the old one I have here and that was what I used to run that show. I no longer have that machine, BUT I had backed up the data from it.

Going back to the backup on my main machine, I had noticed that the profiles only went to 2011, which happened to be the last time I did a full backup of that data. So when I last used the Singing Pumpkins in 2014, I made a copy of the sequences, but forgot to make a backup of the profile. I had changed layout of the Singing Pumpkins drastically in 2013, and when I installed Vixen on my main machine, there was no 2013 profile present and hence all the sequences from that year wouldn't work, but the old ones that used the different profile did because they were present.

What made them different from the 2011 profiles (and older)? Well up to 2013 I was using a 16 channel Xmus Renard controller for my Halloween show, but in 2013 I had added RGB floodlights and had to use the SS24 Renard controller. Hence the different profile for that one. The sequences currently on my main computer (and in my backup of Vixen 2.1.x) were for the 2013 profile.

Okay, so as I said, I managed to have the drive from the computer that I no longer have and managed to extract the 2013 profile from that and put it in the profile folder on my main computer. BOOM! It worked! The correct profile came up with the sequence and the preview came up as well.

So have breathing a heavy sigh of relief, it does appear that I have Vixen 2.1.4.0 now running. However, I am not out of the woods as I still have yet to connect the hardware to see if that works. Therein lies another challenge as all my older computers had a DB9 COM port. My current main machine lacks this. So I know I am going to have to go USB. Most likely I probably will have to get myself one of those USB to RS485 adapter/converters for this machine. I will do more tests this coming weekend as I know I have a USB to RS232 adapter lying around someplace.

I will report back once I have the Renard controller hooked up.

Thanks for your help and patience thusfar. It turns out that a stupid mistake in backing up could have been avoided if I would have backed up EVERYTHING in the Vixen folder in 2014.

Geo
 
Good to hear you're on your way back.

On the adapter side of things, this is what I use: https://ftdichip.com/products/usb-rs422-we-1800-bt/
I know they are more expensive than others you can get but they are rock solid. I've never had any issues and they can actually run faster than the Vixen plugin can run if I ever decide to change anything. I just put the wire end directly into an rj45 port an I was good to go.
 
An interesting note about the FTDI, if you don't mind my babbling....
Before I tried them I decided I wanted to go with FTDI because I heard of the reliability and was tired of the few but constant minor issues with the adapters I had before. I ordered an adapter on Amazon that had the ftdi chip(so I thought) and set that up to use for the display.
November rolled around and my brother and I were finishing setup. I plugged in the new adapters....nothing. Not matter what I tried, I couldn't get the drivers to reload.
It turns out, Ftdi updated the Windows drivers to brick any ftdi clones out there. I was pissed(excuse the term).
I sent a nasty note to FTDI basically stating that it was pretty crappy that they ruined the display(I over stated it a bit, I just used my old adapters) and I that I didn't think it was right that they punished people who thought they were buying the real product.
To my surprise, I got a response. I basically was asking me what I bought and how many. I sent a link to the Amazon page and told them I bought 2. About a week later, 3 of those adapters I posted the link to showed up at my door. I've been using them since.
Now, I can't say that I think it was right how they did the whole bricking of peoples clone chips(because I bet users didn't know they were clones) but you have to respect the fact that they made good and gave me a replacement at no cost to me.
 
ctmal said:
Good to hear you're on your way back.

On the adapter side of things, this is what I use: https://ftdichip.com/products/usb-rs422-we-1800-bt/
I know they are more expensive than others you can get but they are rock solid. I've never had any issues and they can actually run faster than the Vixen plugin can run if I ever decide to change anything. I just put the wire end directly into an rj45 port an I was good to go.
Click to expand...

I took a peek at that and like the idea of just adding an RJ-45 connector on it, then I can differentiate the cables. Before I had to make up the special wire with the one pair of wires backwards to make the RS-232 connection to RJ45, but because there was no conversion, I was stuck with the RS-232 limitations.

However, $42 is encompassing nearly half my budget for this year. Yeah, I have only allotted $100 for my display as with costs being driven up so high on everything, I don't have much left over in the kitty for my displays this year. What I don't get is how the maker of the chip can brick 2nd party adapters? At any rate, I don't intend to be connected to the internet when I run the show. For this year, I am just going to have to use a 2nd party adapter that is cheaper. But for now, I will be just happy if the Renard controllers pass the test on this system. I would rather use my main computer because, it is right next to the window where I would run the cables out. Then a few feet around the corner of the house will be the display. So really, I COULD get by with RS-232, BUT because I have to make a new cable up, then I am better off going with RS-485 and then I don't have the cable run limitation.

Anyway, thanks for the help so far, I will keep you (and everyone else posted), either way. Tonight I will go in the garage and fetch the SS24 controller.
 
We have Singing Pumpkins!

Well, at least with the four that I have tested the ss24 out on my computer with. So far, it looks like this is going to be a go!

In addition to finding my SS24 controller, I had also found the USB to RS232 adapters. While I do want to go to RS485, the RS232 cable allowed me to at least TEST the rig. So I hooked up four pumpkins to it to test it and it worked! ...Well, not initially, but that was because the USB adapter was set to 9600 baud and the SS24 was looking for 57600. So that was a minor hiccup. However, having not used the system in so long, I had also made the mistake of pluging the RJ-45 end into the wrong port. I forgot the first one is output and the 2nd on is the input. So once I had that all straightened out, I had blinky, flashy!

So that is great news and now I have the arduous task of constructing a new stage for my pumpkins as I no longer have the old one. Still, it is worth it as it will be great to bring the pumpkins back! I think I might still have the sign for them as well!

Well, thanks y'all for your help, but please stay nearby just in case I run into any issues. But as they say, so far, so good!

Geo
 
ctmal said:
Nice. We'll expect pictures(or better yet, video) when it's all up.
Click to expand...

I am not totally out of the woods yet as I do have to do some channel reassignment. Since the last arrangement was from 2014, I was in two locations. I did the Halloween show at my parents house and I did that up to the year my father died. At that location I had the Renard 16 channel Xmus controller. For Christmas I did a show my apartment and there I had the Renard SS24 controller. So the channel line up changes when using the Renard 24 channel controller. I know you might be thinking that I should use the Xmus controller, but that controller requires a 12 volt power injection from my computer and it is not set up for that. So what is the big deal with switching to the Renard SS24? Well, when I designed the controller, I had set up the first 12 channels with regular extension cord outlet pigtails. The remaining 12 channels I set up in a 3, 6, 3 channel configuration clusters with a Molex connector. This was done to allow connection of multi channel props that I made and instead of futzing around with plugs, I just had to plug the prop into the Renard 24 with a molex connector. It is clearer in this video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5WKUpY3vOU

That is the setup that I had at my apartment. Take note of the two snowflakes and the wreath. Those are the multi-channel props. The snowflakes are 3 channels each and the wreath 6 channels.

Now, as I said, the first 12 channels are regular extension cord pigtails, however, I am using 14 channels on the Halloween program. Channel 14 was the critical one, as I am voicing a boogyman / monster prop. 12 and 13 were not critical channels, so I had to make up a new profile for all my songs in which I mapped channel 14 to channel 12. I JUST finished testing it out as I took a break for lunch moments ago.

It looks like everything is a "go" on the computer end of things. This afternoon I had started to construct a new platform for the pumpkins. Once completed, I am thinking of redoing the main channels so I can put a Molex connector on the 7 main pumpkins, so that will make setup and tear down much easier in the future.

I also have RGB floods, but I don't think I am going to use them this year, but I will definitely use them next year.

Well, I have to run as lunch is done and I still have much more to set up for Halloween! It was a nice weekend, so I wanted to take advantage of the good weather.
 
Just some perspective on this old thread...

Vixen 2,1,4 is 15-hear old technology. Since then, the Windows OS has undergone 4 major releases in not only the look and feel, but the core OS. Microsoft has included a great deal of backward compatiblity which is why Vixen 2.x continues to run at all. How long they will support Dot Net is a bit unknown as they seem to be moving in a Linux-type direction, although it's likely they will maintain a center of control of their OS instead of the ararchy that exists in the Linux world.

Just my $.02
 
.net 3.5 will be supported until 2029 since it was considered part of the Windows OS. I don't think they've put support dates on .Net 4.8 but I would imagine at some point they will make a Long term release and stop putting out new versions(just patch them as they go along).

I remember originally when .Net came out, most expected it to move in the direction of being cross platform since it runs in an intermediate language. I don't remember why they stopped the cross platform direction but it is very much in the mix now.

As for totally getting rid of .Net framework, I think we have plenty of time before that happens totally. there are just too many Windows programs in the work(especially business applications) that rely on it. Look how long it took them to finally get rid of Internet Explorer.
 
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