What to do without Windows 7 or above?

[smp]

Hello all,

I am now on my second week with my HP Prime (2015 version).

I do not have any up-to-date Windows computers in my household, as we are a Macintosh family. I do run Windows XP on an old laptop computer that I normally use as a terminal for some of my vintage computer systems, and I do run Parallels on my MacBook Pro, again with Windows XP.

So, now that I see an update available with my HP Connectivity Kit, and I did the download. I have now been informed that I cannot load the update to the HP Connectivity Kit, because Windows XP is no longer supported. I also cannot load the new software for my Prime, because I do not have the updated HP Connectivity Kit.

What am I supposed to do now? I see on eBay that I might be able to purchase one of the variety of available Windows 7 versions (32 bit, 64 bit, Home, Premium, Ultimate...) for something like $75 to $100. I could then create another virtual machine under Parallels with Windows 7 and only the new HP Connectivity Kit.

Am I totally stuck here? Does everyone else use new versions of Windows? Am I the only holdout? What other alternatives are there for me?

Thanks, in advance, for your patience and advice.

smp

[mandresve]

Hi SMP,
You tried to run the CK with Wine in OsX? I'm unable to test it right now, but it seems possible.

[smp]

(08-03-2015 06:59 PM)mandresve Wrote:  You tried to run the CK with Wine in OsX? I'm unable to test it right now, but it seems possible.

Hi mandresve,

No, I've never had the need to use Wine. I'll have to take a look into it.

smp

[debrouxl]

Wine doesn't have support for general USB devices.

The Prime firmware upgrade protocol is only partially reverse-engineered ( https://tiplanet.org/hpwiki/index.php?ti...g_Protocol ). That's not enough for making a portable, third-party implementation of it as part of libhpcalcs ( http://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-52.html ).

[salvomic]

hi,
Windows 7 is ok in Parallels also with Prime and CK.
Now I'm using Windows 8.1, also ok in Mac OS X 10.10.4 and Parallels.

Salvo (salvomic)

[smp]

Thanks very much for your responses and advice, folks.

This kind of sucks that I now have to go out and purchase $75-$100 worth of Windows OS *only* in order to use the HP Connectivity Kit.

Can anyone offer me any advice on which version of Windows 7 to purchase? I will run this as a VM under Parallels on my Mac, and my only intention will be to run the HP Connectivity Kit.

I see 32 bit and 64 bit versions, as well as Home, Premium, and Professional...

I am assuming that I will need the "full" version, and not an "upgrade" version, since I will be starting a new VM from scratch.

Thanks very much for any advice you may have to offer.

smp

[fhub]

(08-04-2015 10:24 AM)smp Wrote:  This kind of sucks that I now have to go out and purchase $75-$100 worth of Windows OS *only* in order to use the HP Connectivity Kit.

Have you tried to just use an older Connectivity Kit for updating your HP-Prime?
The last version still working in WinXP was v6975 (Dec.2014), which can be downloaded here:
https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=131345

Unless HP has changed the file format of the Prime OS updates, I don't see any reason why this older Connectivity Kit shouldn't work with the current OS update.

Franz

[eried]

(08-04-2015 10:24 AM)smp Wrote:  Thanks very much for your responses and advice, folks.

This kind of sucks that I now have to go out and purchase $75-$100 worth of Windows OS *only* in order to use the HP Connectivity Kit.

Can anyone offer me any advice on which version of Windows 7 to purchase? I will run this as a VM under Parallels on my Mac, and my only intention will be to run the HP Connectivity Kit.

I see 32 bit and 64 bit versions, as well as Home, Premium, and Professional...

I am assuming that I will need the "full" version, and not an "upgrade" version, since I will be starting a new VM from scratch.

Thanks very much for any advice you may have to offer.

smp

How about a free Windows VM?
http://dev.modern.ie/tools/vms/

[smp]

(08-04-2015 11:27 AM)fhub Wrote:  Have you tried to just use an older Connectivity Kit for updating your HP-Prime?
The last version still working in WinXP was v6975 (Dec.2014), which can be downloaded here:
https://tiplanet.org/forum/archives_voir.php?id=131345

Unless HP has changed the file format of the Prime OS updates, I don't see any reason why this older Connectivity Kit shouldn't work with the current OS update.

Yes, I have tried that.

My Prime currently has S/W version 6975 installed in it. As you know, there are two newer versions that have come out during this year. The latest Prime S/W version cannot be installed by the older version of the HP Connectivity Kit, and I cannot update the HP Connectivity Kit because Windows XP is no longer supported. That is the Catch-22 that I am stuck in, unless I somehow get an updated version of Windows to work with.

smp

[fhub]

(08-04-2015 02:01 PM)smp Wrote:  The latest Prime S/W version cannot be installed by the older version of the HP Connectivity Kit

Why? Does it fail to download the OS files from the HP-server (in this case you could download the OS update manually), or does it give any error message when you try to install a local copy fo the OS update?

I've compared the 2 OS updates (the old 6975 and the current version), and the files in these updates look VERY similar (same names, same sizes), so I can't believe that the old Connectivity Kit isn't able to handle the new OS files.

Franz

[Tim Wessman]

Hello,

If you rename the update files to match the "old" names it should work fine to do the update with the old one in XP as well.

For example,

APPSDISK.DAT --> PRIME_APP.DAT
BESTAARM.ROM --> PRIME_OS.ROM
MASTER.DAT --> PRIME_MASTER.DAT

That will at least let you update. The reason the names were changed is that we had to change the USB identifier on the HID to resolve the issue with USB3 ports in windows. Once you've installed that, the old connkit won't be able to see/identify the calc.

In the meantime before things will hopefully be better, isn't microsoft doing a 'use win10 for free if you testing it' even past the release? Anyone known anything definite there?

[smp]

(08-04-2015 02:15 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  If you rename the update files to match the "old" names it should work fine to do the update with the old one in XP as well.

Hello Tim,

Thanks very much for this advice! I greatly appreciate your assistance.

I'm at work now, so I'll take a look at the files that have been downloaded into my HP Connectivity Kit tonight.

I'll post back with any progress, or additional questions that come up.

smp

[smp]

(08-04-2015 02:15 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  If you rename the update files to match the "old" names it should work fine to do the update with the old one in XP as well.

For example,

APPSDISK.DAT --> PRIME_APP.DAT
BESTAARM.ROM --> PRIME_OS.ROM
MASTER.DAT --> PRIME_MASTER.DAT

That will at least let you update.

Hello again, Tim,

Thank you *very* much for your advice on this!

I did the file renaming as you suggested, and it took a few tries, but I was able to do the update, as you said. I am now running S/W version 2015 6 17 (8151).

I believe that's the latest one, right?

Thanks a million to all here who have been so attentive and helpful to this HP Prime newbie!

smp

[smp]

(08-04-2015 09:53 PM)smp Wrote:  I did the file renaming as you suggested, and it took a few tries, but I was able to do the update, as you said. I am now running S/W version 2015 6 17 (8151).

Here's another update:

Now that I have the latest software version installed in my HP Prime, it no longer is recognized by the old version of the HP Connectivity Kit!

For whatever reason, I also no longer get the little charging symbol on top of my battery indicator when I plug it into my USB port, either. (If I use the separate battery charger, the charging symbol shows up fine.)

Am I still in the same situation, now? Do I now have to use the new version of the HP Connectivity Kit - which means that I am right back to having to get Windows 7 or later?

If so, so be it. Can anyone please tell me if I must get the 64 bit version, or can I get away with the 32 bit version and save some money?

Thanks.

smp

[fhub]

(08-04-2015 09:53 PM)smp Wrote:  I did the file renaming as you suggested, and it took a few tries, but I was able to do the update, as you said. I am now running S/W version 2015 6 17 (8151).

Good to see that you got the update at the end.

But what I don't understand at all is this 'file renaming'!?
APPSDISK.DAT --> PRIME_APP.DAT
BESTAARM.ROM --> PRIME_OS.ROM
MASTER.DAT --> PRIME_MASTER.DAT

Since the last 3 Prime OS updates the files in the HP_Prime_Calculator_Firmware_xxx.zip already have the names on the right side above, so what should be renamed?
Or does the Connectivity Kit rename the files in the Firmware.zip in the other direction (<--) during the update, and now you had to manually rename them back again? That would indeed be a bit 'strange' (to say it with kind words).

Franz

[smp]

(08-04-2015 10:17 PM)fhub Wrote:  But what I don't understand at all is this 'file renaming'!?
APPSDISK.DAT --> PRIME_APP.DAT
BESTAARM.ROM --> PRIME_OS.ROM
MASTER.DAT --> PRIME_MASTER.DAT

Since the last 3 Prime OS updates the files in the HP_Prime_Calculator_Firmware_xxx.zip already have the names on the right side above, so what should be renamed?

You are correct, Franz. The files I had downloaded had the names on the right hand side. I renamed them to the names on the left hand side, and then I was able to complete the update process.

Now, as I indicated in another post, my Prime is no longer recognized by the old version of the HP Connectivity Kit! So, it appears that I'll have to purchase Windows 7 anyway.

smp

[fhub]

(08-04-2015 10:22 PM)smp Wrote:  You are correct, Franz. The files I had downloaded had the names on the right hand side. I renamed them to the names on the left hand side, and then I was able to complete the update process.

Well, then I misunderstood Tim, I thought his direction (-->) would be the direction of renaming.
But it's still a mystery for me:
The old OS version (6975) had also already the names on the right side, and the ConnKit of the same date and version worked with these names, so why didn't it work with the new OS version which has exactly the same names?

Quote:Now, as I indicated in another post, my Prime is no longer recognized by the old version of the HP Connectivity Kit! So, it appears that I'll have to purchase Windows 7 anyway.

Tim already mentioned that it won't recognize the calculator anymore after the update, but if you don't need the ConnKit _immediately_, I would rather wait instead of buying a Win7 just for the HP-Prime - I could imagine that HP makes the ConnKit available again for WinXP with the next update (just a guess).
But if you really want to buy a new Win7, then the 32bit version is definitely enough for this HP stuff.

Franz

[smp]

(08-04-2015 10:42 PM)fhub Wrote:  But if you really want to buy a new Win7, then the 32bit version is definitely enough for this HP stuff.

Hi again, Franz,

Thanks very much for the advice. I do not really *want* to go and buy Windows 7, but I do need the HP Connectivity Kit capability for transferring programs into my Prime, and doing backups, so...

smp

[retoa]

Same problem on Linux, KK works with wine but without support for USB, so it's quite useless.
I always have to reboot in win 7 :-(

I don't think we will receive support from HP, their target is windows, not iOS nor Linux.

There is a third party software named PrimeComm that works with dot.net, I can start it in linux but there is still no support for USB, so it does not work.
You can try it on iOS.

Reto

[smp]

(08-05-2015 12:49 PM)retoa Wrote:  There is a third party software named PrimeComm that works with dot.net, I can start it in linux but there is still no support for USB, so it does not work.
You can try it on iOS.

Hi Reto,

Thanks for the info and advice.
I've already got a full version of 32 bit Windows 7 on order from eBay.
Hopefully, this weekend I'll be able to finally get the entire Prime support system all up and running.

I'll post back with my success, or with more griping and questions, whichever way it goes.

smp