OS - Windows

On Windows, Phidgets can be either plugged directly into a USB Port or run over a network using the Webservice.

Phidgets are designed to run on Windows 2000 or newer.

Getting Started (Libraries and Drivers)

If this is your first Phidget, we highly recommend working through the Getting Started guide for your specific Phidget device. If you already have the icon in your task bar and know how to use it, then you've already followed the guide and are ready to choose a programming language below.

If you are already a pro, and just want the drivers:

• 32 Bit
• 64 Bit
• Phidget21 Libraries (32-Bit and 64-Bit development files without an installer)
• (software license)

Programming Languages

After you have installed the drivers above, you should pick a programming language, install libraries, and run the examples for that specific language.

Phidgets’ philosophy is that you do not have to be an electrical engineer in order to do projects that use devices like sensors, motors, motor controllers, and interface boards. All you need to know is how to program.

On Windows, we recommend the following languages:

• C#
• C/C++
• Flash AS3
• Flex AS3
• Java
• LabView
• Max/MSP
• Python
• Visual Basic .NET
• Visual Basic 6.0

You can also use these languages, but they do not support event driven code, and must use logic code only:

• MATLAB
• Simulink

The following languages are also supported, but to to a lack of demand, they full API may not be implemented.

• Delphi
• Visual Basic Applications
• Visual Basic Script
• LiveCode
• RealBasic
• Adobe Director
• AutoIt

Webservice

Drivers for the Phidget Webservice on Windows are already included in the Drivers above.

If you have a icon in your taskbar, you already have the Webservice drivers installed.

To learn how to use a Phidget over a network using the Webservice, you can move on to the general Webservice Instructions.

Common Problems and Solutions

Issue: Installing .NET 2.0 on Windows 2000.

Affected Operating Systems: Windows 2000

To install the Phidget Framework on Windows 2000 systems, the .NET 2.0 framework is required. Also, although not explicitly required to use Phidgets on a Windows system, Phidgets under the .NET languages can use .NET 2.0.

Solution: The Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package for (x86) and (x64) systems is freely available from www.microsoft.com. You will need to upgrade to at least Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 for the (x86) version.

Issue: A corrupt installation fails on removal or repair

Affected Operating Systems: Windows

Solution: In Windows, if the normal uninstall fails then the Phidget Framework can be manually uninstalled by following these steps:

1. Delete C:\Program Files\Phidgets\
2. Remove the Phidgets key from the Registry [-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services PhidgetWebservice21].

In most cases this is enough to get the installer working again. If you need to remove all traces of the Phidgets libraries manually without using the uninstaller:

1. Shut down any programs using the Phidget libraries, including the webservice and the Phidget Control Panel.
2. Unregister the COM library: regsvr32 /u “C:\Program Files\Phidgets\Phidget21COM.dll”
3. Remove Phidget21.NET and Policy.2.1.Phidget21.NET from C:\Windows\Assembly\
4. Delete ‘C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Phidgets’ (WindowsXP) or ‘C:\Users\All Users\Phidgets’ (Vista).
5. Delete C:\Windows\system32\phidget21.dll
6. Delete Phidgets from the start menu
7. Delete C:\Program Files\Phidgets
8. Search for and remove keys mentioning Phidgets from the registry in the following locations:

• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\]
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Products\]
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\AssemblyFolders\Phidgets Inc]
• [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\Phidget21Manager]
• [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Installer\Assemblies\Global\]

9. Reboot

NOTE: You can go through the registry and purge any other keys mentioning Phidgets if you still have problems, but at this point you should be able to reinstall under most cases. There will also be keys relating to the installer, the .NET library and the COM library, but they should not interfere with anything.

Issue: Cannot make a connection to the Phidget

Affected Operating Systems: Windows

Some drivers or software will sometimes mistakenly claim Phidget devices when waiting on some hardware to be connected. When this happens, the device shows up in the Phidget Control Panel at start up but examples and programs are unable to make a connection to the Phidget. This is known to occur with Logitech QuickCam, Force Feedback Mouse and Nike software.

Solution: Try shutting the offending driver/software down or kill its process in the task manager when using Phidgets.

Issue: Event data is sporadic/slow/clumped over the webservice

Affected Operating Systems: Windows

Windows implements 200ms delayed ACKs for network traffic. When traffic is one-way only - as it is with event data, the data will all arrive in clumps every 200ms because of delayed ACKs.

This can be a great drawback for application which rely on low latency event data over the network. (source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214397)

This delayed ACK behavior can be disabled in windows to decrease event latency as documented here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328890

In the future, the Phidgets library may implement this differently, but so far we have been unable to match the performance achieved by disabling delayed ACK.

Issue: My virtual machine is not detecting USB Phidgets.

Affected Operating Systems: Windows

Virtual PC:

USB Phidgets requires a virtual platform that supports HID USB Devices. Since Virtual PC does not support HID USB devices, Phidgets may not be used. However, other virtualization software can be used such as VMware and VirtualBox.

VirtualBox:

To enable USB Phidgets, VirtualBox Guest Additions will need to be installed. Afterwards, click on Devices -> USB Devices and select the Phidget device. USB Phidgets requires a virtual platform that supports HID USB Devices. Since Virtual PC does not support HID USB devices, Phidgets may not be used. However, other virtualization software can be used such as VMware and VirtualBox.

VMWare:

USB Phidgets requires a virtual platform that supports HID USB Devices. Since Virtual PC does not support HID USB devices, Phidgets may not be used. However, other virtualization software can be used such as VMware and VirtualBox.

Limitations

Virtual PC Problem: Virtual PC cannot detect USB Phidgets

USB Phidgets requires a virtual platform that supports HID USB Devices. Since Virtual PC does not support HID USB devices, Phidgets may not be used. However, other virtualization software can be used such as VMware and VirtualBox.