Introduction

 

The key to a successful install of the RigExpert drivers is that the associated environment on the computer has to be effectively virgin. If you attempt to install again after a failed attempt or any previous RigExpert install then the new install will likely fail.

 

The following instructions attempt to guide the reader on how to clean things up back to a virgin state so that you can then follow the RigExpert install instructions successfully.

 

What we will do is the following:

  1. uninstall any related drivers
  2. remove any associated programs
  3. check and clean the registry
  4. Restart the computer

 

1. Uninstall and related Drivers

This procedure assumes you have installed the drivers (working or not) and have plugged in the RigExpert device via USB.

 

Leave the RigExpert plugged in via USB for these steps. Green light should be on.

  1. Go to Device Manager (eg. Right click “My Computer”, choose “Manage”, in the new window click on “Device Manager”)
  2. In Device Manager, click on the “+” sign left of “Universal Serial Bus Controllers”
  3. In the list you should see 4 RigExpert devices; if the driver is not working then there will likely be a yellow exclamation mark to the right of each of these devices. This is usually a good indication that the driver installation is the root cause of your issues.
  4. For each “RigExpert” device, right click on it and select “Uninstall”
  5. Do this for all four devices so that no further “RigExpert devices remain.
  6. You can now close the “Device Manager” window.

 

Once this is complete, you must now unplug the RigExpert device from the USB port.

 

2. Remove any associated programs

You should remove any previously installed “RigExpert” programs just in case. I would also recommend you remove any of the programs that use it in any way as there may be a dependency from that program on RigExpert which may cause it to not be properly removed. An example would be WSJT.

 

  1. Open “Add/Remove Programs”: go to start -> settings -> Control Panel and then double click on “Add/Remove Programs”
  2. Find and remove any applications (e.g. WSJT) that use RigExpert. Do this first.
  3. Now, remove each of the RigExpert programs. There are usually three but they all start with the name “RigExpert”

 

Once there are all removed you can close the “Add/Remove Programs” window.

Double check your “Program Files” folder (usually C:\Program Files\) and ensure that “RigExpert” is removed. If it is still there, remove the folder.

 

To be complete do a file/folder search by going to Start -> Search -> For Files or Folders. Select the option “All Files and Folders” and enter “RigExpert” in the first field which is labeled “All or part of the Filename”. Click Search. Once the search is complete, delete any files or folders in the right hand pane by right clicking the entry and select “Delete”.

 

3. Check and clean the Registry

This part is a little tricky for the novice and potentially dangerous. It may not be strictly necessary and thus if you are uncomfortable with this, you can skip this step to see if your new install is fine.If the new install fails again then you will have to start from the beginning of this procedure and do this step too.

 

Chances are if steps one and two worked well, you should have nothing to do here but it may be necessary if you have made multiple failed attempts.

 

The Registry is critical to your computers operation so treat it with care. Make a backup before you start and remove only what is documented here or that you fully understand. Here is a link that explains how to use “System Restore”: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx

 

  1. Backup your system via a “Restore Point”; I recommend this for novices.
    1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Restore
    2. Choose “Create a Restore Point”
    3. If things go bad, then you can go back to this window and choose “Restore my computer to an earlier time” and find the restore point you just created.
  2. Begin editing the registry: Start -> Run. In the new window, enter “regedit” and click “OK”
  3. You will see two windows: a left pane with a hierarchy of folders; a right pane that shows the details of a chosen folder
  4. We will now look for the specific word “RigExpert” and delete their entries from the registry.
  5. To search for a name you can click on “Edit” and then choose “Find” or you can enter keys “Ctrl”+”F”. To find the next occurrence you can click on “Edit” and “Find Next” or simply press F3.
  6. To remove something from the left hand pane, Right-click the folder and then choose “Delete”. Make sure you right clicked on the correct folder!
  7. To remove something found in the right hand pane:
    1. you will be looking for keywords such as “DeviceDesc” or “LocationInformation” or “DisplayInformation” with the Data being “RigExpert”. We will only remove items that match this!
    2. Performing a search, when you find a match on “RigExpert” that meets (a) above, then look for an open folder in the left pane. This open folder path should also match the description in the footer of the Registry editor window.
    3. Select the open folder in the left pane to ensure you have the right folder. If it is then the right pane will remain the same (after all it is the contents of the folder)
    4. Now, right click the folder you have chosen in the left pane and select “delete”.
  8. Find all occurrences of “RigExpert” in the registry and remove the appropriate folder as described above. If you find “RigExpert”in the right hand panel that does not match 7a above, leave it unless you know what you are doing.

 

Once you have completed finding and removing all references, you can now select “File”and then select “Exit”.

 

4. Restart the Computer

After you have completed at least steps 1 and 2 and ideally 3, you MUST reboot your computer. This ensures anything cached or loaded in memory will be clean.

Conclusion

 

After you have completed at least steps 1, 2, and 4 (and ideally 3) you can begin your installation following RigExpert’s install guide exactly. I would even recommend that when you are prompted for the location of the driver files that you don’t assume the default in the field is correct and browse to the location.

 

Watch the information screens during the install. If anything indicates an error such as “unable to copy file” during driver installation then assume it was not successful. If it was not successful, go back and do steps 1 and 2. There is no point building on quicksand.

 

Once you have successfully installed RigExpert drivers (and only after success), then you can install your application (e.g. WSJT).