Testing

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Testing your connection

Before you can use the software to transfer anything between the calculator and the PC you should ensure that the cable you purchased is plugged in and functioning correctly.

One end of the cable plugs into the USB port on your PC. The other end of the cable plugs into the top of your calculator.  It is best to ensure that the calculator is plugged in and switched on before you start the Connectivity software but it doesn't really matter generally.

If the connection is not working then you will see the screen on the right. Try unplugging the calculator and plugging it in again. Ensure that you have fresh batteries.

There are sometimes problems installing the Connectivity software. In particular the driver installation sometimes doesn't seem to 'click'.  The driver is the 'translator' that lets the PC talk to things like printers, scanners and, in this case, your calculator.
 
Try restarting the computer, plug the cable into the USB port and into the calculator and switch the calculator on. If the software still shows something like the window shown right and Windows pops up a box telling you that you have attached new hardware and asking you to install drivers for it then you have a problem.
 
The easiest way to handle this is using the Windows 'New Hardware' wizard. Rather than allowing it to look for the driver on the web or on a CD or floppy, choose the option that lets you choose a specific location.
Tell it to look in the folder C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\USBDriver. It will tell you that the driver is not one that's registered with Microsoft (oh, dear we shall die of shame!). Tell it to install anyway and it should then work correctly. If this doesn't fix it then the most likely cause is low batteries. You need really fresh batteries to link to the computer.

(Perform only if the above step was unsuccessful) The object of this step is to try to force the driver to install properly.  Open the folder C:\Program Files\Hewlett-Packard\USBDriver, which contains the driver.  Find a file called "HPx9g.inf".  Use the right button of the mouse to click on this file.  A menu should pop up with a list of options on it.  Use the left button to click on the "Install" option.  Nothing will appear to happen but this does a forced install and should fix the problem. Re-start the computer and try again. If Windows again says that it is detecting new hardware then you have a serious problem.  I've only had this happen on 3 computers in 10 years in a large school but when it did I was never able to fix it. Sorry. Try a different computer.

 

 

When the connection is working correctly you should see an image similar to the one on the right.  The window is used to choose the directory. Yours probably won't have a "Log" button because my version is a test version. :-) Later versions of this software also have a window showing a listing of the files. Personally I didn't see much point in this since you can't actually DO anything with any of them!

The folder you highlight is the one where you will be downloading the files from. If you're uploading then that's where they will be stored.

The button can be used to create new folders but early versions of the software this often didn't work properly. If you have trouble then just create the folder using normal Windows methods.

 

The button is used to capture images of the calculator's screen. You can paste these into documents or enhance them in a Paint program or save them in a variety of formats.

Once you press the button you simply hold down the ON key on the calculator and, while still holding it down, press the 1 key.  After a brief pause an image of the calculator's screen appears on the PC.

You actually don't need this button. If you press ON+1 then the screen capture window will open automatically.

The most common cause of failure in any of these processes is low batteries on the calculator. This can become a problem with communication long before it is noticed on the calculator.

Once you have an image you can add a border to it if you wish and then copy it to the clipboard or save it as a BMP file.

 
Last modified: 19 Dec 2007                                             Sitemap        Home        Contact Me