WXforum.net
Weather Software => VP Tools (Virtual VP, VP Live, and VP Tools) => Topic started by: arrowspace90 on March 11, 2015, 10:19:10 AM
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Ok, so what was in last night's Window's update that has knocked out VVP? Again.
The last time this happened, I took my computer back to the previous day, and it worked again.
Then, when the update re-applied itself, all remained ok.
One of these times, I am not going to be able to get it going, and have to give up on it.
Unlike some people here, I am not savvy enough on the software to immediately know what is causing it to stop working.
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no answer, but same thing happened with mine, when I went to open weatherlink it would say there was a com port error . did the system restore and vvp is working again. will see what happens when windows installs its updates again.
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http://www.zdnet.com/article/march-2015-patch-tuesday/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
Track 'er down... good luck.
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I know there are guys here who effortlessly and immediately "fix" anything that goes wrong with the software.
I am not one of them, I have zero programming skills. I am only an average Windows user that enjoys having a weather station.
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This is exactly why I only use IP for VVP connections. I ditched my COM connections when I switched to a new Win8 PC this fall.
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I know there are guys here who effortlessly and immediately "fix" anything that goes wrong with the software.
I am not one of them, I have zero programming skills. I am only an average Windows user that enjoys having a weather station.
Yeah ](*,)
I discovered a long time ago not to have updates installed automatically... I read the 'info' for each one... I also, like many others, wait for a few weeks, in most cases, before installing any. Still have an irritating issue from one 'flash' related update from MS on one machine... that I can't resolve... Fixed it on all the other 8 machines, but this one... uh, uh... go figure.
So, I never install 'immediately'...
Cheers!
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It was definitely the update that messed it up. Doing a system restore to yesterday fixed the problem (temporarily?)
Very frustrating. I can sure understand why programmers and experts run other OS that are not subject to attack by Microsoft.
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I've only been bitten once by Windows 7 Updates, which was when IE11 trashed my GRLevel3 ftp's to my web site. That update is now hidden on that computer. This morning I spent a half hour updating the computers in my 'cave' downstairs, and the three that use VVP's COM ports came back up seamlessly without problems. I didn't realize I was playing with fire this time around, too. :shock:
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I stuck with XP. No more updates to worry about. =D>
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I'm not sure if this is what you guys are referring to, but I put Weatherlink in the start up command menu so when windows updates and closes Weatherlink (which it always does), it will automatically start the program after the reboot.
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Ok, so Windows reapplied it's update overnight, and VVP is knocked out again. It says it is unable to open a com port.
Does Anyone know which update did that or how to bypass it? Also, I fail to understand why the update disables my VVP and not apparently on the computers of many others.
Unless I can apply some kind of strategy, I will be forced to uninstall VVP and give up on the software. You would think VVP would offer a patch, but I guess it was the toy of one programmer who has other things to do than devote his life to it.
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Several years ago I had lost a couple of years worth of Weather Display data (did have a backup, fortunately) because of Windows Update. Since then, I turned Windows Update OFF, and haven't had a single issue since. A number of other folks here have done the same after having become disconnected, losing data, etc.
I'm betting somewhere in one of those updates is a "fix" for unsigned device drivers and that is what is taking VVP out or something close to that. The only suggestion(s) I can give is to:
1. Turn Windows Update off.
2. To find which update is taking VVP out, open up Windows Update and download/install them one at a time. If the update requires a restart,do so and see if VVP still works afterwards, then continue on.
Regarding number above, I updated my weather machine about 3 times in 2014 and have had 0 issues regarding its operation. I have Windows 7 Professional 64bit, Avast Antivirus Pro, Start Scheduler, NSLog running on this machine and that's it. No MS Office, etc.
John
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Windows updates are turned off on my wx pc.
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does anyone know if there is another program out there that does what vvp does?
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Aren't there potential downsides to disabling windows updates?
If I disable all updates in the future, it seems I would leave my computer vulnerable to all the little destructive cretins in the world who have nothing better to do with their lives than mess up what others are trying to do.
Or, I could spend a great deal of time going through EVERY windows update one at a time, from now on, to see if they damage my software.
If VVP is not going to update their software, I don't see how it can be viable going forward.
For the people who disable updates, do you think that just having anti virus on your pc is sufficient protection?
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right now, while I consider my options, my Vantage Vue is not downloading any data to my computer. I am cut off.
I can do what I did yesterday, system restore back 2 days, but this time disable windows updates and prevent this from happening again.
Is that what people are doing?
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That is basically what is being recommended.
It's not an ideal solution. In a security world it would be a big no-no. But for most of us, we have a dedicated weather PC running the software. The biggest risk is those machines that actually browse the web that could download malicious software.
But if you have a dedicated PC and it's behind a firewall, the actual risk is minimal. The only issue I could see is if at some point you decided you wanted to update the PC, and something broke, you now have 100's of updates that could have potentially knocked it off. Not a few. So it would be difficult to narrow it down.
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I don't know what others are doing but my windows updates are disabled. When I want to update windows I completely shut down all my wx programs so that there is no conflict. After updates are done I then fire everything back up.
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I think the key here is using the Com0Com signed W7 64-bit driver (https://code.google.com/p/powersdr-iq/downloads/detail?name=setup_com0com_W7_x64_signed.exe&can=2&q=). I remember that downloading it and setting up from that unknown source wasn't the safest feeling, but for me it was much better than foregoing all future Windows7 Updates. I can now vouch for the source: it is what it says it is.
This is why my VVP installations just kept on chugging through Tuesday's updates.
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In addition to the programs I have listed above that are running, no Adobe products are on this machine, nor is Java installed on this machine. By not having Flash and Java on this machine, it helps cut down the amount of openings those cretins can get in to. It certainly isn't bullet proof by any means. I just have what is needed for the weather software I am using to run like it needs to. No more, no less.
When I DO go to Windows Update, I only install the most critical updates needed (security updates, .Net, etc). I do not install any IE updates, as I do not use IE on this machine, period. It still has IE8 on it from when I originally installed Windows 7.
I do need to correct something. I am using the free version of Avast Antivirus, not Pro. I remembered it was time to renew and they wanted quite a bit more for the 3 licensed machines I have. I opted for the free version instead.
And like Ryan just posted, I shut down ALL weather programs, update the machine, restart and carry on.
John
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I think the key here is using the Com0Com signed W7 64-bit driver (https://code.google.com/p/powersdr-iq/downloads/detail?name=setup_com0com_W7_x64_signed.exe&can=2&q=). I remember that downloading it and setting up from that unknown source wasn't the safest feeling, but for me it was much better than foregoing all future Windows7 Updates. I can now vouch for the source: it is what it says it is.
This is why my VVP installations just kept on chugging through Tuesday's updates.
wow. I downloaded this link because I had no ideas what else to do. My PC is not a solely dedicated WX PC. It's running a wide range of stuff.
I had little hope this would work. It installed and I restarted windows, updates and all. VVP works! Amazing.
I will hold my breath for awhile. But right now, it's working!
Thank you! I would not have known to try this.
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Weather Underground Staff
12:10 PM (2 minutes ago)
to me
Dear Paul,
Congratulations! Your personal weather station (ID #KTXHIGHL10) is back online!
You can see your PWS data here: http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KTXHIGHL10
Thank you,
- The Weather Underground Staff
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I think the key here is using the Com0Com signed W7 64-bit driver (https://code.google.com/p/powersdr-iq/downloads/detail?name=setup_com0com_W7_x64_signed.exe&can=2&q=). I remember that downloading it and setting up from that unknown source wasn't the safest feeling, but for me it was much better than foregoing all future Windows7 Updates. I can now vouch for the source: it is what it says it is.
This is why my VVP installations just kept on chugging through Tuesday's updates.
wow. I downloaded this link because I had no ideas what else to do. My PC is not a solely dedicated WX PC. It's running a wide range of stuff.
I had little hope this would work. It installed and I restarted windows, updates and all. VVP works! Amazing.
I will hold my breath for awhile. But right now, it's working!
Thank you! I would not have known to try this.
I tore my hair out way back when because of the unsigned driver issue, and finally took a chance on this version of Com0Com. No problems with VVP since then. :-)
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I think the key here is using the Com0Com signed W7 64-bit driver (https://code.google.com/p/powersdr-iq/downloads/detail?name=setup_com0com_W7_x64_signed.exe&can=2&q=). I remember that downloading it and setting up from that unknown source wasn't the safest feeling, but for me it was much better than foregoing all future Windows7 Updates. I can now vouch for the source: it is what it says it is.
It caught me out too, but now I've updated to those drivers and I'm back on the air again.
Just got to work out to turn off "Test Mode" in Win7, as that's what I had to do to initially allow those unsigned drivers.
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It caught me out too, but now I've updated to those drivers and I'm back on the air again.
Just got to work out to turn off "Test Mode" in Win7, as that's what I had to do to initially allow those unsigned drivers.
This (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/212819-test-mode-windows-7-build-7601-watermark-remove-desktop.html) may help. (Bear in mind that the discussion regarding allowed unsigned drivers is obsolete.)
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VVP has run perfectly for me since loading the "signed" drivers. I am grateful that there was someone on this forum that knew what the deal was with it.
I still have the "test mode" also. It doesn't seem to hurt anything. It's nice to know that when I ever switch to a newer version of windows, I will not have to try and reinstall that.
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Thanks for the response, in the meantime I found this one too. :-
http://www.queryadmin.com/147/enable-disable-windows-7-test-mode/