Rockwell patch for Windows XP?

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Thread Starter

Chris Elston

Anyone know when might Rockwell software have a patch for Windows XP and RS Logix? Or is it just me and my laptop having trouble with this. RS Logix runs fine on Windows 2000 Pro, but can't get it to run right on XP Professional Edition. Which seems odd to me when 2K and XP run on an NT kernel...what's the difference!

I heard a rumor that there might be problems, but haven't been able to verify.

Any replies would be great.

Chris Elston
http://www.mrplc.com
 
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Chris,

I have recently contacted Rockwell about this very thing and their response is that they will have a new release available at the end of
February. You will need to contact them to receive the upgrade, which I believe they will consider a beta release until the performance has been field proven.

Dale
 
Product Installed version with Minimal Testing
( not supported ) Officially Supported Version Supported Version Availability
RSLinx 2.30.01 (Build 48) - no known issues 2.30.01 (Build 48) or higher Available now -Shipping
RSLogix 5 4.11.00 and 5.00.02 (Build 2) - no known issues 5.20.00 (Pro & Standard) or higher Available now as release candidate on the web
Advanced Programming Software (APS) 6.06 - Not tested not supported none Not planned
A.I. 500 8.18 - Not tested not supported none Not planned
A.I. 5 8.07 - no known issues
PLC 5 - 6200 5.32.04 - no known issues
RSLogix 500 4.50.00 - no known issues
5.00.00 - does not work 5.20.00 (Pro & Standard) or higher Mid first quarter 2002
RSLogix 5000 8.02.00 - no known issues 10.00.00 or higher Available now as release candidate on the web
RSEmulate 5 5.00.02.01 - no known issues 5.00.03 or higher Available now as release candidate on the web
RSEmulate 500 5.00.02 - no known issues 5.00.03 or higher Available now as release candidate on the web
RSLadder 5 4.11.01.03 - no known issues 5.00.03.00 or higher
RSLadder 500 4.50.02.00 - no known issues 5.00.02.00 or higher
RSView32 6.30.16 and 6.30.17 - fairly extensive testing has revealed no known issues none Planned for a future release
RSView32 Active Display Server 6.30.16 and 6.30.17; do not work - see note 1 none Planned for a future release
RSView32 Active Display Client 6.30.16 and 6.30.17 - do not work - see note 1 none Planned for a future release
RSView32 WebServer 1.00.20 ; does not work - see note 1 none Planned for a future release
RSView Enterprise SE 2.0 ; does not work - see note 2 3.0 or higher Planned for a future release
RSView Enterprise ME 2.0 - does not work - see note 3 3.0 or higher Planned for a future release
Recipe Pro 1.00.59 - minimal testing-no known issues Planned for a future release
SPC 1.10.21 - minimal testing-no known issues Planned for a future release
RSView32 Resource Kit 3.28.00 - no known issues Planned for a future release
RSView32 Messenger 1.10.07 - minimal testing-no known issues Planned for a future release
RSView32 TrendX and TrendX Wrapper 3.20.04 - minimal testing-no known issues Planned for a future release
RSNetWorx for DeviceNet 3.11.00 - no known issues 3.21 or higher Available now as release candidate on the web
RSNetWorx MD for DeviceNet 3.21 or higher (same status as RSNetWorx for DeviceNet)
RSNetWorx for ControlNet 3.00.02 (Build 5) - no known issues 3.21 or higher Available now as release candidate on the web
RSBizware Batch not until XP Server is available
RSBizware BatchCampaign not until XP Server is available
RSTune 12.0 or higher
RSLoop Optimizer 3.0 or higher
RSBizware eProcedure not until XP Server is available
RSBizware MaterialTrack not until XP Server is available
RSBizware BatchERP not until XP Server is available
RSEnergy TBD
RSPower32 TBD
RSWire Designer 4.0 4.05.03 or higher
RSWire Detailer 4.05.03 or higher
RSWire DocX TBD
RSBizware Historian 5.0 or higher
RSBizware ComplianceTrack TBD
RSBizware PlantMetrics 5.0 or higher
RSBizware Scheduler 5.0 or higher
RSSql 5.0 or higher
ControlPak 2.0.1 - Not tested not supported None
SoftLogix 5 2.1.1 - Not Supported None
SoftLogix 5800 8.03 - Not supported 11.00 or higher
PanelBuilder 32 3.70.00 and 3.71.00 -no known issues
PanelBuilder 1400e 5.15 - no known issues
Panelview e Transfer Utility 32 5.15 - no known issues
NET-ENI configuration software 1.01 - no known issues
InView Message Software 1.0 (editor 1.0.86.0) - no known issues

Comm Cards
KT, KTX(D), PKTX(D), PCMK, KTCX, PCC, PCIC, KFD, PCIDS, Yes
PCD old w2k and new w2k drivers do not work a driver update will be posted to the website when A-B system testing is completed
Drivers
Ethernet, TCP, DF1, PLC5EMU, SLCEMU, SDNPT, DF1 Polling master, DF1 Slave, SS, PIC (see note 4). YES
Virtual Backplane NO


Note 1: Windows XP does not support the underlying IIS method that RSView32 Active Display and WebServer use to inform directories to publish via http: This is being investigated.

Note 2: RSView Enterprise SE does not install or run on Windows XP. Windows XP does not support the underlying IIS method that RSView
Enterprise uses to inform directories to publish via http: Windows XP support is planned for a future release.

Note 3: RSView Enterprise ME 2.0 does not install on Windows XP. It detects the fact that you're installing on a platform other than Windows 2000, a pop up window reminds you that it is only supported in Windows 2000 and the installation is aborted.

Note 4: In the 2.30.02 release of RSLinx, the PIC driver for W2k / XP is included in the install, and the issue with Windows Advanced
Configuration and Power Interface PC (ACPI) has been corrected. For PIC driver issues in XP:

Jump to P20955 Failed to swap out the PIC2K driver message appears when deleting a PIC driver or closing RSLinx
 
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Eric M. Klintworth

You didn't say which RSLogix, but I had occasion to call Rockwell tech support last week about a bug in RSLogix500. The tech told me that RSLogix500 version 5.2 would be coming out in about two weeks and would fix my bug, as well as run on XP.

My (very) limited experience with XP leads me to believe it stands for extra pain (as well as extra profits). I would love to hear from someone with some real insight (i.e. facts) about how Microsoft managed to break so much with XP, and what good it did.

Eric M. Klintworth
 
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Chris Elston

Sorry Eric. I meant to say RS Logix 500.

Ken Roach pointed out a tech document that wasn't there a few days ago on AB tech support that make for interesting reading. Good thing I have both Win2K and WinXP....otherwise, I would not be a happy camper.

Chris
http://www.mrplc.com
 
Ouch !!!

FYI ..... I'm a technical beta tester for MS and I've been involved in the XP beta program for over a year. I run XP and .NET on all my platforms, and would NEVER go back !! If you'd like to discuss the NUMEROUS advantages of the XP kernel, we can take our discussion offline.

About the RSLogix500 issue, has anyone tried running it in a WindowsXP's "compatibility mode"? If it ran in 9X, NT or 2K, chances are it will run in XP.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to RSLogix500 so I can't comment.

Regards
Mark Hill
Microsoft Associate eXPert
[email protected]

BTW .... XP = eXPerience
 
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Bob Peterson

Actually, since most of us are eventually going to be trapped into some version of XP, maybe it would be considered on topic to discuss the benefits you perceive from XP.

The things I have seen so far are a major PITA. Like forcing you to register your software so it will even work (although this is an issue with office and not XP itself, for now). Other then the obvious update notification situation, what possible benefit to the end user is there in MS having a record of the people using their software? And what benefit does the end user get from having software that cannot be reinstalled if need be w/o the registration being done?

Maybe MS is doing this to push people towards Linux. :)

Bob Peterson
 
Bob;

Good Points !
Maybe a little misguided, but still good points that concern all who use MS products.

First, Product Activation. .....
PA (Product Activation) is now required on all XP products, including Office and the OS (Pro and Home). Please don't confuse this with "Registration" which is an entirely different topic. During PA, the software assembles a "hash" number which is generated by the serial numbers from various components of your hardware. It is this number that's sent to MS, not your personal information. If you'd care to "Register" your product, you're prompted for a bunch of personal stuff. Registration is not mandatory. For example, I've activated dozens of XP platforms, and not registered one !!

If your computer doesn't have internet access, PA may be a slight PITA! With net access, it takes less than 10 seconds to push the button, send the hash number to MS and receive authorization. If you don't have net access, a 800 number is provided where it takes about 2 minutes to receive authorization from a real person.

PA will allow you to change 8 pieces of hardware (in a desktop, 6 in a laptop) without getting upset and demanding that you re-activate. If you've changed more than 8 pieces of hardware, the software thinks it's on a new platform and refuses to activate. This is not a horrible situation for most users. For example, you can change your NIC 1,000 times without problems, because it's considered one piece of hardware. I constantly build test beds for XP an .NET and have never been asked to re-activate.

I've heard dozens of people state that MS is limiting their installation to one platform. Believe it or not, this has always been the case. When you buy a product from MS, you are granted rights to install it on one computer (Office is 2, laptop and desktop).

If you'd like to read a good technical third-party discussion on PA, drop by the Licenturion site at: "http://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt":http://www.licenturion.com/xp/fully-licensed-wpa.txt

There's lots of pages on the MS site that discuss PA, but I'm sure most people won't believe them.

Hardware Compatibility
If you're looking for hardware that's guaranteed to work, here's the new HCL that MS has created which makes searching simple !!

"http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp":http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp

If you have any other questions, I'll be glad to research them for you online, or provide you with answers via email.

Regards
Mark Hill
[email protected]
 
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Curt Wuollet

I fully concur with Mark. Anyone who sees XP in their future should read all that material very carefully and strive to see where this is going. It's crucial that you fully understand the new models for licensing and support, especially in the contexts of the DMCA amd UCITA and privacy. This is the next step from the silly shrinkwrap licenses and may actually have the full force of law. Also read the articles on wallets and passports and the refusal of the FTC to hear complaints. It's one of those things you should know in great detail _before_ you jump on that bandwagon. It will be very difficult to get off with your data and private property intact. And extremely easy to run afoul of now enforceable laws. This will be a new and long term relationship, please exercise due diligence, or better, healthy scepticism. Many of you will have no choice, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't proceed with your eyes wide open. A word to the wise is sufficient. Know where your wallet is at all times.

Regards

cww
 
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Mark,

Compatibility mode was an excellent suggestion, but does not work because the RSLogix checks the software for a minimum service pack level and aborts immediately. I loved the idea, but unfortunately did not work.
Do you have any other ideas? It seems that you have more XP experience than I do and any suggestions would be appreciated.

Dale
 
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Michael Griffin

I'm not an expert on Windows XP, but I have done a bit of research into the product activation issue, and the situation is actually a bit more complicated than this. There are versions with and without product activation.

With versions which have product activation, the exact way it will work will
also depend upon how Windows was installed. When you buy a computer with Windows XP already installed, the computer OEM will have configured the product activation method (in the OEM version of XP) to work in a manner which suits their production system (they want to install various options without having to individually configure each one). The method they used affects the sensitivity of XP to future hardware changes. This apparently means that you cannot depend upon previous testing or experience to predict
how a new system will behave in this respect, except within fairly broad parameters.

Some customers will be allowed to buy a version of XP which does not have product activation. I believe that these customers are limited to very large companies which can negotiate directly with Microsoft. If you are a small customer, you have to use the product activation version. I am rather curious as to why a version without product activation was necessary if this feature is not expected to be a problem.

There are pirate versions of Windows XP circulating which do not have product activation. These are widely available in certain countries at very low prices. I suspect that anyone who intends to pirate a copy of XP will simply use one of these.



--
************************
Michael Griffin
London, Ont. Canada
************************
 
You've been drinking too much of the Linux kool-aid. Registration is the act of sending in your name, address, and other contact information. Activation only requires the product serial number found on the CD or the box and your zip code. You don't have to fill out the registration card, but if sending in my serial number and zip code helps prevent software piracy then I will do that. You aren't in favor of software piracy are you? Oh yea, I guess you all intellectual property should be free... my mistake.

Jeff Dean
 
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Bob Peterson

Actually, I think that the thieves will soon beat the system (if they have not already done so). Much as gun control (and other) laws are obeyed by people who are law abiding and are ignored by criminals, people who want to steal from MS will still do so, and those of use who don't steal their software will be inconvenienced, in some cases in a substantial way.

Just out of curiousity, did you ever pay the registration fee to use Winzip? I did. Also for Procomm, and PKZip, and a few other shareware items. I take not being a thief pretty seriously. I even paid MS for the Win98 upgrade CD got off their website. I have no problem with paying for software that I want to use. Free is nice, but programmers got to eat too.

My main gripe is what the heck do I tell people when we ship something to rural China? When I tell them the procedure for reloading a dead PC, they will have a cow. There just is no Internet or telephone to MS tech support in many cases. And in many cases specs require that we provide the capability to reload the system in case of failure of some sort. I can no longer meet this requirement.

In fact, I have seen several specs lately that specifically requested NT or W2000 (in lieu of XP). I wander if people are nervous over XP and do not want it until they can work out how much of a nuisance it will become.

Bob Peterson
 
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Bob Peterson

OK. So I mispoke and called it registration instead of Product activation. I really do not care what they call it. The fact is that they are holding my hardware and software hostage.

Many of my systems go overseas where there just is no internet access and calling up MS to get some secret code so a piece of equipment will work is not all that easy either. What happens when my PC shipped over to rural China fails, the software has to be reinstalled and there is no easy way to get in touch with MS so it can be reauthorized? As far as I am concerned, this issue in and of itself is enough to make me stay away from XP forever. Presently I can get windows 2000 which does not have this onerous problem and
it works fine. As far as I can tell there is nothing that XP brings to the plate that w2000 does not do as well, at least for me. And I suspect this applys to >95% of all installations. There may be a very few cases where XP does something that W2000 cannot, or does it better enough thats its worth the aggravation, but its likely to only exist in a very, very few cases.

You mention that you can replace upto 8 pieces of hardware before it cries foul. Does this include things like keyboards, mice, printers? Or does this count exclude peripherals? What happens if you have to replace a motherboard? I have been told you are just dead in that case if you have an OEM version, which is how this is typically sold. What if my Dell motherboard dies? Can I replace it with an off the shelve motherboard of non-Dell origin?

As far as the one installation thing, I think most everyone knows that stealing software (or anything else for that matter) is just plain wrong. Its no different than stealing a car. But the fact is that someone is going to figure out how to beat this system (as every copy protection scheme to date has been beaten - this one has probably been beaten already as well).

Quite frankly, what I suspect MS is moving towards is renting software including Operating systems for some limited period of time, rather then what amounts to an unlimited time period now. Thats the only logical reason that they would do this. I fully expect that this will be implemented as an option in some future version of software (maybe even the next version OS), and as a requirement in the following version. The obfuscations about it being strictly to prevent theft of their software, notwithstanding.

Linux is looking better everyday.

Bob Peterson
 
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Ranjan Acharya

Unfortunately we were all lulled to sleep by the long life cycle of Windows NT. Windows 2000 was here yesterday and is rapidly disappearing. It takes a long time to get all the applications certified for any vendor be it Siemens, Rockwell or Schneider et cetera. From experience, it seems that all software gets trapped by kernel revisions eventually.

Our policy right now (we do all flavours of PLC) is to not use XP at all. We don't buy the programming stations / laptops if they only support XP. Having played with XP and Office XP, I don't really understand the rush to upgrade to it. A lot of flash over basically the same NT kernel.

That does not help you if you are stuck for another reason in the XP world.

Perhaps someone could write a Linux version of the A-B programming toolset to add some choice?

We will start to switch to XP next year or maybe the third quarter of this year and only by using licences with new machines. We are not registering existing licences with the new fee programme that Microsoft just started. A desperate ploy to get revenue. The "upgrades" will only come faster to newer and newer operating systems and the old ones will vanish with the "oh, if you register with us and pay us X dollars or X Euros per seat each year then you don't have to worry". I called an automation vendor on this once and he said "oh, that's just the way of the world now, tell your customers the same thing, I am sure they will understand". Yes I can just imagine it, "I know the machine works perfectly, but you bought it in 2002 and it is 2003 now, you have to upgrade the control engine to the 2003 model in order for us to support it, we cannot get the 2002 stuff to work anymore".

R
 
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I am skipping XP, as I did ME. Some Microsoft products have value to me and some do not. XP is the first attempt to completely nuke the 16-bit legacy upon which Windows started. This is huge task and I don't want, as an engineer, to be a lab rat for this. The mass-consumer market will do this for me. Consumer who value multi-media might have a legimate reason to buy XP for some feature it contains. Each person can assess this value and decide whether or not to put up the inconvience of working with a product that has not been completely field tested.

The original poster should have checked with Rockwell before assuming that RSLogix would run on XP. ( The problem is probably RSLinx). This true of all the control products we deal with,
including hardware. These are not mass-market consumer products. Engineer is somewhat conservative business, not consumer base high technoloy. There is not cast of thousands to make sure this peculiar stuff works.

"Extra profits" ? Is that like extra effort or extra points? Sorry New England, our committee has decided that you scored three more points than you actually deserve. Keep replaying the game until we're democratically satisfied with the results. Next season we'll just select the winner to avoid any confusion.

Whatever real extra cost consumers are paying for MS products goes to the legion of lawyers who tried to stop a private enterprise from freely conducting its business with its free consumers.

Jay Kirsch
 
If you had RSLogix 5.0 installed before and you upgrade then it run's in XP. At least till you format. Also version 4.5.0 will install and work in XP. The problem is with the installer for 5.00 and XP, just won't work.
Also if you have Office and or Visual Basic it is imperative to install them first in 98 or ME before you install Logix 5.00. Otherwise you get waxed. PC boots to desktop but won't run.
 
Mark, thanks for an excellent explanation of what Windows XP does for an Activation. As I expected, this has turned into the usual non-sequitur Control.com flamefest.

There are really two "Rockwell" issues with XP to which the original querent referred.

1. RSLogix 500 version 5.00 won't install in Windows XP. This is a simple one; the installer looks for an environment variable and won't install unless it says Windows 95, 98, 98OSR2, ME, NT4.0 or 2000. Simple and clear.

When RSI is finished with the next feature update of RSLogix 500 it will have the environment variable check changed.

2. The Data Highway 485 serial driver, i.e. 1747-PIC/AIC+ driver in RSLinx. I'll try to make this as simple as I can so folks will listen.

DH-485 was invented long before multitasking Windows operating systems were available. It's very difficult to get the timing precision you need for that network when you have to go through a hardware abstraction layer, so A-B has traditionally replaced the COMM driver with their own. With Windows 2000 and XP's very jealous protection of the hardware layer, that has become more difficult, and has not yet been overcome with XP.

A secondary problem exists, with many laptop RS-232 ports often lacking enough port voltage to drive an RS232 to RS485 converter, as well as shutting down the port for power saving. I checked twenty-one new laptop computers at CompUSA yesterday; only five of them had RS-232 ports at all. I expect some agile companies to come out with DF1/DH485 converters, maybe with USB, before the end of the year.

Regards,

Ken Roach
A-B Seattle
[email protected]
(Still running Win2K and SuSE 7.2)
 
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>Unfortunately we were all lulled to sleep by the long life cycle of Windows
>NT. Windows 2000 was here yesterday and is rapidly disappearing.

I recently removed Windows 2000 from my PC and reinstalled NT 4.0. I am perfectly happy with it's features and performance. I even understand it somewhat. I hope to keep running it for a good long time. Is anyone else tired of the endless upgrade cycle?

I spent over 500 dollars to "upgrade" to 2000. (OS, CPU, MOBO, Hard disk, RAM...) When 2000 died, I simply removed it.

Bill Sturm
 
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