Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Dolby media block software updater

This is topic Dolby media block software updater - won't work with Windows 10 in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=002470

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-04-2015, 08:23 PM:

DSS200 + cat745 combo, but there is also a cat862 in the server. I like to keep the 862 updated with the same version of the software as is in the actual server, in case the 745 fails so that we can switch to using it as a backup. Obviously I can't update the 862 through the server itself (at least, not without running the config script and multiple reboots), and so I've been updating it from a PC via USB.

The PC I was using to do this died a couple of months ago - it was a 2003 vintage one running XP, and its motherboard succumbed to capacitor plague. Mainly what that computer was used for was running Show Manager and DCC to operate digital shows, but I was also using it to update the cat862 using the Dolby software updater.

The computer we've got to replace it runs Windows 10, and the Dolby software updater program simply won't work. At least, it will not see the cat862 when connected via USB. The thing loads, but just says "disconnected", even though the Windows device manager shows the cat862 listed and with a driver. Running the software updater in compatibility mode for Vista SP2 doesn't help either.

There is no problem with the media block, because I've just brought an old laptop in from home that runs Vista SP2, and that worked perfectly - I've just installed the new software version in the cat862 and rebooted it successfully. But it would be nice not to have to cart it in every time Dolby issues a DSS200/cat745/cat862 software update, and so if anyone knows of a trick or workaround to persuade Dolby Software Updater to work under Windows 10 and via USB, I'm all ears.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 11-04-2015, 08:34 PM:

Virtual Box

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-04-2015, 08:51 PM:

XP within a virtual machine ... hmm ... would need a non-OEM license to do that and it would be a bit of a faff to set up. But many thanks for the suggestion, and if no-one knows of a quick and easy fix (and if Dolby is not going to produce a W10-compatible version of the updater anytime soon), I'll give it a try.

Posted by Mike Renlund (Member # 4675) on 11-05-2015, 10:16 AM:

Windows 8 and Windows 10 have strict driver enforcement built in, but the USB driver for Dolby Media Block, Dolby Software Update, Dolby CP750, etc. are not passing that check.

You can force Windows to ignore the signing check.

Start by uninstalling the software (if already installed).

Hold down the shift button while selecting "restart".

This should bring up an options menu. Select "troubleshoot".

Then select "advanced options", then select "startup settings"

At this point you can click on "restart".

As the system restarts, you are presented with several options. Select "Disable driver signature enforcement"

You should now be able to install the software and have the driver load successfully.

Mike Renlund
Dolby Laboratories

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-05-2015, 10:32 AM:

Any thought to just getting the drivers signed? This problem isn't one that is going to go away.

Posted by Marco Giustini (Member # 4544) on 11-05-2015, 12:31 PM:

I thought Windows 10 was more easy-going and it was just asking you if you wanted to install the driver anyway. Shame it is not the case. I did notice the 750 wouldn't work by USB but I didn't have time to investigate. Thanks for confirming it's the same windows 8's fix.

Posted by Carsten Kurz (Member # 5396) on 11-05-2015, 03:25 PM:

Leo - get a business-class second-hand Dell notebook, with XP, and a serial port. Should set you back no more than 100-200US$. You can get them with warranty from professional refurbishers.

- Carsten

Posted by Pete Naples (Member # 761) on 11-05-2015, 05:10 PM:

Leo,

Assuming you're on reasonably up to date software, why bother using a PC to update the 862?

The sites we have with this configuration, we just plug the 862 in after the 745 is updated, run config script to tell it to look for the 862, let it update, then swap back to the 745.

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 11-05-2015, 10:24 PM:

All I ever get is the KDMs for the update and never bother to update...It would be a catastrophic type failure to force me back to the CAT862 so the update wouldn't be such a burden. I figure that really what the server is doing is keeping the CAT862 charged so it may be transplanted, someday later, to a system that NEEDs the CAT862 but has one that has failed.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 11-06-2015, 09:29 AM:

Mike - many thanks; that did the trick.

Carsten - agreed that mid-00s vintage laptops are perfect as, effectively, inexpensive and reliable remote controllers for networked booth equipment. We use three in total, and I have one at home ready to bring in to replace any that fail at short notice, too. However, the site which now has the Windows 10 desktop is a one that I sometimes can't get to very easily if things go wrong, hence my wanting newer hardware in there.

Furthermore, given that Dolby Show Manager, NEC DCC (through WINE) and a VNC client all work happily under Ubuntu, there is no need to run a no-longer-supported operating system on one of these older laptops, either.