Windows 10 Upgrade

[colin_smith2]

I have just downloaded Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder and found that the activation code is now different from Windows 7.

I have wrote down the new activation code for Windows 10 . I wonder if this is helpful for all the computer "geeks" out there.

[Yelrow]

Colin high welcome to the forum. I would suggest you think twice before moving from the tried and tested windows 7, to windows 10, at the moment. All the advice, is dont yet, its too early. john

[Teedoubleudee]

Colin, Welcome. May I suggest that you read the "Windows 10" thread in the Hornby Railmaster section.

[colin_smith2]

I was thinking of Computer in general. Change to Windows 10 and you activation code changes too. that is why I put it in General Discussion in the first place, now I find it here.

I have a main desktop Computer with Windows 10 on it, (the one that I only use when the Wife has gone to bed and the Grandkids have gone home). In the loft I have an old secondhand Windows 7 Laptop that runs E-Link. I'm not going to change that for it runs perfect.

[Michael_A]

I always think it's a bit harsh to blame a new operating system for something that used to work and then doesn't. Manufacturers inclding Hornby have known for a long time that Win 10 was going to be released, and I'm pretty sure will have done some reasearch, howver, there are an infinite number of combinations of laptops and computers, so it's  impossible to test every single scenario (though it does concern me that in 2015 a piece of currently supported and sold software like RailMaster is so flaky and sensitive at the best of times, let alone wont work with a new operating system)

 

I updated to Windows 10, and the ONLY piece of software on my machine that didn't work was RailMaster! Open Office, The Gimp, Skype, Chromecast, SCARM, Greenshot, Power DVD, PCDJ, AVG and too many others to mention, including all my peripherals all worked. So is the issue REALLY Windows 10? And in any case, Microsft offer an extemely easy roll back to your previous operating system.

 

Oh, plus it's offered at no direct cost!

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

It is untrue to state that "RailMaster is flaky and sensitive at the best of times".  We have many thousands of users with this system all over the world and relatively speaking only a handful have had a problem when upgrading to Windows 10.  We have helped them in resolving the issue, which was caused directly by the Windows upgrade process.  If you are finding RailMaster "flaky and sensitive" then you should contact our team and we can help you to find out what is causing this issue on your computer.

 

The Windows 10 upgrade has disrupted the DCC controller driver in some cases and simply uninstalling and reinstalling the driver seems to have worked for most affected users.  We know that a handful of users (under ten) with particular makes of PC (particularly Lenovo) have had problems with the driver (under Windows 8.1) however that most of those then worked fine under Windows 7.

 

Microsoft offer a rollback to your previous version of Windows precisely because they know that some software may have complications after an upgrade.  It is also well known in the IT industry that doing a from-scratch installation of a Windows operating system is always preferable to performing an upgrade because an upgrade on many PCs does not go smoothly.

 

To blame RailMaster for a major Windows upgrade, which has to perform literally thousands of tasks during the process is disingenuous.

 

We tested RailMaster with Windows 10 on several hardware platforms and it worked fine.  You answered your own point when you stated that all PCs are different and it is impossible to test on all of these machines.

 

You must also remember that most of the packages you have mentioned are not niche products and therefore Microsoft will have tested these as part of their update of Windows.  E.g. they own Skype!  RailMaster would not have had a look-in as it is a niche product.  It also happens to contain a server, links to the Internet and interacts with an external device at high speed in two directions, so somewhat different from your other packages.  To make this comparison is not practical.

 

In conclusion, if you have experienced an issue with RailMaster after updrading Windows (when most people and common sense also dictates that the first iteration of a new operating system is bound to have bugs, no matter how many $billions were spent developing it) all you need to do is to uninstall (deleting the driver) and reinstalling the driver.  You can also reinstall RailMaster from www.powerpos.com/rail-master/rm_setup.exe over your existing installation (no need to uninstall and all locos and plans will remain) to ensure that no library or shared program files have been damaged or altered through the operating system upgrade process.

 

Our support team also help people on an individual basis if these two things (which work for the vast majority of those having problems) did not work.

 

Finally, to put things in context, we have had fewer than twenty queries following the upgrade to Windows 10 and there are well into five figures of users with RailMaster so this represents the tiniest fraction of the user base.  Of course, the vocal minorty who take to the Internet to complain are the ones whose voices are heard.  The majority who have no problems do not broadcast this fact loudly.

 

It important to make users aware of these facts so that they are not misled by the wrong information.

[RB51]

Perfect response HRMS. You have a small handful of folk on here for whom the upgrade has gone well and a smaller handful who seem to have the greyed out controller icon. I am sure [hope] I speak for them when I say "thank you" for your research, patience and assistance. R-

[Sloop]

I have just downloaded Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder and found that the activation code is now different from Windows 7.

I have wrote down the new activation code for Windows 10 . I wonder if this is helpful for all the computer "geeks" out there.

 

[Michael_A]

It is untrue to state that "RailMaster is flaky and sensitive at the best of times".  We have many thousands of users with this system all over the world and relatively speaking only a handful have had a problem when upgrading to Windows 10.  We have helped them in resolving the issue, which was caused directly by the Windows upgrade process.  If you are finding RailMaster "flaky and sensitive" then you should contact our team and we can help you to find out what is causing this issue on your computer.

The Windows 10 upgrade has disrupted the DCC controller driver in some cases and simply uninstalling and reinstalling the driver seems to have worked for most affected users.  We know that a handful of users (under ten) with particular makes of PC (particularly Lenovo) have had problems with the driver (under Windows 8.1) however that most of those then worked fine under Windows 7.

Microsoft offer a rollback to your previous version of Windows precisely because they know that some software may have complications after an upgrade.  It is also well known in the IT industry that doing a from-scratch installation of a Windows operating system is always preferable to performing an upgrade because an upgrade on many PCs does not go smoothly.

To blame RailMaster for a major Windows upgrade, which has to perform literally thousands of tasks during the process is disingenuous.

We tested RailMaster with Windows 10 on several hardware platforms and it worked fine.  You answered your own point when you stated that all PCs are different and it is impossible to test on all of these machines.

You must also remember that most of the packages you have mentioned are not niche products and therefore Microsoft will have tested these as part of their update of Windows.  E.g. they own Skype!  RailMaster would not have had a look-in as it is a niche product.  It also happens to contain a server, links to the Internet and interacts with an external device at high speed in two directions, so somewhat different from your other packages.  To make this comparison is not practical.

In conclusion, if you have experienced an issue with RailMaster after updrading Windows (when most people and common sense also dictates that the first iteration of a new operating system is bound to have bugs, no matter how many $billions were spent developing it) all you need to do is to uninstall (deleting the driver) and reinstalling the driver.  You can also reinstall RailMaster from www.powerpos.com/rail-master/rm_setup.exe over your existing installation (no need to uninstall and all locos and plans will remain) to ensure that no library or shared program files have been damaged or altered through the operating system upgrade process.

Our support team also help people on an individual basis if these two things (which work for the vast majority of those having problems) did not work.

Finally, to put things in context, we have had fewer than twenty queries following the upgrade to Windows 10 and there are well into five figures of users with RailMaster so this represents the tiniest fraction of the user base.  Of course, the vocal minorty who take to the Internet to complain are the ones whose voices are heard.  The majority who have no problems do not broadcast this fact loudly.

It important to make users aware of these facts so that they are not misled by the wrong information.

 

[Sloop]

I have just downloaded Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder and found that the activation code is now different from Windows 7.

I have wrote down the new activation code for Windows 10 . I wonder if this is helpful for all the computer "geeks" out there.

Hi Colin,

I think that you will fnd that the activation code is no longer used. When you activate windows 10 it records details about your computer and uses this for future installs.

 

[Sloop]

I have just downloaded Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder and found that the activation code is now different from Windows 7.

I have wrote down the new activation code for Windows 10 . I wonder if this is helpful for all the computer "geeks" out there.

Hi Colin,

I think that you will fnd that the activation code is no longer used. When you activate windows 10 it records details about your computer and uses this for future installs.

 

[Sloop]

I have just downloaded Magical Jelly Bean keyfinder and found that the activation code is now different from Windows 7.

I have wrote down the new activation code for Windows 10 . I wonder if this is helpful for all the computer "geeks" out there.

Hi Colin,

I think that you will fnd that the activation code is no longer used. When you activate windows 10 it records details about your computer and uses this for future installs.

 

[Michael_A]

[snip]

 

There is sufficient evidence to indicate, in fact these forums are packed with, the many frustrataions and issues your customers have with RailMaster. These include driver issues, connectivity issues, losing connectivity, problems upgrading, missing locomotives, etc. etc.  Jumping to the defence of a product when customers make statements based on fact is, sorry to say, and I have said it before and wll continue to say it, is not great customer service and doesn't instill confidence. Of course you have to protect your reputation and product, but you should do so constructively, vieiwng feedback as opportunities to perhaps addresss issues, while acknowledging and showing empathy with the frustarions customers are experiencing.

 

We know Hornby reacts to feedback, please don't spoil that by being over sensitive and over protective. I remain a loyal customer. :)

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

Michael

We were compelled to correct your factual errors, which others coming across this forum may interpret as being the norm, which they are far from.

We trust that those users who have experienced the benefits of RailMaster and our support and customer service will agree with our reason for having to post a defence to your comments.

We are not "Over sensitive".  We work very hard indeed to ensure that people have in their hands a good and novel way to control their layouts.  We also work hard to listen to users comments and suggestions and build the vast majority of these into updates.  We simply wanted to put the record straight and do not want to be drawn into arguments.  We respectfully suggest that this line is ended so that you can continue to enjoy your hobby and we continue to develop RailMaster and help customers with what is a sophisticated system and does require more involvement than placing a loco on a piece of track - however the rewards justify the additional involvement.

 

[Michael_A]

Michael

We were compelled to correct your factual errors, which others coming across this forum may interpret as being the norm, which they are far from.

We trust that those users who have experienced the benefits of RailMaster and our support and customer service will agree with our reason for having to post a defence to your comments.

We are not "Over sensitive".  We work very hard indeed to ensure that people have in their hands a good and novel way to control their layouts.  We also work hard to listen to users comments and suggestions and build the vast majority of these into updates.  We simply wanted to put the record straight and do not want to be drawn into arguments.  We respectfully suggest that this line is ended so that you can continue to enjoy your hobby and we continue to develop RailMaster and help customers with what is a sophisticated system and does require more involvement than placing a loco on a piece of track - however the rewards justify the additional involvement.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am a RailMaster fan. It's hard to specify the skill level required to get the most out of products like RailMaster, and when I read in other forums questions about how to effectively wire up a bulb, then you can understand why the, shall we say 'quirks' then, of using anything that connects to and uses a computer can be frustrating.  Thank you for engaging in this and the many other discussions.

[Augustus Caesar]

May I just add to this with one small point specifically aimed at HRMS... (without malice I may add... :-) )

 

While there are, as you say, only a handful of people with issues regarding RailMaster/eLink and Windows 10, then that handful of people, with your kind assistance, will be receiving your help and getting sorted? Then you would have NO specific person with any fault. That's because you miss a small point overall I suspect.

 

In addition, and probably more importantly, you have several members of this forum alone who have NOT contacted you but have posted faults (or more precisely, lately, the no handshake problem) on this forum with the hope that members can offer some help. How do I know they haven't contacted you? Easy, I am one of them. So, if I haven't contacted you then how many others are in the same boat? While I do attempt very hard to find solutions to this as you will know from the posts I have made (and I have tried all suggestions you make and lots more) and given my background in PC and laptop technology over 30-odd years I think I know what I am talking about and what I am doing.

 

From that I would say that the driver issue is outstanding and ongoing and will be until the driver itself is updated by its author. This is a simple fact of life. No hardware will work without a driver usually and even less so with a driver that is ambiguous in its coding to say the least.

 

I have installed Windows 10 from scratch too lately and STILL the driver issue persists. So no interference from anything at all like previous Windows versions, extraeneous software, several partitions to the hard drive etc. A clean new hard drive fitted to the laptop and a fresh install... still there are problems.

 

Anyway, as you say this is no place for conflicting thoughts or ideas. I will say no more on this thread but you do have to realise that just because a user of RailMaster and eLink doesn't get in touch does NOT mean they are happy and using the hardware and software error free. It probably means they are patient, like me, and in no particular hurry to land a fix tomorrow. They will more likely understand the situation reading the posts and will just simply... wait... while drinking loads of coffee and playing with the Elite for a while. The software isn't perfect and can never be. That's the very nature of any software product. There is always going to be at least ONE system a particular program will not work with at all never mind properly. So, therefore, it is not perfect. While I do think RailMaster and the eLink are fantastic products there are always going to be issues. When updating the OS's is done by Microsoft... issues, when the RM program itself is updated... issues etc. etc. It's an ongoing circle the vast majority of folk just accept. It's been this way since the days of the early Spectrums and before of course. I mention Spectrums because they were the first main stream computer for the general public to use en masse.

 

So let's hope these problems are sorted as soon as possible so we can all say what a wonderful combination of stuff we have here... Win10, RM and the eLink to go with the hardworking Elite... :-)

[Johnde]

May I just add to this with one small point specifically aimed at HRMS... (without malice I may add... :-) )

 

While there are, as you say, only a handful of people with issues regarding RailMaster/eLink and Windows 10, then that handful of people, with your kind assistance, will be receiving your help and getting sorted? Then you would have NO specific person with any fault. That's because you miss a small point overall I suspect.

 

In addition, and probably more importantly, you have several members of this forum alone who have NOT contacted you but have posted faults (or more precisely, lately, the no handshake problem) on this forum with the hope that members can offer some help. How do I know they haven't contacted you? Easy, I am one of them. So, if I haven't contacted you then how many others are in the same boat? While I do attempt very hard to find solutions to this as you will know from the posts I have made (and I have tried all suggestions you make and lots more) and given my background in PC and laptop technology over 30-odd years I think I know what I am talking about and what I am doing.

 

From that I would say that the driver issue is outstanding and ongoing and will be until the driver itself is updated by its author. This is a simple fact of life. No hardware will work without a driver usually and even less so with a driver that is ambiguous in its coding to say the least.

 

I have installed Windows 10 from scratch too lately and STILL the driver issue persists. So no interference from anything at all like previous Windows versions, extraeneous software, several partitions to the hard drive etc. A clean new hard drive fitted to the laptop and a fresh install... still there are problems.

 

Anyway, as you say this is no place for conflicting thoughts or ideas. I will say no more on this thread but you do have to realise that just because a user of RailMaster and eLink doesn't get in touch does NOT mean they are happy and using the hardware and software error free. It probably means they are patient, like me, and in no particular hurry to land a fix tomorrow. They will more likely understand the situation reading the posts and will just simply... wait... while drinking loads of coffee and playing with the Elite for a while. The software isn't perfect and can never be. That's the very nature of any software product. There is always going to be at least ONE system a particular program will not work with at all never mind properly. So, therefore, it is not perfect. While I do think RailMaster and the eLink are fantastic products there are always going to be issues. When updating the OS's is done by Microsoft... issues, when the RM program itself is updated... issues etc. etc. It's an ongoing circle the vast majority of folk just accept. It's been this way since the days of the early Spectrums and before of course. I mention Spectrums because they were the first main stream computer for the general public to use en masse.

 

So let's hope these problems are sorted as soon as possible so we can all say what a wonderful combination of stuff we have here... Win10, RM and the eLink to go with the hardworking Elite... :-)

 

Totaly agree with what you have tried and said. 

i am currently in the same situation but contacted Railmaster support over a week ago and after nearly 20 e-mails  ( how much easier it might be if we could actually speak to a person ) they are suggesting that they may have a look at my machine on-line in order to sort the problem, well time will tell and it might even help bring a solution to others ! 

Enjoy playing with the Elite.

[poliss]

 Please, please, please get rid of the quote feature Hornby.

[Michael_A]

 Please, please, please get rid of the quote feature Hornby.

I like it.

 

It follows the Facebook approach, meaning you can reply to either an indivdual post or the main / original post

[walkingthedog]

Thing is Michael you don't really need to quote somebody if their post is immediately or just above your reply. Does make some threads awfully long. 

 

If you are answering something from way back then that is a different matter. 

 

Never used Facebook.

[St1ngr4y]

.....................they may have a look at my machine on-line in order to sort the problem, well time will tell and it might even help bring a solution to others ! 

John,

Are you actively trying to get HRMS to connect to your computer to investigate?

Ray

[mallone]

Having downloaded windows10 on my pc and having no problems at all, it is really very good, I decided to install it on my Railmaster computer. I am quite happy solving computer problems but this had me beat. The problem was that the usb controller was inactive in Railmaster. I deleted and re- installed the drivers but to no avail. 

I have now rolled back to windows7 and Railmaster is again running problem free.

I have never experienced any problems with Railmaster since buying it on release and I personally think it is a brilliant piece of kit...looking forward to the pending upgrades....sounds very interesting.

Thanks team, you are doing a brilliant job...don' t let the doubters get you down!

John.

[RDS]

 Please, please, please get rid of the quote feature Hornby.

... I like it ...

 

I agree poliss, even though I do make use of it myself but only by editting most of the original post and just leaving the portion I want to reply to.

There is no need to repeat the entire post though, as some seem to do (mentioning no names!)

[walkingthedog]

I'm with poliss as well. Like I said before you really only need to quote if you are replying to something further back, and even then you don't need the whole text. If it's obvious what you're replying to a quote is totally unnecessary. 

[walkingthedog]

AC I love the way you say 'one small point' then fill a whole side of A4. I hope you never have a lot to say. Keep it up though, I'm sure you have helped many with their problems.