USB Thumb drive fails to image new classmate

[Joe Ross]

When you say you bought a new classmate, did you get the exact same model as what FIRST supplied? The usb stick contains the drivers for that specific model and should not be used for a different model.

[kdickie]

We ordered the classmate recommended by the game committee in the first forum thread http://forums.usfirst.org/showthread.php?t=13805. This is for a classmate E10IS. What we got was an E10IS2. Hope this is correct! I am concerned that due to a year passing that even though the model is the same (kinda) some slight hardware changes have occurred and drivers might be different. However, since the "Imagex" utility (according to Microsoft TechNet) is simply some sort of file copy and path table, it would seem that if this is the issue that the "Image" would have worked, but hardware might not function correctly. This was not the case as the Image failed. Any thoughts?

I am starting to think the USB key really has a corrupt file (UBP.llb - which FYI, I have learned is an un-needed labview "exmaple" file)

Thanks for any insight, we are stuck!

[joek]

what you need to do is get a copy of windows xp (on a thumb drive), then re-format and partition the hard drive on your classmate, you only need 1 partition. first, set the BIOS to boot off the flash drive, then it will show partitions, delete the partition, and make a new one, make sure that the format you select is NTFS. after re-partitioning it, install windows, setting it up with developer as the admin account after installing, it will reboot off the hard drive. then you make another account, this will be driver. once that's done, you can install the driver station and dashboard. all programs you put on it need to be transferred via flash drive until you have a browser in.

in other words, do a vannilla XP install
or you could borrow an image key from another team

[Ether]

Originally Posted by joek

what you need to do is get a copy of windows xp (on a thumb drive), then re-format and partition the hard drive on your classmate, you only need 1 partition. first, set the BIOS to boot off the flash drive, then it will show partitions, delete the partition, and make a new one, make sure that the format you select is NTFS. after re-partitioning it, install windows, setting it up with developer as the admin account after installing, it will reboot off the hard drive. then you make another account, this will be driver. once that's done, you can install the driver station and dashboard. all programs you put on it need to be transferred via flash drive until you have a browser in.

in other words, do a vannilla XP install

Have you personally actually successfully done this on a Classmate, without additional steps not mentioned above (like acquiring and installing 3rd party drivers and/or editing configuration settings not described above) ?

[joek]

not on a classmate, but I have installed windows on other computers, but I realize that they may be quite different and complex.
that's why I mentioned borrowing an image key from another team

[kdickie]

We hope to take a similar path that may by-pass the driver issues. We have requested a Restore CD from CTL that should boot from a USB drive (just like the thumb drive). This should hopefully restore the Classmate back to out of the box (Win7). At that point we should be able to install labview (from the CD's) and the driver station software (from the latest update in FIRST. I have asked FIRST about win 7 and they indicate it will work.

Any thoughts?

[joek]

Originally Posted by kdickie

We hope to take a similar path that may by-pass the driver issues. We have requested a Restore CD from CTL that should boot from a USB drive (just like the thumb drive). This should hopefully restore the Classmate back to out of the box (Win7). At that point we should be able to install labview (from the CD's) and the driver station software (from the latest update in FIRST. I have asked FIRST about win 7 and they indicate it will work.

Any thoughts?

is the classmate powerful enough for 7?

[kdickie]

According to FIRST it should work. however, I may have hit a roadblock, clt now tells me they do not offer "restore CD's" for windows 7 since one can be made from the win 7 partition. NOT GOOD for us since the FIRST USB key re-partitioned the drive and this will not work. options I am investigating:

1. Get an XP restore CD from clt. I am not sure if the "restore" CD's will still attempt to access the wiped out partition of if the CD has everything it needs.

2. Install WindowAIK (automated installation kit) on a "technition" pc and mount the Image that FIRST supplied (that has the corrupt UDP.llb file) and use ImageX to modify the image by deleting the file and then attempt to reimage. This is WAY outside my comfort zone and have printed a few hundred pages of Microsoft TechNet doc's.

3. Buy either XP of win 7, and do a clean install and then fight driver problems.

4. Beg FIRST for a new image to see if it was just a freak corruption.

5. Get another team to make a restore CD from there classmate. Again I am not sure if it will work with the wiped partition. This may also open up driver problems due to the restore CD installing XP.

None of the above are very appealing.

Ideas very welcome!

Thanks everyone.
Ken

[Tom Line]

Originally Posted by kdickie

We hope to take a similar path that may by-pass the driver issues. We have requested a Restore CD from CTL that should boot from a USB drive (just like the thumb drive). This should hopefully restore the Classmate back to out of the box (Win7). At that point we should be able to install labview (from the CD's) and the driver station software (from the latest update in FIRST. I have asked FIRST about win 7 and they indicate it will work.

Any thoughts?

It should work - the beta hardware we've been working with runs windows 7, and the new version of labview for the season states it supports 7 as well.