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cannot connect to Dandanator mini

Started by anyweb, 19:28, 24 February 21

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anyweb

hi,i've got a fairly new Dandantor mini (lovely device) and it came with a RAM test built in and some games, lovely, but i'd like to reprogram it with some new games to run on my CPC 664, but I just cannot get any computer to 'see' the Dandanator.
What I've tried:
downloaded java 8 se runtime
downloaded the dandanator jar
downloaded the CH341SER.EXE drivers and run them selected Install, it claims all was good. However I'll take that with a grain of salt as if I choose to uninstall it always complains that no device is found.
I've tried this on 2 different CPC 664's to rule out the cpc as the problem. I've tried different usb cables, still no dice.

The device manager never shows any new serial device whether the cpc is on with the mini connected, i've pressed the L  key on the CPC to bring up the eeprom writer that makes no difference, I still cannot 'see' it on the windows computer.
At first I thought it was because of my Windows 10 Surface Book 2 being too new, so i disabled driver signing and secure boot, no difference, next i got an old Dell Latitude laptop and used Windows 10 32 bit on that one, same difference, no device found. Then i installed windows 8.1, same problem, no joy, tried Windows 7, no help.
So at this point i'm desparate, what am I doing wrong ? and how can I get a computer to talk to the Dandanator mini.
cheers

niall

anyweb

#1
ok this makes no sense, i did go and get a third usb cable, tried it on the Surface book 2, no difference, tried it on the Dell Latitide with Windows 7 sp1, no difference, tried another port, same.
Powered off dell, and on again, powered off the CPC and on again, for what felt like the gazillionth time and the computer went 'beep beep' and a serial port was detected, I can't believe how many hours i've spent on this and still i'm no nearer in understanding why it was impossible to install...
maybe a cable thing, but certainly a very difficult thing to achieve for a tech savvy guy.

and now this cable even works on the Surface book 2, i'm flummoxed, could it really have been the cable all along ?

Dandare

#2
Glad you got it.
The driver is for a very well-known USB-Serial chip, the CH340G. It's fairly ubiquitous these days, and the actual setup is usually pretty straight forward.
It could have been any number of things: Hardware: Dirty USB connector, hidden short within the microUSB receptacle, bad contact, or software.

If the computer does not detect the serial port, using the romset generator is useless, as it leverages that connection.

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