What to do with ZWO

[northantsnick]

I'm in a bit of a pickle! 

Bought a new laptop last week cos my old one finally gave up. 

Thought to myself spend a decent amount but not stupid as its going to be used only for telescopic work. 

Amd Ryzen 3500U quad core processor running Win 10.

Fast at multitasking and a decent screen. 

All looking good. 

Downloaded all my programs, Nina, APT, I-Polar, PHD2, Canon Drivers, Ioptron mount drivers, Ascom and finally got to my guide camera, the old Zwo ASI120MM (USB 2 version). 

Everything worked except the Zwo. Native driver download from their site is giving me an Error 10. Not sufficient resource to run Api in Device manager. 

Now my issue is that if the computer won't enable the native driver what's the point in upgrading the camera to a more modern version. 

Is it the computer? Or is it the incompatibility of Zwo and Amd chipset. 

I have emailed Zwo and all they tell me to do is flash the firmware on the camera. 

So I did this on a desktop computer as mine won't even run the firmware because it doesn't recognise the camera. 

Even after the firmware upgrade I get the same errors and the camera just isn't seen. 

How would this be different with a new Zwo camera if the drivers don't function. 

Help or insight would be much appreciated 

Many thanks

Nick 

Edited July 13, 2020 by northantsnick

[fireshipjohn]

If it is one of the 'old' 120 cameras they had a very non compliant usb interface.

There is a 'compatible' driver but its a kludge. Its pretty old so I would buy a new one, I have several upto date ZWO's and they work fine on a raspberry pi, so I have no doubt it will be fine on your new computer!

Good luck!

[northantsnick]

Thanks. Just looking for reassurance before I delve into the bottomless wallet again..

Any recommendation for a reasonable guide camera. Would the mini be OK? 

Thanks 

Nick 

[fireshipjohn]

I cant comment on the 120mini, I had the old 120 usb2 but I upgraded to the 178 and very happy with that.

I'm sure someone will come along shortly to advise on the mini.

 

[JamesF]

Hmmm.  I'm not sure I'd describe the "compatible" firmware as a kludge.  That was more the original firmware.  Basically it forced the camera to work outside the USB spec in order to increase the data rate, which was ok on some systems and not on others.  As far as I'm aware, the "compatible" firmware just returns the camera to USB-compliant specification, at the cost of a lower frame rate.  One could quite fairly argue I think that the original version of the camera shouldn't be claimed to have a "USB" interface because as far as I'm aware you're not really allowed to use the name unless you comply with the spec.  ZWO aren't the only people to have done this, to be fair.  I think QHY have tried the same trick in the past.

As chance would have it, there's a very early USB2 ASI120MC on my desk right now.  I've just plugged it in and with my software (oacapture on Linux) it works fine, albeit with a frame rate of about 10fps.  A quick check shows it is the same on MacOS (again with oacapture).  I'm unsure therefore why it should struggle on Windows unless there's some fundamental hardware incompatibility that might be specific to the model or group of models of machine you're using.  I have a vague recollection that there were chipsets that were known to be troublesome when the camera was originally launched, but as it worked for me and the discussion of the problems tended to revolve around Windows I didn't pay that much attention.  Does the camera not even show up in the device manager?

James

[northantsnick]

Thanks

The camera does indeed show up under an imaging tab in devcice manager when, and only when I plug it in (the imaging tab isnt there before I insert the camera). However it has an orange warning triangle on it.

When I open its properties it displays the following message under general headings:-

The device cannot start (code 10)

Insufficient resources exist to complete the API

When I then look under events tab I see the following in the information section :-

Device USB\VID_03C3&PID_120A\00000 requires further installation

The device works fine under machines running Win10 with Intel chips, but I appear to be having this issue with my AMD based laptop.

Nick

Edited July 14, 2020 by northantsnick
spelling

[northantsnick]

Just as an interesting point, I thought I would try my old Meade DSI II (yes I still own one in the original box !)

Downloaded the drivers and the envisage suite and it runs fine (well it connects without issues) and this camera is a lot older than the ZWO

Nick

[PeterCPC]

Have you tried running it in compatibility mode?

Peter

[northantsnick]

Thanks, not sure how to do that if im honest

Nick

[fireshipjohn]

Hi Nick,

See this FAQ from ZWO, your issue is number 7 I believe:

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/manuals/Trouble Shooting.pdf

All drivers etc. are here:

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/software-drivers

 

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have one of the older ZWO ASI120MC.  I used it with a Dell Vostro laptop running Windows 7 and it worked fine.  I don't remember the frame rate but it wasn't slow.

[northantsnick]

I have just tried it as Administrator and compatability to Win7, still the same response. Could it be the cable thats causing the issue do you think. It looks like a classic printer cable with a USB at one end and the other like a square plug  thats goes into the camera

Nick

[JamesF]

It could be worth trying a different cable just to eliminate that as a problem, though it seems unlikely if it works on another PC.

James

[northantsnick]

So I have a message back from Sam at ZWO and he says I have to Flash the firmware to the camera with as he puts it "name compatible". However he seems unable to offer advice on how to do this

Any ideas on how I can flash this camera

Its worth a try as its completely useless as it stands

Thaks

Nick

[JamesF]

I thought you'd already done that on your other computer?

James

[northantsnick]

Thanks

I just downloaded the new firmware.... is that the same as flashing the firmware. For some reason I thought they were different

Nick

[JamesF]

Downloading and unzipping it isn't sufficient.  It's probably best to follow the instructions at the end of the PDF that fireshipjohn linked to above (running on the PC that does recognise the camera).

James

[northantsnick]

Success

Thank you all for your help

I had to do a repair on the redistributable C++ package first and then I installed the firmware

Plugged it back into my new machine and PHD has found it and connected

Thank you all sooooo much for your help, saved me money and frustration

You are all brilliant

Nick

[JamesF]

Excellent news :)

James

[rorymultistorey]

Just to say MASSIVE thx to this thread. My new threadripper amd desktop did not work with my old usb2 asi120mm. Driver issues. Cost me the good part of a precious night of imaging.
SOLUTION (as said above): Download this firmware update (windows) : https://download.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/download/usb-camera-windows/?wpdmdl=258 and update to the asi120mm compatible  firmware option. You loose a little bit in the framerate dept but that's not biggie when guiding.

 

Thx so much all.