TOPIC:

Because I was unable to implement Dirac Live 2.0 on my Asus laptop, I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad W530 i7 24GB RAM and am starting over from scratch.

All of the Dirac Live and MiniDSP software has been uninstalled and deleted from the Asus.

I bought the 2x4 HD and the $200 upgrade to DDRC-24.

All directions have been followed per the poorly-written manuals, that is to say, all directions related to installing the software/drivers/plugins for the 2x4 HD as well as directions related to upgrading the 2x4 to the DDRC-24. I've reread those directions so many times that I could probably recite them in my sleep.

So, I'm at that stage once again where all I want to do is the get the License Activation screen to pop-up so that I can send the activation code to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so they can email me the activation key file. But I cannot "Connect" to the DDRC-24 (v1.8d2). I see instead a pop-up that reads:

"Cannot connect to the System . . . Cannot connect to DSP, please plug in the board".

Thinking out loud, this should be a very simple, straight-forward process. but apparently I'm one of the very very few who are too thick to figure it out.

Any suggestions anyone?

You already upgraded it before, right? You don't have to do it twice.

I am starting from scratch, i.e. syncing back to "restore all defaults".

So, here I am now, with the 2x4HD software installed (no Dirac downloaded yet) and per above have successfully connected. The firmware loaded is for the 2x4HD.

According to the manual, the next step is to upgrade to DDRC24. So, okay, I will download the DDRC_24.exe and run it per the instructions.

But here's where it gets tricky. Do I download install DR1 or 2? Because I can install 1, and then upgrade to DL2 per the Addendum directions. Or, do I go directly to DR2? "Tricky" because, as anyone can see, the software download/installation directions are in a different order depending on which document and which DL version one uses/chooses to install. DL1 instructions say install DDRC24 first, then DL1. The D2 instructions say the reverse, that is, install DL2 before DDRC24.

What's worse is that the instructions in the Addendum conflict. Section 1.2.3 directs one to install DDRC first, then DL2 (i.e. opposite of directions in 2.1 et seq.).

Not knowing if following one way vs. the other will result in problems, it's little miscues on written guidance like this that causes frustration. Maybe it doesn't make a difference but it's confusing all the same.

Ok, so I have successfully upgraded to DDRC24. I can connect to the processor.

Now I will try to upgrade to Dirac Live 2.

I downloaded Dirac Live first, then installed, per instructions.

Then downloaded miniDSP software, and attempted to install the plugin when I was met with the "Sorry, an error has occurred. The application cannot be installed due to a certificate problem. The cert does not match the installed application cert, does not support application upgrades, or is invalid. Please contact the application author."

So, according the the text file accompanying the software, this error gets remedied by uninstalling the "previous version" before installing the updated version.

So, I uninstall the previous version, then install the new version.

Then, per instruction, I update the firmware.

Then, per instruction, I try to "use the plugin to connect to the processor . . ."

But the familiar "Cannot connect to DSP, please plug in the board" pops up.

Back to square one.

With regard to the "Cannot connect to DSP" issue, the DevTeam and I have gone down the checklist making certain that every possible adverse software-hardware scenario has been dealt with.

We finally came to an interesting consideration that I could not have predicted:

"Browse to: C:\Program Files (x86)\miniDSP\DDRC-24\add

Click on MiniDSP_net4.exe

It will open a little dialog box. Can you now connect under the plugin?

If it works, close "MiniDSP_net4.exe", rename "MiniDSP.exe" to say "MiniDSP_net35.exe" and rename "MiniDSP_net4.exe" to "MiniDSP.exe" and run the plugin again."

Well, I browsed to C:\Program Files (x86)\miniDSP\DDRC-24\add and clicked on MiniDSP_net4.exe. However, no dialogue box opened.

Then I browsed to C:\Program Files (x86)\miniDSP\DDRC-24\add and clicked on MiniDSP.exe, and the dialogue box (Bridge box) opened, and then I was able to connect.

While I wait now for the team to review my latest efforts, I went rogue and renamed MiniDSP.exe to MiniDSP_net4.exe (and renamed MiniDSP_net4.exe to MiniDSP_net35.exe) which now permits me to connect to the DSP normally (via the DDRC-24 icon on my startup screen).

So, everything appears to function as it should. But again, I am waiting to hear back from the DevTeam to see if my renaming convention is appropriate or not. I'll update here as necessary.

Snovosel, did you finally get a reply from the DevTeam?
I am installing my newly acquired DDRC-24 and I have the same problem: Cannot connect to the system

Edit: I am on a laptop with a recent Windows 10 install.
When I plug the controller into the computer, I get the message: "USB device not recognized"

Edit2: I tried the MiniDSP_net4.exe but I didn't get a dialog box. I didn't go further.

Presumptuous I know, but can you confirm that the necessary software has been installed, in particular the Windows drivers, I.e. page 13 of the user manual.

Yes, I did install the windows driver according to the instructions that said that the controller had to be plugged-in and connected during the install. I didn't get any error message during the driver install.

However I didn't do the Firmware upgrade, because the instructions didn't address this for the initial install.

Should I wait for the DevTeam to chime in, or should I contact them directly?

Thanks for your help!

Another bit of information, my laptop has different versions of .net framework (V1 to V4.0.30319) installed. Not sure if this is required for the initial install, but it's there.
Also Adobe Air got installed at the same time I downloaded & installed Dirac2.
I seem to have everything in order...

I cannot suggest any further checks or actions other than contact minidsp tech team via the Support -> Contact Us FAQ tab creating a support ticket.

Hi Altair,

Assuming you haven't already resolved the issue; for starters, I deleted all prior miniDSP downloads/installs.

I wiped the DDRC-24 back to the 2x4HD via the firmware updater and started fresh.

I made certain that the recommended Win10/Adobe software was installed on my laptop.

Concurrent to my laptop install, I ran one on a Win10/64 desktop to see if my issue was confined to the laptop. It was (although it wasn't for my "cannot connect" on my nanoAVR). This information helped DevTeam more precisely diagnose.

Here's additional information that was supplied to me by DevTeam after I received and implemented not only what I mentioned previously but after my unique renaming workaround:

a) Close the miniDSP.exe (that you manually opened before as a test after renaming it)
b) Try to connect from the DDRC-24. It will automatically open minidsp.exe and allow you to connect.
c) Go to Dirac live and it should work. If not, you may have to close the minidsp.exe dialog box manually before you open Dirac Live.
You can't have 2 software controlling the unit.

After applying the above, I restarted the laptop and then everything worked as it should.

Thanks! As a test, I plugged the DDRC into my Win10 desktop and I didn't get the error message that the USB device is not recognized. And Device Manager tells me (rightly so) that there is no driver installed for this device.
So, back to the Laptop, in Device Manager the DDRC is not listed in "Other devices" as it was on the desktop, and in "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" there is listed an "Unknown USB Device (Port Reset Failed)".
So the laptop is missing something, probably not related to the installation of the DDRC. But what?

The DevTeam must be off for the weekend, so I'll contact them on Monday.

Solved (I hope)
My laptop has 2 USB ports, one of which is used for the BT module of my mouse.
I just interchanged the connections to the ports and it now works...
Maybe the datastream from the DDRC is a bit too fast for my laptop but I never had problems before on this laptop, and I plugged lots of different accessories and modules.