ebrown1972 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 This is the first year I will be using my laptop to control my display. In the past I have used an mp3 director. I will always have my controllers powered on. The question I guess I have is, is it safe to unplug the the rs485 when the controllers are powered on? Or if I need to unplug the rs485 from my computer will I need to power off the controllers before I do so? I just want to make sure I do nothing to potentially damage anything. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I've unplugged the cat5 cables and even the USB cable from my computer from the USB485B dongle I use. Been doing it for 5 years, never had an issue with doing it.{never powered down anything to unplug it either}. I even unplug it from my computer and the cat5 cables from the USB485B I have every time we have a lightning storm. That's about the only time I also will unplug my controllers from power. Otherwise, everything is connected 365/7/24. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 The only concern that comes to mind is if the laptop decides that the particular USB port is no longer the same Comm Port #. Such as lets say you are setup and running on Com3 then the next day, the laptop decides that same port is now Com4. I've seen them change but your's might or might not. Its all in the motherboard architecture. Just check daily to insure no changes and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk5 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 If you unplug them from the USB port make sure you plug the same adaptor back into that port. The computer may reassign the com ports, which can affect your setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrown1972 Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 Thanks for the quick responses guys. I appreciate it and I will keep in mind that com ports could change. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I have older laptops and older desktop PC's that I use my USB485B adapter on, have used different USB ports on each without any issues. Have never had a single one reassign my comm port that LOR uses on THAT particular computer. One laptop uses Comm4, another Comm3, no matter which USB port I use, these have never changed. Same with my Desktops, never had the Comm port assigned to LOR ever change just by using a different USB port. Not saying it can't happen, I've just never had it happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryk5 Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I would think they stay the same if it's the only USB device your changing, but I use all of my USB ports and I've had them change. Not a problem if you make sure the network preferences are correct. If you unplug just check the comm port assignments before you try and run your show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrown1972 Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 I have 3 usb485's for my setup. I have moved them around several times during testing and have never had my laptop change ports on me but its nice to know it can happen. Knowing this may just well save me a ton of time if I start having some issues. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Something else to be aware of: I found that in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10, the OS has the capability as a default, to turn off USB ports if not used, to save power. The implication is that if someone runs their computer 24/7, the ports might get turned off between shows. Yes, this setting can be altered in the power settings of the control panel, then advanced. This setting doesn't appear in XP or Vista. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wmilkie Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Something else to be aware of: I found that in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10, the OS has the capability as a default, to turn off USB ports if not used, to save power. The implication is that if someone runs their computer 24/7, the ports might get turned off between shows. Yes, this setting can be altered in the power settings of the control panel, then advanced. This setting doesn't appear in XP or Vista. Didn't know that, explains a few thing, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 Something else to be aware of: I found that in Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and 10, the OS has the capability as a default, to turn off USB ports if not used, to save power. The implication is that if someone runs their computer 24/7, the ports might get turned off between shows. Yes, this setting can be altered in the power settings of the control panel, then advanced. This setting doesn't appear in XP or Vista.Yep, learned about that as soon as I changed to Win 7. made sure I went in and made sure NOTHING and I mean NOTHING ever gets turned off or goes to "sleep", not even partially! Saved it as "POWER ALWAYS ON FOR LOR". Since I changed the power settings, have never once had an issue with anything shutting down. Now if I could just figure out how to make Win 7 QUIT removing programs because it thinks they aren't being used enough, I'd be good! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 It shouldn't be removing the actual programs but possibly the shortcuts to them. Check out this MS article about it and see if it applies to youhttps://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/978980 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 It shouldn't be removing the actual programs but possibly the shortcuts to them. Check out this MS article about it and see if it applies to youhttps://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/978980Win 7 actually removed the actual folder and software from the Program areas. Tried searching for the missing software and it came up with a blank screen! Even went and manually searched and found the folder removed! Never had that issue with Win XP or any previous versions of Windows. Fortunately the LOR software is used more than any other prgram on my system, thus far, Win 7 has never eaten any of my LOR files or software! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 The only thing I can think of is the AV software found something bad and removed it on its own or quarantined it or a cleanup program was run and it or someone said ok to deleting things. Anyone else have access to your computer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orville Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 (edited) The only thing I can think of is the AV software found something bad and removed it on its own or quarantined it or a cleanup program was run and it or someone said ok to deleting things. Anyone else have access to your computer?Nope, no one but my wife and I in my home, so no one has access. My wife never touches my computer without asking first, and it's extremely rare for her to use my computer when she has her own laptop. I have checked the AV software to see what, if anything has been quarantined, nothing there and nothing in the logs either. Don't have any cleanup programs running, and I always tell windows 7 No if it tries to run a desktop or software cleanup, and I believe I have that now disabled, since I haven't seen Windows ask that request now for a very long time. And my wife would never say yes to delete things. The only other thing i can think of that could possibly? do it is if one of my cats opts to walk across the computer keyboard, but I keep that covered and away from them except when I'm using it, So it's very frustrating to have programs on the computer and then find them wiped away clean without a trace and no real reason why or how it happened. Edited November 29, 2015 by Orville Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgrant Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Send me a PM having to do with which AV software you are using. I'm sort of wondering if malware/virus/worm got through and did this. I can personally recommend two AV programs that I know work well as I've thoroughly tested both. No promises on any brand new viruses but the thought is something erased a program, hoping you would have to reinstall it with a modified version. This happens a lot with flash, Java and even Adobe Reader. No clue if this happened to you but its possible. I think its possible that a program that is not compatible with a version of Windows, could be disabled or even removed, but it would be prevented from deleting the personal files associated with it. There would be lots of warnings too that it would be asking to accomplish this and should be asking for permission. Look for clues too for possible hacking. Unusual network activity via the task manager and start looking through the process list for names of programs you don't recognize then track them down. Right clicking on one, will allow you to go to the file location depending on the OS. Look through the installed programs and see if anything is in there that shouldn't be....delete it. Get rid of tool bars. Also, suggest you delete all cookies via the internet options in the control panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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