[Nilknarf]

Good afternoon,

I manage a few schools with old boards that are mostly working fine under Windows 10 x64, however one board just seems to be going bonkers recently. I’ve tried the most recent drivers (v5.14.21), older drivers (v5.9.16 / v5.11.7), and none of them improve matters. The teacher / pupil will be using the board as normal, then the cursor will just stop. Other times it’ll jump to the edge of the screen making a little zig zag shape. The mouse still works fine during all of this.

To rule everything out I’ve replaced the machine, pen, serial cable, and Promethean PSU from another room where everything seems to be working okay, and it still has the issue. The board product code on the side is PRM-AB1-75-RF and it’s currently using firmware version v2.87 Build 0, which is probably older than most of the children at this middle school!

Are there any updated firmware versions I can try flashing? 

Many thanks,
Michael

[Anonymous]

Hello Michael,

 

The firmware version on the board in question is it latest
version; no further updates are available.

 

Given the troubleshooting performed in this instance, the issue
would appear to be caused by the ActivBoard or its electronics.  However, this model of board is outside of
its warranty period; we would not be able to provide any warranty replacement
of any hardware for that board.

 

We would recommend reaching out to a Salesperson local to
you (searching on Promethean World’s How to Buy page) to see if they have any hardware
for that model of board available for purchase.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the prompt response.

I vaguely remember many years ago when I installed one of those Activote upgrades elsewhere that there were two firmware versions on the CD that came with the hardware (one for normal use, and one for use with the radio thingybob). Since this board seems to be missing the radio transmitter / receiver, would it be worth re-flashing the non-radio version, since it’s missing the hardware? If so, do you have a copy of the normal firmware for this board that I can attempt to re-flash?

Many thanks,
Michael

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your response.
Please note that the firmware you have (2.87) is the latest one for both the board and the radio transmitter device, therefore there aren’t any other firmware files we can provide.

However we can send you the same file and you can attempt to re-flash and see if it makes a difference. We will send you an email soon with this information.

Thank you

Miguel
Promethean Technical Support

[Anonymous]

That’s great, I will re-flash it tomorrow when I’m back at that school and see if it helps at all (it certainly can’t hurt, I think the teacher has now given up using it interactively, so there’s not much to loose there!).

Hopefully I can get in early enough to flash it at the start of the day so we can see how it goes over Thursday. I’ll re-post to let you know the results either way.

Thank you!
Michael

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for your reply, hopefully this will help with the issues you are experiencing with the ActivBoard.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any further questions.

Kind regards,
Adam
Promethean Technical Support

[Anonymous]

Just to say that things seemed to improve (no issues for over a week), then it did it again on Friday, so it would appear I’ll be buying a new board in a few months when the new budget comes through! Thank you for all your help regardless of the outcome.

Kind Regards,
Mike.

[Anonymous]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the update, apologies to hear that this issue occurred again. 
Whilst you may be able to re-flash the firmware again to see if this helps, it may only be a temporary solution.

Hopefully that budget comes through sooner than later! 

Kind regards,
Adam
Promethean Technical Support

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael @ Promethean

I have a similar issue where the pen spikes on our ACTIVPANEL. It was purchased last year from RM with a 5 year warranty. I have downloaded and installed ActivDriver 5.15.10(x86) driver. I have even gone for precision calibration but problem still persists. There is no firmware update for the board. Please help. What do I do?

Thank you

Regards
Charles

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael @ Promethean

I forgot to add that I have tried a pen that works fine on another panel.

Thanks

Charles

[Anonymous]

Hi cabereoje,

Can you confirm if the calibration is off in other programs? and even on the desktop?
Also does the same problem happen if you use the finger touch?

Thank you

Miguel
Promethean Technical Support

[Anonymous]

Hi cabereoje,

Thanks for your replies.  Spiking is incredibly rare on the ActivPanel series due to the technology used.  Can you please check that you have nothing stuck around the edge of the screen that could be interfering?

Can you also please confirm the version of firmware that is showing as being installed and the operating system that you are using?

We look forward to your reply.

Kind Regards,

Paul

Promethean Technical Support

[Anonymous]

I’ve taken down papers stuck around frame. Firmware version is 6.17 and o/s is Windows 7 32bit.

I’m new to school and teacher told me that board had been like that since it was installed on the 28th of March 2017. IT person before me didn’t think it was anything and told her to ‘get used to it’.

Thanks
Charles

[Anonymous]

Sorry Paul, I forgot to mention that it still spikes.
Charles

[Anonymous]

Hi Charles,

Although you already have the latest firmware showing within ActivManager, we would still suggest reflashing the firmware.

Does the issue happen in all programs? 

We look forward to your reply.

Kind Regards,

Paul

Promethean Technical Support

[Anonymous]

Hi Paul

It happens only when using Activinspire. That’s the only software we have that utilises the writing function​.

Are you able to send me a download link for firmware please?

Charles

[Anonymous]

Hello Charles,

We would recommend testing in another drawing program such as Microsoft Paint to see if you see similar behavior. 

If not, please ensure that you have the correct settings for dual mode ActivBoards within ActivInspire. https://support.prometheanworld.com/article/?kb=1013

Does the issue only occur when using the pen, or does it happen with touch as well?

If only with the pen, please ensure that the pen has been bound with the ActivDriver. Instructions for this can be found at https://support.prometheanworld.com/article/?kb=1159

The firmware update can be done through the internet option in the ActivManager. You will find the instructions for this at https://support.prometheanworld.com/article/?kb=1160

Thanks,
Michael
Promethean Support

[Anonymous]

Thank you, Michael. I’ll try that on Monday and I’ll get back to you.
Charles

[Anonymous]

Good morning Michael

I tried Ms Paint with pen and finger (touch) as suggested and it still spikes. I then followed the link to download firmware to reapply but the Upgrade button was “greyed out” (see attached photo). PC is running ActivDriver version 5.15.10.

Regards
Charles

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael

I just switched board off and back on and Upgrade button is now active. Thank you.

Charles 

[Anonymous]

Hi again

Just reapplied firmware and carried out a precision calibration. Pen or finger still spikes.

What do I do next?

Thanks

Charles

[Anonymous]

Hi Charles, 

Thank you for letting us know. 

We will need to look into the issue a little further. 

Can you please contact us directly using the below form and quoting reference 00693436:

https://support.prometheanworld.com/contact/

We look forward to hearing from you,

Craig 

Promethean Technical Support. 

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone
I have a similar issue to the spiking problem above. It started with everything responding to a “ghost” touch on the Activpanel. When you try to use the mouse, it jumps everywhere such that you won’t even be able to click on the “Start” button successfully. I suspected the mouse, at first, so I replaced it using a different USB port. Problem still continued.

I restarted the PC but problem was still there. I then started removing every equipment connected via USB only to find out that the one from the ActivPanel was the culprit. I replaced the USB cable and it was fine until I tried to write in Activinspire and MS Paint when the spiking started,

Following the advice above, I tried to re-upgraded firmware v6.17 with a newly downloaded v6.17. At the end I got the message “Firmware upgrade failed”. Since then, no matter which PC or laptop I used, it picks up and installs the USB driver but the Aciiv<Software> has a red cross.

Please help!!

Charles

[Anonymous]

Hi Charles,

We typically see failed firmware updates as the result of a USB cable that is faulty or otherwise too long. Please ensure that you are connected directly to the ActivPanel using a single length USB cable not longer than 3m. Does the computer now allow you to update that bezel firmware? 

Have you attempted to power cycle the ActivPanel since the firmware update failed?

Thanks,
Michael
Promethean Support

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply, Micheal.

I wasn’t in the school yesterday hence my delayed response. I used a 2m USB cable. “Does the computer now allow you to update that bezel firmware?” Can you please explain what that means and how to do it. And for power cycle, I haven’t. How do I “power cycle the ActivPanel“. 

Regards
Charles

[Anonymous]

Michael Promethean said:

Hi Charles,

We typically see failed firmware updates as the result of a USB cable that is faulty or otherwise too long. Please ensure that you are connected directly to the ActivPanel using a single length USB cable not longer than 3m. Does the computer now allow you to update that bezel firmware? 

Have you attempted to power cycle the ActivPanel since the firmware update failed?

Thanks,
Michael
Promethean Support

Hi Michael

I have done the power cycle and board is now connected. I have also carried out the firmware upgrade that I wanted to. Though, that hasn’t solved my original problem which is the issue of “spiking”.

Charles

[Anonymous]

If the Panel in question at this time is a different one from the one brought to our attention earlier in this thread, please confirm for us which model of Panel is presenting this behavior and which Driver and Firmware versions are in use.

Also, is this behavior seen when using a computer connected to any of the TOUCH inputs on the Panel or only when connected to specific ports?  Are other computer which interact with other panels normally able to interact with this panel without any issue?

[Author]

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