This may sound stupid, but first check if the instrument is properly connected to the correct interface of the computer. When the instrument has a power switch, also check if the switch is set to on.

Make sure the right software is used. Each instrument requires its own software. Software for e.g. the Handyscope HS2 will not function with the Handyscope HS3.

There is one exception: the Multi Channel software will work with the Handyscope HS3, Handyscope HS4, Handyscope HS4 DIFF and newer instruments.

Only one application can use an instrument at the same time. When the software fails to detect the hardware, please check if there's not another application running in the background, already using the instrument.

The amount of power a USB port can deliver is limited. To avoid that a device that requires too much power from a port will damage the port, USB ports are equipped with current sensors, which signal the operating system that too much current is running through the port. The operating system will then switch off the port.

The USB instruments from TiePie engineering can be powered by a USB port. In certain situations, it can happen that when connecting the instrument to the USB port or when starting the software, the inrush current is too high according to the current sensor in the USB port. This depends on the USB chip set that is used in the computer or USB hub. If this happens, Windows will switch off the USB port and the software will not be able to find the instrument.

This happens mostly on laptop computers or when external USB hubs are used.

Another situation where this may occur is when the generator of the Handyscope HS3 is used and has to deliver power into a connected load.

To overcome this problem, the Handyscope series of USB instruments can be powered externally. The instruments are delivered with a PS2 cable that can be connected to a PS2 port on the computer and to the external power input on the instrument.

When the computer has no PS2 connection, it's also possible to use a power adapter. Refer to the instrument manual for the proper specifications of the external power adapter.

Up to WinSoft version 2.55, a certain USB driver for the Handyscope HS3 and the Handyscope HS4 was used. This driver did not support certain features that were required for the new Multi Channel software and therefore the driver was substantially rewritten.

Unfortunately the new drivers were not compatible with the old drivers. The software had to be adapted to make it cooperate with the new drivers. As a result, "new" software will not function with "old" drivers and vice versa.

When Multi Channel software is installed or WinSoft version 2.70 or newer on a computer that used to have WinSoft version 2.55 or older installed, also new USB drivers must be installed, otherwise the software will not recognize the instrument.

Instructions on the installation of new drivers can be found elsewhere in the classroom.

The USB to Parallel adapter is a universal adapter, which can be used with the Handyprobe HP2, the Handyscope HS2 and the TiePieSCOPE HS801. When connecting it to a computer for the first time, Windows will recognize new hardware and launch the New Hardware Wizard. This wizard will ask for a location of the drivers for the USB to Parallel adapter. They can be found on the CD that accompanied your instrument. This driver consists of two parts that are installed individually, after each other in identical ways.

The USB to Parallel adapter is now configured as universal adapter, capable of recognizing all supported instruments.

When the software for the instrument is started, it will communicate with the USB to Parallel adapter and determine which instrument is connected. Once is known which instrument is connected, the firmware for the USB to Parallel adapter will be automatically replaced by instrument specific firmware. The measurement software takes care of this. The measurement software will then try to find the hardware.

This detection process can take up to 10 seconds, while the software loads a lot faster. Initially the software will report "hardware not found" but eventually will locate the hardware and the message will disappear.

When the message does not disappear, most probably one of the drivers is not properly installed. Try closing the software and starting it again. If that does now help, try reinstalling the drivers from the CDROM.

When you are using Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP: These Windows versions require a special driver to be installed. If this driver is not installed, the hardware will not be found.

This special NT-driver can be found on the software CD that came with your instrument or you can download it from our web site, on the download page for your instrument.

For the WinSoft measurement software version 2.80 and higher, this driver is automatically installed when installing the software. If you are using an older version of the WinSoft software, please go to the download page of your instrument and download the latest version.

Sometimes the parallel port of the computer is not located at a default parallel port I/O address. The software might then not be able to locate the port properly and therefore not be able to communicate with the instrument. Default I/O addresses for parallel ports are:

• LPT1: $378
• LPT2: $278
• LPT3: $3BC

If the parallel port in your computer is located at another I/O address, you can change this setting in Windows and then the software will be able to find the instrument. For some computers, like e.g. the IBM Thinkpad, this requires to run a computer specific setup application that is supplied with the computer.

When another device or application is installed on the computer, that uses the parallel port, it can be that this device or application is using the port, locking it for other applications. E.g. some parallel port connected scanners are known to behave like this.

Since this depends on the other device or application, no 100% certain solution can be given.

A solution might be to install another parallel port in the computer and assign that to the TiePie engineering measuring instrument.

The Handyprobe HP2 and the Handyscope HS2 require no power supply, they are powered from the parallel port.

On certain computers, mostly laptop computers, the hardware of the parallel port in the computer is not capable to provide enough power for the instrument to function properly.

Symptoms in this situations are either that the instrument can't be found at all or that it can be found, but functions not properly, resulting in very large measuring errors.

Contact TiePie engineering () if you suspect this is the case.

The TiePieSCOPE HS508 and the TiePieSCOPE HS801 have their own internal power supply, to convert line power to a suitable level for the instrument. These power supplies are protected by a fuse, which can be blown.

for the TiePieSCOPE HS508, the fuse is located inside the instrument, on the printed circuit board. When replacing the fuse, make sure that the instrument is disconnected, as dangerous high voltages may be present inside the instrument. Refer to the manual for the correct fuse type, do not use other fuse types.

for the TiePieSCOPE HS801, the fuse is located in the power receptacle unit at the rear of the instrument. Refer to the manual for the correct fuse type, do not use other fuse types.

Each TiePie engineering ISA based measurement instrument uses a number of I/O addresses, in a contiguous block. The size of this block varies per instrument, refer to the instrument manual to see how many addresses are located in this block.

Make sure that when setting the I/O base address, the whole block will be set to non-used addresses in the computer. When a part of the block will end up on addresses that are used by another device, this will result in an address conflict. When the software will read from or write to such an address, the results will be unpredictable.

The software must be told at which address the card is set, so it will know how to access the card.

When the I/O address of the card is set wrong in the software, the software will not be able to communicate with the card. Go to the Hardware page in the Program settings dialog to correct the I/O address that is set in the software.

To controll a PCI or PXI bus instrument, a dedicated driver is required. When this driver is not (properly) installed the software will not be able to communicate with the instrument.

This driver is found on the CD that came with your instrument and can also be downloaded from our web site, from the download page of the specific instrument.

When the instrument is placed in the computer for the first time, Windows will recognize new hardware and launch the "New hardware wizard". Follow all instructions of the wizard and when it requests a location for the drivers, point it to the proper directory on the CD or to the location where you stored the files you downloaded from our web site.