old computer, old camera

[blakesphere]

hi Guylain,

Hope you're well.

 

I read this thread.

 

Looks like I wouldn't be able to upgrade...

I have an ASUS netbook running Windows XP (32-bit).

I know, I know. Old as dinosaur poop.

It was a fantastic machine and served me well. It was my "field" unit that I used beside many a telescope. In fact, I slewed Celestrons and Paramounts and imaged many targets. It IS running Backyard EOS 3.1.18 just fine and I thought I'd try to get a little bit more life out of it.

The replacement computer is an MS Surface Laptop Go, Win 10 (64-bit). Almost exactly the same size, a tad thinner, much faster of course.

But, I also have an old camera body! A Canon 40D. It too is a trooper. Lots and lots of astro photos. It's been all over North America with me.

I have not fully researched my options with this but it sounds like that the Canon software is 32-bit for the old 40D so there will be problems trying to use the 40D with the Surface...

Everything is working now with the ASUS and the 40D and Backyard EOS 3.1.18.

Quick question:

What is the highest version of BYE I can update to under XP 32-bit before I "hit the wall" with .NET issues?

I'm going to snoop around to see what I'm missing is version 3.2.2...

 

regards,

Blake

 

 

[astroman133]

1 hour ago, blakesphere said:

I have not fully researched my options with this but it sounds like that the Canon software is 32-bit for the old 40D so there will be problems trying to use the 40D with the Surface...

I am not sure where you got this impression, but I think that you are mistaken. It is only the older DIGIC II models, like the 350D or 20D, that have problems running on 64-bit Windows. This is because they predate the release of 64-bit Windows and the low level Canon driver for them is only available for 32-bit. Look at the Supported Cameras table at the bottom of this page. According to that info, the 40D should work with the Surface.

That said, if you are worried about 3.2.2 not working on the ASUS, you can install it into a different folder from 3.1.18 so you can try it out on the old netbook.

 

[admin]

Sorry, but there comes a point where it must be said.... just get a newer camera.... it makes absolutely no sense to do backflips to try and support an 18+ year old camera when something newer can be had for just a few hundred $. The effort required to back support these older models costs thousands more in trying to do the impossible.

[blakesphere]

10 hours ago, astroman133 said:

I am not sure where you got this impression, but I think that you are mistaken.

Thank you, astroman133...

You are right!

In fact, my wires were VERY crossed up. Sorry! 🙃

I have another laptop computer, an old Dell (hush now) but it is running Windows 10 64-bit thank you very much. And, here's the good news, somewhere along the line I installed Backyard EOS 3.2.2. And it is working just fine. Tested it this morning. A bit of oldmanitis, I guess. Forgot that I used it for an imaging run back in April 2021.

To recap, I think you're saying that CERTAIN CAMERAS have issues with 32- and 64-bit OSs.

Clearly, not an issue with my 40D.

Ver 3.2.2 is definitely not happy on XP 32-bit.

Anyhoo, this human is happy. I don't have to buy a new camera... just yet.

Here I was thinking that I'd keep the 40D and remove the IR cut and buy a new body for general use (yes, I use my camera for all kinds of photags).

cheers,
Blake

[blakesphere]

3 hours ago, admin said:

The effort required to back support these older models costs thousands more in trying to do the impossible.

Guylain,

Indeed. I know the efforts required from the coding side.

You've already done SO much. Thank you, thank you.

It's not your fault but I do dislike (even though I'm in IT) the rollercoaster ride of software and hardware versions and upgrades and devices that obsolesce it seems at faster and faster rates.

regards,

 

[astroman133]

It is likely that your old XP computer is missing either or both the .NET 4.0 Framework or a C++ Runtime Library that are needed by BYE (.NET) and the Canon EOS SDK (the C++ RTL). It may also be that XP does not have a low-level driver that is needed to talk to the camera.

[astroman133]

On 12/28/2022 at 12:07 PM, blakesphere said:

To recap, I think you're saying that CERTAIN CAMERAS have issues with 32- and 64-bit OSs

That is not exactly what I said. You over-simplified it.

Some of the very old models, those cameras with the DIGIC II processor that  Canon dropped support for prior to Microsoft releasing 64-bit versions of Windows are not supported on 64-bit versions of the O/S. This is because Canon never released 64-bit support (a low-level plug and play driver) for them.

Also BYE and the Canon SDK have some prerequisite software that must be installed on the computer in order to function. This is regardless of whether it is 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows.

To sum up....all Canon EOS cameras that are supported by the EOS SDK should work on 32-bit Windows, as long as the requisite software is installed. And all DIGIC III and later models that are supported by the EOS SDK will work on 64-bit Windows, if the requisite software is installed.

It is easiest to look for your camera model on the Supported Cameras page (link at the bottom of this page) to see how it is supported.

There are some models that BYE does not support because Canon chose not to allow them to be tethered. Finally, there is one model of DIGIC II camera (the 400D / XTi ) that is supported on 64-bit versions of Windows. This model was the last DIGIC II model released and has a 64-bit low-level driver as part of the O/S.

I hope this is clearer.

[blakesphere]

OK. I'll dig deeper.

But again my issue is that i have a WORKING copy of 3.1.18 on the old ASUS Windows XP 32-bit. That suggests a lot of the necessary parts are in place.

When I downloaded and tried the install of BYE 3.2.2 that failed. Right?

So if there's some NEW ancillary file missing, I have no idea what it is. I'll have to determine the missing bits on my own. Sounds like I need to manually update the .NET, if I can.

 

[blakesphere]

Oh, if I didn't mention it before. I have a 40D. It is in the list as a supported camera. It's worked great with the ASUS.

[astroman133]

Blake,

The BYE user guide is available here -->

as a separate download. It lists the pre-requisites. It includes .NET 4.0. This may be different from what was required for 3.3.18. However it also says that the BYE Installer is supposed to detect whether .NET 4.0 is installed or not. is there any message that tells you why the installer failed?

 

[blakesphere]

Two screen snaps attached...

One is the error that occurs right near the end of the installation process. Note the 193 error code.

The other is the error when I attempt to launch the app ('cause the installer did complete! placing the icons on the desktop--which is another subtle bug in itself).