How do I remove your crap software from my machine?

[PeteW]

I installed NI488 version 2.4 on my machine.  However, NI has once again **bleep** their users by not keeping drivers for older products, in my case the GPIB-USB-A.  I can not install this hardware without going back to version 2.2, which is fine - however,  the version 2.2 installer sees the version 2.4 install and will not write over it, telling me that a later version exists.  The default uninstall does not work (normal NI policy it seems) so what registry key do I need to delete to uninstall this hunk of **bleep** so I can reinstall the hunk of **bleep** I need?

I'm so sick of NI, I would love to delete every piece of overpriced crap software the company I work for has ever installed on their damn machines. However, and I'm sure this isn't a unique experience, **bleep**.

Message Edited by Support on 03-06-2006 08:29 AM

[ScottieB]

I'm sorry to hear that you're having difficulties removing NI-488.2 v2.4 from your system. I assume by "the default uninstall" you mean going into Add/Remove Programs and selecting "uninstall", could you confirm that's what you're doing? Also, I'd like to know your OS and what other NI software you have installed. Further, what is the error message you receive when you try to uninstall?  This is not the standard behavior for NI-488.2 v2.4 and it can usually be uninstalled via the "A/RP method". I'll be glad to help you downgrade your driver.  You're correct, USB-A support was dropped in v2.4.

Scott B.
GPIB Software
National Instruments

Message Edited by ScottieB on 03-06-2006 09:40 AM

[PeteW]

I'm running WinXPPro. Using "Add/Remove Programs"  gives me an error ("An error occured while trying to remove National Instruments software. It may have already been uninstalled") and have tried re-running setup (the installer will not let me uninstall from there, but I thought I would try to deselect everything on the installation to see if it would then let the older version overwrite it.  Of couse, when I try to install the old version (2.2) it claims a newer version is already installed. 

I'm more than frustrated with NI - I spent half of a day downloading software that I don't really need, all I want is a driver for the USB device to work with some in-house software. I don't understand how a company that wants to play test equipment thinks that outdating a piece of hardware that is 8 years old is going to play alongside Agilent and Tektronix - I still use test equipment that is more than 30 years old (alongside brand new gear)  Of course, it's really my own stupid fault, why would anyone think that NI would not include all the drivers in their latest 100 meg install files??

[ScottieB]

Pete,

Have you tried running the NI-488.2 v2.4 installer and clicking "Repair"?  After that, hopefully you would be able to do an uninstall of 2.4 so that you could get back to 2.2.  I know it's a multistep process, but it seems like the best way to get some results for you.

I also hear your complaints about obsoleting hardware.  We are forced to make decisions for technical reasons and we do occasionally have to obsolete older hardware when a new driver releases.  In an ideal world, we would support all hardware even from way back in the 80's in our newest Windows XP (or soon to be Windows Vista) driver.  However, the number of technical issues with doing this is huge.  For example, the testing burden alone for the 30ish GPIB interfaces we've had over the years, some of which are created for buses that no longer have Windows support, would delay the release of new drivers for months and maybe even years.  We run extensive tests on every supported interface before shipping a driver to ensure that it is of the highest quality.  Taking a long time when customers get a new OS like Windows Vista is clearly not a good thing.  It is sometimes necessary to obsolete old hardware to allow us to move forward with development.

Please let me know how my suggestions turns out.  We'll get you back to v2.2 so that you can use your USB-A.

Scott B.
GPIB Software
National Instruments

Message Edited by ScottieB on 03-07-2006 04:46 PM