Mac Suppport

[Lemi_O2]

grissomma said:

When I initially set up VB, everything was working flawlessly.  Within the last week my host will not recognize my device as Evolv DNA 200 USB, it will connect and charge however.  I'm not a smart man, I have restarted and reset my PRAM/SMC and I just can't get it to work anymore.  Any tips or ideas? Edit: Like I said I'm not a smart man. Tried to use a charge cord for data, this doesn't work.

Which version of OS X you are using? I also had problem with VB in El Capitan, as some guys suggested earlier, switched to Parallels and now working as advertised.

[bingbling]

DannyK9 said:

I dont see the need for an OS-X version to be honest, yes it would be nice but it does work in Parellels running Win 10 and also bootcamp running Win 10.

Agreed you might loose 25-30GB of HDD doing it this way but it does work.

P.S Did I mention you dont need Keys for Win 10 - JUst download the X64 ISO from Microsoft and skip the part where it asks for Key, it will prompt again when finilising installation but skip it, you will end up with Win 10 not activated but from what i can see fully functional for zero cost.

Well, for ease of use its "needed". Not everyone wants to go through the hassle of setting up a VM or a secondary OS just for escribe. Personally, I have both a PC for gaming etc and a Macbook Pro for couch-surfing. So I am not really in "need" of a Mac version. However I would still like one for the moments when my PC is inaccessible, and for convenience.

[timwalker2k]

After a few failed attempts with VirtualBox on El Capitan, I finally successfully connected to the DNA-200 using VMWare Fusion.

I was initially getting an EEPROM error, and loading/saving progress was very slow. Increasing the VM memory to 3GB and setting 2 processor cores increased the speed and reliability of the connection.

The combination that worked for me:

• OSX El Capitan
• VMWare Fusion (trial version)
• IE 10 on Windows 7 (from modern.ie)

[blueridgedog]

There is a new version of VB out.  Anyone try it with El Capitan?

[floodedcodeboy]

Okay so I have 2 laptops - both El Capitan - 1 is public beta, 1 is standard release. I use virtual box daily. I had v5.0.0 on both. I downloaded from the Microsoft modern browser site images for: Xp Win7 Win10 I tried them all with VB v5.0.0 - no go. VB v5.0.2 - no go. VB v5.0.4 - no go VB v5.0.6 - no go Skipped v5.0.8 (got - but fed up at this point tbh) VB v5.0.10 - no go Of course I made sure the chic guest additions and the addons were installed too before trying to connect the dna200. Whomever says we don't need an OS X or multi-platform version of escribe is just being narrow minded. You know who you are; don't be hating. It's really frustrating that it doesn't work at all. I've had to use a colleagues Windows 10 machine at work to setup my lavabox. It would be really great if we could have 1) a platform agnostic version - web would be fine 2) open the software platform a bit or at least document it so that people can build a decent interface for the hardware. I've seen the evolv mods talk about the chip connecting to a computer as a standard HID. If so then show us how to talk to the darn thing. It's rediculous that some evolv mods expect the customer to put down another $70/$90 for a Windows tablet to use just to interface with their dna200 device. I'm so glad I didn't get a vapourshark - the lavabox was pricey enough - I would have had serious buyers remorse if I had put down £160 for a device I can't customise. Especially as that's part of its selling point. Tldr; tried all the virtual box versions with OS X El Capitan - and nothing worked. We really need a platform agnostic solution.

[blueridgedog]

Thanks.  Saves me the time.  I was tempted to update to El Capitan over the long weekend coming up and test out VB 5.0.10, assuming it was possibly the fix.  VM fusion appears to be the only option for the moment.

[tomhstorey]

I've been running boot camp Windows 7. It works fine but I'm looking forward to the release of escribe for Mac so I can delete it. Come on evolve!

[jr]

I tried messing around with a load of different settings with VirtualBox 5.0.10. I tried Windows 10 64 bit and Windows 7 SP1 64 bit and neither worked. I'm running OS X El Capitan 10.11.1 and it sounds like I'm experiencing the same problem with the USB drivers.

Both versions of Windows could see the DNA 200 but neither were able to connect.

The solution was to shell out for Parallels 11. I purchased the upgrade as I had a previous license for $49.99

EScribe works perfectly.

[Vaping Gert]

Is there a beta version of escripe for OS X in the pipeline? Is it possible to become a beta tester of the software? It would be nice to get an official statement from evolve...

[blueridgedog]

Vaping Gert said:

Is there a beta version of escripe for OS X in the pipeline? Is it possible to become a beta tester of the software? It would be nice to get an official statement from evolve...

I think the official word is that there are no plans for an OSX version.  Though I am a Mac user, I understand this as the number of DNA200 owners globally that use a Mac is likely small vs the time to develop a port.

Two other points:

Mac users are generally smart about running the occasional windows program.

Any port of escribe, IMHO, should likely be to a web based platform so it becomes platform agnostic. 

[Jentz9517]

I just bought a nifty little chromebook the asus c201 it has an arm processor so I guess Its able to run other systems ? I really dont know squat about computers.. My question is what is the quickest most efficient route for downloading Escribe via apps or otherwise??.. Thanks alot

[johndoe123]

I have seen a lot of people having trouble with EScribe on Mac so I figured I would explain my setup as a point of reference. I have a lot of experience with running various versions of Windows on a Mac.

I have Windows 10 installed on a second hard drive (you could also do it on the same drive and it wouldn't make a difference). Boot Camp Assistant (under Utilities) makes it very easy to install Windows if you aren't familiar with partitioning drives.

I also have Parallels Desktop. The VM uses the Windows installed on my second drive.

This allows me to boot as a VM if I need to do something without a lot of graphics requirements (like EScribe) or boot natively when I need the power (for CAD software).

Using either of these two methods (or both like I did) should work without any problems. I have used VirtualBox in the past and had problems with drivers (haven't tried with a DNA 200). If you install Windows natively, don't forget to install the drivers provided by Apple.

If you are having problems with VirtualBox, go to Parallels website and download the free trial and see if that fixes it. If Parallels and/or Boot Camp don't work, I'm happy to help diagnose problems.

[sixfiend]

i managed to get escribe working on my imac, running bootcamp and using a windows 10 iso burnt onto a usb drive, doing this takes up 32gb of hard disk space tho. but hey it works now.

[floodedcodeboy]

@sixfiend ... thats a huge hassle - why should people have to bootcamp just so they can tweak my mod. talk about effort vs value. but i'm glad you got it working and i guess it's a solution, albeit not an ideal one. 

[RonS]

Any news of when is the Mac version coming???

[johndoe123]

So, I got EScribe running on my Mac... It works fine other than a little distortion with the shading (shadows around buttons looks a little off). I am having some issues with the drivers so right now it doesn't recognize a device so it is pretty much useless. It is just a USB Serial device so I am hoping I can make it work but we will see. I'll update if I get it working. FYI setup is not simple, I will do a write up but for those without command line experience, you are better off using a VM or second partition.

Evolv, could you provide any details about your driver?

[floodedcodeboy]

This is what Evolv have said to me re a Mac Version:

Date: 2015-11-27 17:12:08 Name: Nick Coutris

Message:

Based on your forum post, I unfortunately do not have any additional advice or instructions to get your device working with MAC.

I completely understand your frustration in this case, and we are working on a MAC version as fast as we can. The current hurdle is sourcing a USB driver that we can use as the Generic HID Driver we currently utilize is not a viable option on MAC.

I also understand if this effects your decision to continue using DNA200 devices, and I wish there was more assistance I could provide. I can assure you though that we are actively working on this to ensure that when we do release a MAC version it is a well fledged out Software Platform and not something that was hastily assembled to simply appease our MAC customers. We want them to have just of an enjoyable experience as our Windows users.

Thanks,
Nick
Evolv, Inc

[scooby]

It's good to know, I'm sure it does effect some Mac users decision to purchase a DNA200 device, I know it did for me.

I've never attempted to run Windows on a Mac and even with all the (confusing to me) info available here I didn't want to try.

After a long wait my wife managed to get an old redundant Dell latitude from her workplace. I now have EScribe up and running.
It's all a bit strange as it's the first time I've used a windows computer, but it's doing the job. 

[johndoe123]

"The current hurdle is sourcing a USB driver that we can use as the Generic HID Driver we currently utilize is not a viable option on MAC." - I don't think that is actually accurate.

James said "I should add that while the Windows serial driver is proprietary, the protocol it speaks is standard USB CDC serial. So Linux will recognize it without a driver. Because the device is composite, the CDC serial must have an Interface Association Descriptor, which makes the serial not work with Mac OS X (no IAD support). But, the HID-tunneled serial will work on every platform."

I can send serial commands to the DNA 200 from my Mac without a problem (i.e. "P=100W"). That is super easy and doesn't require any setup as the Mac sees the device as a USB serial device. Plug in the device and run "screen /dev/tty.usbmodemFA132" then type the command you want. From my understanding, IAD support was added to Mac back in 10.7.

I am running EScribe using Wine right now on my Mac. I am attempting to get the HID drivers setup in Wine so EScribe will see the device. I can give Wine access to the serial port using the following command, "ln -s /dev/tty.usbmodemFA132 ~/.wine/dosdevices/COM3", but without drivers setup it doesn't work.

Is there something I am missing about why this won't work?

[VapingBad]

It is not all text over the serial port, that is mainly for the Device Monitor stuff, all the firmware, themes and settings are binary so need lower level access.

[johndoe123]

VapingBad said:

It is not all text over the serial port, that is mainly for the Device Monitor stuff, all the firmware, themes and settings are binary so need lower level access.

Right, but I am not following why that can't be setup on a Mac.

[johndoe123]

 

[thekanthalkid]

I just sent in a report ticket to Oracle, to let them know of the USB issues with El Capitan, and to get an update on a new patch being released. I have 5 DNA200 devices I have been using eScribe with all them just fine, using VirtualMachine on OSX. It wasn't until I updated to El Capitan that the USB mounting support got wacky.   

The device is found and recognized by the USB drivers, it just has some bug when trying to "Connect and Download Settings".
Hopefully this problem will be fixed soon, I'll post an update when I have one.

Peace, KK

[blueridgedog]

We have a new version of VirtualBox...and the El Capitan problem persists...I did a clean install of El Capitan and VB just to test...still not an option.  VM Ware Fusion seems to work.

[the_edge]

I can confirm that escribe is working with Virtual Box running on mac OS X EL Capitan,
I'm using a External display on my Mbp which has a 4 port usb hub. When the DNA 200 is connected to this the software connects & runs without issue. 

UPDATE!!!
It's now working connected directly to the MBP, on the first try it failed so i disconnected & reconnected the battery in the mod, plugged it into the usb, it then successfully connected and worked.