RSLinx on Windows 8 64-bit

Archie

Member
Join Date
May 2002
Location
Orangeburg, SC
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Has anyone succeeded in getting RSLinx to work on Windows 8? I had a new PC with Windows 8 64-bit pre-installed and could not get RSLinx to work correctly. I added an Ethernet/IP driver and it would show my hardware in RSWho, but if I right clicked to configure or show statistics it would always timeout and give a lost connection error.

I tried RSLinx versions 2.57 and 2.59. I also tried various compability settings (Win7, XP SP2, XP SP3, Run as Admin) and set the UAC to its lowest setting with no luck.

I created a Hyper V virtual machine, loaded it with Windows 7, and RSLinx would work fine in that. I finally gave up and installed Windows 7 on the PC and now everything works fine.
 
Hey Archie,

I remember when the Consumer Preview was released I installed it in 64-bit form on a spare laptop and successfully used RSLogix 5000 v19 (might have been v20)with RSLinx 2.59. The latest version of RSLinx as of today is v3.51 and it does not officially support Windows 8.

If I recall correctly, I had to disable UAC and then reboot before it would allow me to create my Ethernet/IP driver.

On my own Win 8 laptop, I have WinXP and Win7 VMware virtual machines that I use day-to-day. I never install software on the host machines beyond the basics like browsers and Office and the like.

OG
 
I have a Windows 8 Pro 64bit VMWare Virtual Machine with RSLogix5000 V19, V20 installed and it worked pretty much out of the box. I did disable UAC right away and shutdown any firewalls as well just to be sure not to have a conflict.

I even used an excel workbook to upload/download PLC data using the OPC function of rslinx.
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but hopefully someone here has some clue to a problem I'm having. I know just enough to be dangerous in VMware Workstation. IT got a new laptop for one of my project guys with Windows 8.

We have VMware Workstation 9 loaded on the machine and a Windows 7 PRO 64-bit Guest set up. So far so good. But, when I tried to attach the USB memory stick with RSLogix 500 on it, VMWare crashes.

Have you ever experienced this? After that crash, he mouse is sluggish for about 5 minutes even in the host. Very strange. I have never really had any problems with VMware (after I figured out how the networking gets set up).

I got the software loaded by sharing a folder between the host and guest but now I have to activate the RSLogix 500 and can't get the USB attached to the guest to run the EVMOVECF program.

Thanks,

Norm
 
Sorry to resurrect an old thread but hopefully someone here has some clue to a problem I'm having. I know just enough to be dangerous in VMware Workstation. IT got a new laptop for one of my project guys with Windows 8.

We have VMware Workstation 9 loaded on the machine and a Windows 7 PRO 64-bit Guest set up. So far so good. But, when I tried to attach the USB memory stick with RSLogix 500 on it, VMWare crashes.

Have you ever experienced this? After that crash, he mouse is sluggish for about 5 minutes even in the host. Very strange. I have never really had any problems with VMware (after I figured out how the networking gets set up).

I got the software loaded by sharing a folder between the host and guest but now I have to activate the RSLogix 500 and can't get the USB attached to the guest to run the EVMOVECF program.

Thanks,

Norm

Interesting. Was the USB port 3.0?

There is a known issue with USB 3.0 pass through in VMware workstation, all the way up to 9.1, IF the host is Win 7 or earlier. Supposedly, according to what I have read, passthrough should work fine with Windows 8...

As for getting the activation, why not just download the activation to the host (with FT Activation Mgr installed), and then point the activation path on the VM back to the host PC (using the host IP address on a private network)?
 
I'll have to check for the USB 3.0. I did try the memory stick in different ports. I do know that the memory stick is NOT USB 3.0. Tried two different old sticks.

I have shied away from FT activation. Maybe it's time to take the plunge.

Thanks for the quick reply
 
Well, I found out the fix. IT had made the VM a "Shared VM". When I converted it back to a standard VM, the USB works as I'm used to. However, in the process, I hosed the license on the USB stick so I have to wait to call AB tomorrow during business hours. My support isn't good after hours. :-(
 
OK, I have a new issue.

I have everything installed and set up to have FT Activation server on the Windows 8 Host and RSLogix500 and FT in the Windows7 VM.

My issue is that we connect to our server here with DHCP and the computer will not always get the same IP address. So I put in the host computer name in the FT Activation server list but that doesn't always work because sometimes the computer is connected via WiFi and sometimes on a hard cable and for some reason our DNS server doesn't update the addresses very quickly which is frustrating but something I don't have control over.

I noticed in the Guest network browser there is a vmware-host entry but that doesn't seem to work to get to the server on the host either.

I guess a good question is whether it is possible to just put the license in the VM Guest and be done with it or does it have to be on the host because that is where the device for the hardware lock it?

I have added a screen shot of the VM Network setup.

Any and all help appreciated.

Thanks,
nOrM

FTWindow.jpg VNetworkEd.png
 
OK, I have a new issue.

I have everything installed and set up to have FT Activation server on the Windows 8 Host and RSLogix500 and FT in the Windows7 VM.

My issue is that we connect to our server here with DHCP and the computer will not always get the same IP address. So I put in the host computer name in the FT Activation server list but that doesn't always work because sometimes the computer is connected via WiFi and sometimes on a hard cable and for some reason our DNS server doesn't update the addresses very quickly which is frustrating but something I don't have control over.

I noticed in the Guest network browser there is a vmware-host entry but that doesn't seem to work to get to the server on the host either.

I guess a good question is whether it is possible to just put the license in the VM Guest and be done with it or does it have to be on the host because that is where the device for the hardware lock it?

I have added a screen shot of the VM Network setup.

Any and all help appreciated.

Thanks,
nOrM

Norm,

The way I have this set-up is to have my VM look for activations on the host using the IP address of the host in the "Host-Only" network. This is the private network that only allows traffic from the Host OS to the VM(s).

I have attached a screen-shot of my FT Activation Mgr and VM network set-up to show the connection. I haven't had any problem with this set-up.

One caveat is you need to make sure that the IP address for the Host OS that you enter in FT Act Mgr is moved above the path on the C: drive, so that it takes precedence.

Hope this helps!

Cheers,
Dustin

EDIT: Well seems my png posted pretty blurry. In any case, I am using the "VMnet1" Host-Only adapter, which has a subnet address in my case of 192.168.136.0, and the Host OS has an IP of 192.168.136.1, which is the address that I keyed into the "Path to Activations" in the Activation Mgr. On this type of network, the Host OS acts as a DHCP server and assigns IP's to the VM(s) from within that Subnet address, based on how you configure the DHCP settings in the VM Network Editor. The default is for the DHCP IP's to start at 192.168.xxx.128.

FT Activation Config on XP VM.jpg
 
Last edited:
What a mess MS have created...

IMHO each new version of Windows should have the capability to run legacy applications with no fuss.

I've not yet seen 8, but I bet you can still run DOS command-line in a "run" window.

I'm running all my RSLogix500 and 5000 software, RSLinx, FactoryTalk View ME etc., on windows 7 ultimate 64-bit, with no issues. Along comes 8 and we have to install VMs ??? Shouldn't be necessary......
 
What a mess MS have created...

IMHO each new version of Windows should have the capability to run legacy applications with no fuss.

I've not yet seen 8, but I bet you can still run DOS command-line in a "run" window.

I'm running all my RSLogix500 and 5000 software, RSLinx, FactoryTalk View ME etc., on windows 7 ultimate 64-bit, with no issues. Along comes 8 and we have to install VMs ??? Shouldn't be necessary......

Daba,

You're running FTView ME on your 64-bit with no problems?

I have to keep an XP VM just for my poor little FTView, so I can keep supporting the army of 5.1 terminals we have running around here.

I'm running everything else Rockwell on the Win 7 64-bit and loving it, but if I run Studio on the 64 and make a 5.1 runtime, then it can NEVER be restored.

And honestly, I have a hard time accepting RA's story that there is no possible fix, that a 64-bit development file that can be converted into a 32 bit runtime file with no trouble is incapable of making the return trip. This issue has been around for awhile, and I know RA has taken a lot of flak for it, but they stand firm. It's too good of an excuse to strongarm their customers into buying the new terminals o_O
 
...
And honestly, I have a hard time accepting RA's story that there is no possible fix, that a 64-bit development file that can be converted into a 32 bit runtime file with no trouble is incapable of making the return trip. This issue has been around for awhile, and I know RA has taken a lot of flak for it, but they stand firm. It's too good of an excuse to strongarm their customers into buying the new terminals o_O

Ultimately the issue is due to Rockwell having to switch from the Watcom database to a SQL database. It's not an excuse, it's fact. It's a hassle but so was Y2K when nobody could predict where computing was heading log-term.

Windows 8 is not much different than Windows 7, I don't see much of hassle with compatibility although I haven't seen any Rockwell software "officially" support it yet. If you need to support older PV+ terminals running a Window 7 32-bit VM is the easiest solution.
 
Ultimately the issue is due to Rockwell having to switch from the Watcom database to a SQL database. It's not an excuse, it's fact. It's a hassle but so was Y2K when nobody could predict where computing was heading log-term.

I am aware of the extinction of the company that developed the Watcom database. And I understand why they switched to SQL. Granted, I know next to zero about SQL and database programming, but I just can't believe that RA lacks the resources to reverse engineer the Watcom database and continue to support it.

After all, they figured out how to save 64-bit development files in a format compatible with a 32-bit runtime environment. Maybe there is a valid reason why the restoration of the mer is impossible, but if so that reason has never been made public. The only explanation I've ever heard is along the lines of "we used to use Watcom, now we use SQL for the tag database, c'est la vie"
 

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