Rangecast FAQ
[FAQ-1159] Error message: BAD DRIVER / BAD PROLIFIC DRIVER (Code 40)


Page Type: SYMPTOM


OVERVIEW

Until 2015, new Rangecast hardware included data cables requiring use of a device driver from Prolific. In 2015 Prolific released a device driver update that is incompatible with their existing hardware. Therefore if a recent Prolific device driver (from 2015 or later) is installed on a PC using this hardware, the Rangecast system may cease to operate because the PC loses the ability to communicate with the scanners. Rangecast software detects this condition, and raises an alarm. The fix is to uninstall the existing device driver, and reinstall the correct device driver.


SYMPTOMS

If the PC cannot communicate with a scanner that is expected to be present, and Rangecast software detects that the incorrect version of the Prolific device driver is installed on the PC, then that is the most probable cause of the issue. The sender reports "BAD DRIVER" with a red alarm.




Note: the "BAD DRIVER" error message only appears in relation to a single scanner on the PC, other scanners may show "RADIO MISSING". Although the "RADIO MISSING" message for the other scanners is different, it is expected that this is due to the driver issue. There is no need to repair RADIO MISSING while BAD DRIVER is present.

The error condition is also reported on the Rangecast status page as error code 40 "Bad Prolific Driver". This error is reported for only a single scanner on the PC, other scanners may show error code 33 "Radio Missing".

In rare circumstances, a PC may have two versions of the Prolific driver installed at the same time. In this condition, the scanners may continue to work, but in an unstable state (if the bad driver is activated by Windows, the scanners may become disconnected abruptly at any time.) This is reported as error 40 "Bad Prolific Driver" on the status page (since the bad driver is installed), but since all the scanners are actually operational, there is no "BAD DRIVER" alarm posted on the PC screen, and no "RADIO MISSING" (error 33) related to the issue. This condition should be repaired in the same way, since the scanners may fail from this state.


METHOD

If your site is using the newer type of PC/scanner interface box (called RCX, and which mounts on the back of the scanner), the recommended course of action is to uninstall the Prolific driver, as it is not needed for your hardware.


[FAQ-1224] Removing the Prolific driver

The Prolific device driver is used for old-style PC/scanner interface hardware. On occasion, this driver may cause some spurious error messages, even if it is not in use. Customers using newer RCX interface hardware (and therefore not needing this driver) may wish to remove the Prolific driver from their system, as a simple way to clear these error messages.




If your site is using the older type of PC/scanner interface box (a black box that sits independently of both the PC and scanners, with two USB cables to the PC) -- if your operating system is Windows 7, you should uninstall the bad driver, and install the correct driver:

[FAQ-1089] Refresh the Prolific drivers for COM ports (uninstall and automatic reinstall)

A problem with a device driver can result in the PC losing data connectivity with a scanner. This can be resolved by uninstalling all COM ports in Windows Device Manager, reinstalling the correct device driver, and then rebooting the PC (which will trigger an automatic reinstallation of these ports.) On occasion, a working system may fail in a way that needs this repair, due to Windows automatically replacing a working device driver with a newer version that is incompatible with our hardware. (The older compatible version is included in the Rangecast installation package, and can be restored when necessary.)




However, if you are using Windows 10 (with the old-style PC/scanner interface box), a different version of the Prolific driver is required. Contact Rangecast for assistance with obtaining the correct file.


REFERENCE


[FAQ-1010] Error Message: RADIO MISSING (Code 33)

"Radio Missing" means that a scanner expected at a certain PC could not be found by Rangecast Sender software, when searching attached hardware. This may be because (1) the scanner is powered off, (2) the scanner is not connected from PC, (3) the interface hardware (cable or interface box) is defective or not connected securely, (4) a USB problem - some aspect of the USB system may need to be power cycled to recover from an error condition, (5) configuration problem - the Scanner may have been moved elsewhere without updating the current PC's Rangecast's software, so the software is not seeing the expected scanner, or (6) a driver problem - A COM port driver may be wrong, not installed, or corrupted. In any case, Rangecast software on the PC is unable to identify the specific scanner assigned to this ID.




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