Dax Driver Error

Asher - K0AU

Has anyone seen the "DAX Driver Error" dialog box AND found a fix?  I uninstalled all versions of Flex software, rebooted more times than I can count, tried the manual DAX uninstall/reinstall, reverted to Win8.1 (@ Dudley's advice from the help desk).  No joy.  I don't want to wipe my computer and reinstall from scratch.  This is mindbogglingly frustrating!

Ken - NM9P

Try opening control panel, programs, and uninstal FlexVSP as well as CAT and SmartSDR. The reboot and reinstall Smart SDR. Be sure to export your profiles before you uninstall things, just for backup. This has helped me a few times back when I was running Win 10 Prieview. Every time they released a new build it broke my installation and I had to fix it. Ken - NM9P

Asher - K0AU

Tried that.  Feels like something is stuck in the registry or in a file privilege.  Going back to Windows 10 since Win 8.1 doesn't fix anything.

Whole thing is a bit depressing because a clean install will turn into a multi day effort to get all my programs and files moved over.  Good news is it might be an excuse to get an SSD.  Just wish it wasn't 48 hours to CQ WW SSB.

DH2ID

Asher, in this posting https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/dax-driver-error
David Warnberg wrote about a leftover key in the registry, which he removed and then
searched for DAX in the registry and removed all keys with DAX in it:
...

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEDRIVERSDriverDatabaseDriverPackagessmartsdr_audio_dax.inf_amd64
...

I clean up my registry regularly and after each install/uninstall wit TuneUp (you can also
use tre free CCleaner). This helps.

73, Alex DH2ID

Paul Christensen, W9AC

Asher,

I had the same issue last week.  After three days of troubleshooting with Flex Support, it was determined that the problem was beyond any simple software change.  I had to wipe the slate clean.  

If you're proficient with Windows' system registry, try David Warnberg's advice through the link above.  Unfortunately, even after following his procedure and after researching the problem here and through other sources, the solution in my case was a complete re-formatting and new Win10 installation. 

I think it's critically important, now more than ever, to completely uninstall SSDR and all its components before any Windows O/S upgrade. 

Paul, W9AC 

Asher - K0AU

Tried all these suggestions - "cleaning" the registry, uninstalling Flex software, reverting to windows 8.1, upgrading back to windows 10.  No joy with anything.  I suspect the problem is with file system privileges.  Somewhere deep down in a script an installer doesn't notice it can't access a directory or file, but that's just a wild guess.  The IQ and TX dax drivers install, but the RX driver does not. 

If DAX is smart enough to notice the drivers are missing, it should probably be smart enough to figure out a fix short of wiping the slate clean.  It's not just reloading windows (After my Intel NUC proved underpowered for earlier SSDR versions, I bought a Dell to run SSDR that doesn't come with OS media, so that alone is a project).  It means reloading all the ancillary software and reconfiguring everything - ports, IP addresses, backing up and restoring databases.  No time to do all this before CQ WW SSB.  Who needs a voice keyer!

DH2ID

Have you tried installing and running everything as an administrator?
I do it all the time, relying on my trusty linux firewall pc to keep the
bad guys out ;-)

Ken - NM9P

I was going to suggest that, too.

Paul Christensen, W9AC

In my case, that was one of the first things tried, but it is a good suggestion.  Probably no two fatal DAX error problems like this are exactly the same.

I wish there was a utility that would magically clean all Windows residue, especially in the registry.  Trouble is, there's stuff in there that's difficult to identify and access, especially without creating collateral damage.  And, based comments here by folks more knowledgeable than myself, there is some registry data that never leaves no matter how much one tries cleaning with the best of registry cleaners.  Some folks suggest not even using them.    

In the alternative, it would be helpful if a DAX "back-up" program could be created so that Windows sees it as a new install with completely different registry data.  SSDR could then point to the new install.  At least that would prevent the pain that folks like myself and Asher have experienced when contemplating a clean wipe of the drive. 

Paul, W9AC

 

DrTeeth

There is another thing to try. It is to use a utility that has officially been withdrawn by MSoft, which can often fix these issues. For the record, I have never had this issue with DAX drivers.

Do a full backup first, or create a restore point at a bare minimum. Then find and install the
Windows Installer CleanUp Utility. Clear any DAX-related entries - I'd probably clear anything SSDR/Flex-related ones whilst at it.

Reboot and then try to install. This has saved my bacon several times in the past.

Rick Hadley - W0FG

The ultimate solution is probably to do a full clean Windows 10 install, wiping everything, not just SSDR, and then reinstalling everything.  You can use the Windows Media Create tool to download W10 to a thumb-drive and then set your BIOS to boot from USB.  After a year or two, Windows gets so much **** built up in the registry that a clean install is really the only way to get rid of it.

dlwarnberg

A way to narrow down the issue is follow these instructions, if at any point it fails you will be able to find the issue much quicker..

https://helpdesk.flexradio.com/hc/en-us/articles/204017069-How-to-Manually-Re-Install-DAX-Drivers

Good Luck

David

Asher - K0AU

Alex and Ken get the prize.  Thanks!

Run the full installer as administrator.  To do that - right click on the SmartSDR installer icon and choose "Run as administrator".   Took two subsequent reboots, but now it's working.  Thanks everyone for the suggestions.  BTW the manual DAX install scripts running in a cmd shell with administrator privileges DID NOT install the driver.  There's a file privilege somewhere that's not right and the install scripts are not reporting where the trouble is.

Now it's on to N1MM+ to see if I can beat it into SO2R submission.