Win 10 Update broke FlexVSP, fixed

Mike VE3CKO

Last couple days when opening SmartSDR I got an error as SmartCAT would not open up and give me an error that it needs FlexVSP service and to open a ticket. I left it alone until today, noticed a few posts regarding a new Win 10 update.
So before going into panic mode, finger point, whine and complain about how much money I spent on my radio and it telling people how to do their job, I decided to try to fix it myself. Realizing I have no control of what Microsoft did to my computer, it is my computer, my radio, my shack, my problem.
So I opened up Control Panel, Program and Features, selected FlexVSP right click and selected REPAIR. A few seconds later it was done, then opened up SmartSDR and bingo, SmartCAT opened up as it should.
Not sure if this will help anyone else but it seems to have worked for me.

Bill -VA3WTB

Mike, I  was wondering if that Flex utility that saves and restores DAX and CAT setings, does that utility also do the same thing with VSP? or only DAX and CAT?

Dan-N7HQ

Thanks, Mike.  Employing the Repair/Restore capability of Windows is one of the first steps our helpdesk team walks folks through when they encounter driver-based issues.  On some systems, Windows update can leave the Virtual Serial Port (VSP/CAT) driver in a non-viable state.

73,
Dan N7HQ 

Steve K9ZW

Using the Application/Program Repair sorted our VPN and other software issues (all not FRS software) that the latest Win10 update brought.

As the fix was quick and easy to repair we didn't spend time to dig into what the update messed up.

One forgets that these updates tend to be part of a wave of changes Microsoft makes to both the OS and product packages.  

After testing, we rolled out all of the changes to keep remote and package functionality rolling.  Otherwise with so many people teleworking we would have put the updates on hold.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Blog:  http://k9zw.wordpress.com  

WK2Y

If anyone thinks that it's just Flex that suffers when Windows updates are rolled out, I heartily encourage you to subscribe to some Windows newsletters and use Google news to search for articles right after the update comes out.  These updates are so problematic that one newsletter I get has an entire section and sometimes a special edition that advises  when and whether or not to install updates.  The problems we encounter are relatively minor compared to what others encounter.  What amazes me is how idiosyncratic some of the problems are, a particular piece of hardware or software or some combination.  
Stay safe, stay healthy,
73,
Bob, WK2Y

Steve K9ZW

Hi Bob WK2Y

Could you recommend a concise reference to follow on Windows updates that would be useful for hams?

On this last update I was foxed that some of the information I could have used was behind paywalls, and I was working remote without the credentials handy.  Fortunately I was able to search until I found several university websites where they had rolled out recovery advice to their large scale user bases, which then scaled down to my organization's experience very quickly.

Strange to say that as not all updates hose systems, we tend to put away our tools and back-burner techniques long enough that I ended up creating a set of notes and a bookmark folder so I can come back to what worked to repair things again.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Blog:  http://k9zw.wordpress.com  

WK2Y

My go to source is www.askwoody.com   Great detailed information.  I pay for their newsletter.  It's on all things Windows.   I also have a Google news search set up for Forbes + Windows.  Forbes gets the latest about Windows problems and gets it out fast.  There are more Windows focused newsletter but I can always read the Forbes articles.  It's always a bit disconcerting to see the issues, but fortunately, I haven't been impacted by 99% of what they report. 

Hope that helps.  If you need more info, let me know. 

DaveTX

Mike- You Da man! I was having problems and luckily had a backup of my CAT.settings file. I kept copying it over but CAT was barfing silently and if/when it would come up I got a Failed FlexVSP port error. I tried the repair step and recopied my CAT.settings file and all is good.

Thanks!