Can anyone tell me how to set up my Vista laptop to send a signal to the 990's USB port? I know that the USB port is working (tested it with headphones) and Vista recognizes the 990 as a USB device, but I can't get the sound out.

* bump *

Anybody? I am told by the support line that others have done it, but Outlaw doesn't support it. That is also very disappointing. Outlaw forces me to maintain a soon to be obsolete XP machine dedicated to my home theater receiver! Effectively my 2-3 year old 990 is unsupported/obsolete. It makes me rethink upgrading to the new Outlaw processor.

Sorry, I've avoided Vista like the plague (except for providing tech support to a sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and co-worker), so I have no first-hand experience with it.

Did they say why it's not supported? Current product, current OS ....... not sure why they would leave you hanging.

I can't tell you how to set up your laptop, but I'm running Vista on the desktop that feeds my 990's USB connection, and it streams fine. As I recall, I just plugged in the USB cable , rebooted, and there it was.

The problem is with Microsoft, so call them!! The fact that others are using Vista with their 990 should be a clear indication that Outlaw designed the 990 with the capability. It is not their responsibility to program your laptop, C'mon!!!

You just never know with Vista what is going on.

Vista introduced many revolutionary features such as:
1. the "it won't work with any of my stuff" feature. This will allow poor Microsoft to gain more marketshare in the small devices market... ca-ching! They deserve it.
2. the "pay attention to me" feature. Forces people to "use the operating system" by butting in on any program that you are running (or for no reason at all). After all, computers are made to run an operating system, not all that other stuff that people want to do.
3. and the ever popular "bet you miss XP" feature. Wow! How did they pull that off?

My favorite thing to do with a Vista computer is what I call the "hasta la vista, baby" maneuver. It involves a Linux install CD and a beverage. While the install is going, I might call Microsoft tech support with important questions such as:
1. Where is my pizza? I ordered it 30 minutes ago.
2. Is your refrigerator running?
3. How do I uninstall Windows?
4. My computer is possessed! I umplugged it and it is still running!... oh wait, I have a laptop... sorry, (they love that one)


In all seriousness (yes it takes me this long to get serious when Vista is involved), despite what tech support told you, this article from Microsoft acknowledges the problem: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933262

Microsoft wants to do the used-car salesman routine on you before they let you download the hotfix. Therefore, you have to request it first. If you want to skip that, you can go directly to any of the many sites that are sharing the file. Do a Google search for KB933262 or visit this one: HotFixShare

Good luck

You forgot this one: the "hoops the small business gets to jump when making new PC purchases so they can avoid your current OS" feature - also known as "buying the Vista license but telling them to just please install XP." I've used it a lot...

With Microsoft announcing Windows 7, it sounds to me like Vista will soon be obsolete. My understanding is that MS had so many complaints about Vista that they had to rush Windows 7 to market to appease irate corporate customers. I know my employer still uses XP even on new machines. My work computer was replaced recently with a new model from HP, and I was expecting to get Vista with it. It still has XP.

At home, the last version of Windows we have is 98SE with some third-party tweaks. I switched to Linux three years ago and will not go back to another Microsoft product.

This hotfix was included in SP1, so anybody who has SP1 installed, should have it. I have SP2. Just to be sure I downloaded the hotfix (an .msu file)and tried to install it. However, I get a message that it doesn't apply to my system (presumably because it was pre SP1).

While I share you distaste for Vista, it has been installed now for 2 years and I don't want to go back to XP.

If anyone else has any ideas on what the problem might be, I love to hear from you.

I'll try a support call to MS, but I doubt that will get me very far.

In fact Outlaw did not design the 990 with that capability, because they say they only support XP. They offer that some customers have figured out how to make it work, but Outlaw doesn't tell you how to do it, presumably because they don't how.

Yes it seems to work on some Vista systems (which tells me I'm not on a wild goose chase), but not all, and not mine.

I would expect Outlaw to figure out how it works and tell me you need driver XXXXX.XXX installed in directory XXXXX for it to work.

What you describe sounds more like an argument against including USB-to-PC audio support at all. They need to know what USB hardware you have (built in to the motherboard or a standalone card? what chipset? what hub or length of cable you have?), what OS version/service pack/patches you have installed, and (particularly for Vista) what solutions might work in your situation. That's a major hassle, especially when the odds are high that there will be at least two larger companies involved (Microsoft and the PC maker) who will contribute support resources that will offer minimal value for the hardware and software that belong to them.

I am not saying that as a way to excuse Outlaw - it would certainly be handy for them to collect a list of the tehniques, drivers, and patches that worked for others - but I wanted to point out that even such an effort as that may not be a guaranteed solution in this case.

This whole issue of USB connectivity really boils down to how well everyone in the chain conforms to the standards or defacto standards for a certain electronic implementation. In the PC world (as compared to the MAC world), the open hardware architecture and multiple brands of components that can work together are both a boon and a thorn. Most compatibility problems are due to the open architecture, and it was worse before almost the whole market got sucked into Microsoft OS. The hardware variety between any number of non-MAC PC's can cause havoc for anyone trying to make another electronic product or software compatible downstream. Some manufacturers will provide technical support to a point, but usually only for mainstream products. With a laptop, the functionality is likely all part of the motherboard, and unless you happen to know what brand motherboard and chipset your integrator used, finding support information is really difficult. I would also not expect HP or Dell to tell me they used a certain model Asus motherboard with a certain chipset, so there's no way to even go to the sub-component manufacturers or user base to see if there's help there. There's also the level of expectation for compatibility. The laptop maker is probably thinking you'll want to use a USB headphone or speaker, a relatively "dumb", passive peripheral, and so makes sure that works. You've already discovered that works. However, with the 990, the USB connection is to another computer (the 990's processor is another computer) with all of the timing and handshaking overhead that goes with it. That makes interconnectivity a lot more difficult, and is usually hardware dependent to some degree on both ends of the connection. To that we add software compatibility. Even assuming that everybody involved built to the standards, and that's a pretty big assumption considering the number of players that can be involved, if the software was never intended to talk between two microprocessor systems it will probably not do a very good job of it. While there is good software developed with little hope of receiving financial gain from it, it's still not practical to expect someone to develop a driver to make small numbers of different pieces of sophisticated electronics communicate with each other. This statement is not meant to slight anyone engaged in this thread, it's simply provided as a fact for serious consideration. I can appreciate the frustration of not being able to get various computers and peripheral electronics to work together. I've been dealing with this problem in one form or another for more than 25 years in my computer hobby, and while some things have gotten way more plug and play over the years, there are still enough issues to cause sleepless nights, hair loss, and turning gray. Thankfully, of those, I've been spared the hair loss.

Bill