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Old 05-04-2015, 12:58 PM   #1
pimjoosten
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Default Does no message "Please wait..." mean no firmware update?

Last weekend I bought an Asus MB168B USB monitor. I already have an Asus MB168B+ USB monitor and a StarTech USB32HDDVII DisplayLink adapter, which I have been using for more than a year and more than 2 years respectively. With the latter two adapters I am used to getting a message "Please wait while your [...] device is being updated. Do not unplug the USB or power cables from your device." every time I update the DisplayLink software. However, I never get that message with the new MB168B, which worries me. I know the DisplayLink software also updates the firmware of the chip inside the USB graphics adapter/monitor and I assume that is what happens when I get this message (but maybe I am wrong).

I have extensively tested this by triggering updates. I went back to an older DisplayLink version by uninstalling the current version and after a reboot installing the older version 7.4 M4. On both the MB168B+ and the StarTech adapter, as expected, I then see the "Please wait..." message. Then every time I update to a newer version (going to 7.5 M0, then to 7.5 M1 and the current version 7.7 M4), I always get this message. With the MB168B however, I never get the message. With 7.4 M4 I get a message saying "Your drivers are not compatible with your MB168B device." and the monitor does not work. Both the StarTech adapter and the MB168B+ do work with this version. Starting with 7.5 M0 the MB168B does work, but the "Please wait..." is never displayed.

What I am worried about is that the firmware on my new MB168B is not updated as it should, and that I might get stuck in the future if a new software version is rolled out that needs a new firmware version, but the MB168B does not install it. I have tried to find the firmware version somewhere to check my assumption, but am unable to find it.

I just ran the support tool and have attached the output. Note that I have done this on Vista Ultimate 64-bit, but I also tested it with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit on the same machine with the same results: no "Please wait..." message.

I hope you can shed some light on this.

Thanks in advance.
Best regards,

Pim Joosten
Attached Files
File Type: zip ANTRIAVISTAPC_20150504_133021.zip (825.5 KB, 0 views)

Last edited by pimjoosten; 05-04-2015 at 04:20 PM. Reason: Clarification added
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Old 09-29-2015, 12:36 PM   #2
pimjoosten
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Default Bump

I am bumping this post as I have not received a reply yet (after almost 5 months). I would certainly appreciate a reply, so that I can approach Asus if necessary.

Thank you in advance.
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Old 09-30-2015, 09:51 AM   #3
Wim
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Hi

I think this is fine. In v7.7 the firmware upgrade process was speeded up, so upgrade or downgrade to this version or later will show no dialog. However the dialog will still be shown if downgrading to an older firmware version.

Wim
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Old 10-02-2015, 08:38 AM   #4
pimjoosten
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Hi Wim,

Thanks for your response. It indeed turns out that I am fine, but not for the reason you thought. When you wrote that downgrading should result in a dialog box, I could not remember seeing that box when I did my tests 5 months ago, when I also performed the downgrade you described. So I tested it again.

A couple of things have happened during my 5 month "waiting period": I had upgraded my machine to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, and 2 new DisplayLink software versions have been released. During my new test when downgrading from v7.7 to v7.5 and v7.6 I now got a message I had not seen before when I was still on Vista: "You are using an older version of the drivers for your MB168B device. Please go to the manufacturer's website or www.displaylink.com to get the latest drivers." That rang a bell, as I did recall having read somewhere else on the forum that the firmware cannot be downgraded to a lower version than the one installed in the factory. And lo and behold: this is the case for me. Apparently the firmware version on the monitor is the one that is included with version 7.7 of the software. When upgrading from v7.5 or 7.6 to 7.7 I did not get any message. But when upgrading to v7.8 or 7.9 I did get the message "Please wait while your [...] device is being updated. Do not unplug the USB or power cables from your device." for the first time for the MB168B!

My conclusions thus are:
- apparently the firmware included with v7.7 of the software is already factory installed and cannot be downgraded.
- I can still use somewhat older versions of the software, even though the firmware does not match, but there is a warning message for that (however only with Windows 7 and likely higher versions).
- If the software is too old (in my case v7.4) the monitor does not work and I get a message "Your drivers are not compatible with your MB168B device." (also with Vista).
- The message "Please wait while your [...] device is being updated. Do not unplug the USB or power cables from your device." is still shown in newer versions of the software. What you may have been confused about Wim, is that the installation program itself works a little bit different starting with version 7.8. But the message is still shown.
- Apparently the message "You are using an older version of the drivers for your MB168B device. Please go to the manufacturer's website or www.displaylink.com to get the latest drivers." is not shown on Vista systems.

Back in May I had the bad luck that I was still on Vista and the message about the old drivers was not shown. If it were, I would probably have been able to connect it to the fact that it is impossible to downgrade firmware below the factory installed version. Also, I had the bad luck that in May there was no newer version than 7.7 so I could not test a firmware upgrade. Well, I am happy everything works as it should. Hopefully my experience will benefit other people should they come across something similar (which is the reason I have written this down this detailed).

Best regards,

Pim

Last edited by pimjoosten; 10-02-2015 at 08:45 AM. Reason: Clarification added
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