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Electronic Theatre Controls Inc

SmartSoft Under Windows 8

This page applies to SmartSoft under Windows 8 only

When connecting a SmartFade or SmartFade ML to a PC running Windows 8, the operating system will block the installation of the drivers as Windows 8 now requires all drivers to be 'signed' by a Microsoft associate.

To install the drivers manually:

Move your mouse cursor to the upper right part on the screen then select:

Settings ->Change PC Settings->General -> "Advanced Startup" -> Restart now.

The system will restart and show the boot menu. This may take some minutes.

After some time you will be prompted with a menu with following options:

  • Continue
  • Troubleshoot
  • Turn off

Choose "Troubleshoot"

The following menu appears:

  • Refresh your PC
  • Reset your PC
  • Advanced Options

Choose "Advanced Options"

The following menu appears:

  • System Restore
  • System Image Recovery
  • Automatic Repair
  • Command Prompt
  • Windows Startup settings

Choose "Windows Startup Settings" then click "Restart"

The computer will restart and the boot startup settings menu appears

Select "Disable Driver Signature Enforcement" from the menu.

Windows 8 will start and you can then install the SmartFade driver from Device Manager as follows:

  1. [Windows Key] & [X] to open Device Manager
  2. Locate the ETC SmartFade console in the list
    • It may show as "USB High Speed Pipe"
  3. Right-click on it and choose "Update Driver..."
  4. Browse for drivers and select the folder "Drivers" folder in the SmartSoft installation.
    • Default is  "C:\Program Files (x86)\ETC\SmartSoft\Drivers"
  5. Ensure "Include Subfolders" option is ticked
  6. You will get a warning that the driver isn't signed. Choose "Install Anyway"

SmartSoft should now connect to your SmartFade or SmartFade ML console and function normally.

 

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