OS for Cortex

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  • Alexc
    Automated Home Sr Member
    • Apr 2013
    • 82

    OS for Cortex

    I still haven't taken the plunge in purchasing Cortex, although I have some wiring in for Idratek and several modules installed! I have an RS232 interface, and I guess I need to change that to a USB interface to connect to a laptop.

    The Idratek website still says I need a 'PC-compatible computer running Microsoft Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional. Microsoft Windows XP is recommended', and says that 'Windows 7 is currently undergoing beta testing'.

    I assume this is just out of date. What is the latest recommendation for Cortex - I have a Samsung NC10 netbook running XP that could be suitable using USB. Or I could go Windows 7 on a desktop, and keep the RS232.

    Any recommendations? There's lots of new systems and devices coming onto the market, and I need to be sure that Idratek is long-term and a good investment!

    Alex.
  • chris_j_hunter
    Automated Home Legend
    • Dec 2007
    • 1713

    #2
    it's tempting to say, stay with what you have - ie: the PC-compatible & 'XP for now, and see how far you go ...

    if you get to have lots of modules & other objects and want video etc to be part of the story, the processing requirements can become quite demanding ...

    -

    we're running under 'XP and find it v.stable & reliable ...

    but we're hitting the limits & have been doing our homework on things more advanced ...

    which (in the Windows world) means a lot of effort trying to see the wood for the trees in a marketing jungle ... eg: i3 i5 i7 are mixes of features bandied about across several technologies (Ivybridge, Sandybridge, Haswell) and both the mixes & the technologies mean different things on different platforms (mobile / laptop, desktop, power-whatever) ...

    we're thinking to avoid Ivy' & Sandy' (bodged jobs, it seems to us, especially from a 24/7 point of view), Haswell looks better ... and i3 looks a bit weak, as do the mobile / laptop platforms, especially when video comes into the picture ...

    bottom line, we're holding-off for what comes next ...

    2p
    Last edited by chris_j_hunter; 20 January 2014, 01:12 AM.
    Our self-build - going further with HA...

    Comment

    • marcuslee
      Automated Home Ninja
      • Dec 2009
      • 279

      #3
      So in case you weren't aware, Chris' install is vast.

      So in that context, I'd be most interested to know what Chris' choice would/will be (as per his researched reply), since it's a pointer to something that would be suited from as large as a install could go down to smaller installations.

      Having said that FYI I've just completed a platform migration off WinXP to Win7 32bit.

      Motivation is simply on the basis that Win7 is/was a bit of an overhaul from WinXP for Microsoft. But also WinXP's impending end of life, I couldn't see the point in sticking with it.

      In hindsight I wish I'd gone the Win7 route from the beginning really just to save the time spent doing the switch over.

      Both 32 and 64bit variants are fine, tho Cortex is 32bit. As Karam has mentioned, his pointer towards 64bit was from the point of view of other things you might be running on the box.

      Also we've seen posts where Idratek have installed onto Win8.

      I really don't like the Win8 interface, but that aside, since it's a dedicated Cortex PC, I do like the fast boot times, which I think is a benefit if I was to make a choice (there are also others on the forum who run Cortex on SSD's).

      Comment

      • chris_j_hunter
        Automated Home Legend
        • Dec 2007
        • 1713

        #4
        our install runs no video, yet, so really it's not that demanding ...

        ie: our experience has been that people underplay the computing demands when advising on what to go for - hence the advice to wait & see how far the install goes, given something is to hand already, and update only when have to, and something better is available ...

        not sure support running out for 'XP matters all that much, at least in the medium term ...
        Our self-build - going further with HA...

        Comment

        • Aristoteles
          Automated Home Jr Member
          • Jan 2013
          • 32

          #5
          I've been running the system on my workstation for a year, but wanted something dedicated for the HA network. Since I am installing it for a commercial building I wanted it to be really stable I dediced install it on a server platform (i.e. Products that are built for running 24/7). The cost difference isn´t that much. If it would have been for a residential installation i think I would have gone for the NUC with a I5 Haswell. Regarding the OS, I installed Windows8 mostly because I wanted to try it out and it works perfect (although I can not say I like the Win8 looks).
          When I switched from my workstation to the new server, I was surprised on how easy it was to move the whole application, therefore I agree with the advice Chris gives; go with what you have, most likely it will be enough and if/when you like to upgrade, it will be quite easy to do the switch.

          Comment

          • Karam
            Automated Home Legend
            • Mar 2005
            • 863

            #6
            Originally posted by Alexc View Post
            The Idratek website still says I need a 'PC-compatible computer running Microsoft Windows 98SE, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional. Microsoft Windows XP is recommended', and says that 'Windows 7 is currently undergoing beta testing'.

            I assume this is just out of date. What is the latest recommendation for Cortex - I have a Samsung NC10 netbook running XP that could be suitable using USB. Or I could go Windows 7 on a desktop, and keep the RS232.
            Alex.
            Cortex will run on Windows 7 and Windows 8, however there are one or two settings you need to adjust relating to program privilege handling. On windows 7 its just a case of turning UAC to lowest setting and resetting PC before you start. With Windows 8 it can be a little bit more elaborate. Windows 7 and 8 also have a different way of handling the audio mixer scheme which is again a minor set up niggle - doesn't stop you from achieving the end result but the existing Cortex audio level set up interfaces become to some extent redundant.

            As others have mentioned you can choose to do what you feel best suits you now and switch later if you find this doesn't quite fit your particular system demands. If it was an entirely new install I would obviously suggest a USB interface as it gives you much more flexibility in platform choice. In terms of OS I think again for best flexibility it will really have to be Windows 7 or 8 and to be honest, though it is relatively new to the 'experiience' pool, my own experiences with Windows 8 have been positive - from a Cortex performance point of view...

            Comment

            • Alexc
              Automated Home Sr Member
              • Apr 2013
              • 82

              #7
              Many thanks for all your responses - this gives me a lot of confidence in going for it! I'll use current hardware/OS and upgrade as time and requirements move on. I appreciate the support.

              Comment

              • marcuslee
                Automated Home Ninja
                • Dec 2009
                • 279

                #8
                Originally posted by Karam View Post
                Windows 7 and 8 also have a different way of handling the audio mixer scheme which is again a minor set up niggle - doesn't stop you from achieving the end result but the existing Cortex audio level set up interfaces become to some extent redundant.
                Hi Karam,

                Could you elaborate on the audio mixer scheme for Win7? I think I have the issue here post weekend Win7 platform upgrade

                **** Auto Log on Failure detection point ****
                10:44:33 Sound MediaPlayer Error=326, No wave device is installed that can play files in the current format. To install a wave device, go to Control Panel, click Printers and Other Hardware, and then click Add Hardware.


                Except there is an audio device (as seen in Device Manager, and out of the box I had the default Windows sound scheme in place and was audio'ing correctly so to speak).

                I also note in the Set-up > Sound devices mixer schemes, only dual tabs both named Remote Audio (instead of Play and Record controls)?

                Thanks in advance,

                Marcus

                Comment

                • marcuslee
                  Automated Home Ninja
                  • Dec 2009
                  • 279

                  #9
                  Originally posted by marcuslee View Post
                  Hi Karam,

                  Could you elaborate on the audio mixer scheme for Win7? I think I have the issue here post weekend Win7 platform upgrade

                  **** Auto Log on Failure detection point ****
                  10:44:33 Sound MediaPlayer Error=326, No wave device is installed that can play files in the current format. To install a wave device, go to Control Panel, click Printers and Other Hardware, and then click Add Hardware.


                  Except there is an audio device (as seen in Device Manager, and out of the box I had the default Windows sound scheme in place and was audio'ing correctly so to speak).

                  I also note in the Set-up > Sound devices mixer schemes, only dual tabs both named Remote Audio (instead of Play and Record controls)?
                  Turns out it's RDP audio redirection occurring (previous build I used VNC).

                  The Cortex PC changes from using the built in Audio drivers to RDP's (hence the Remote Audio).

                  Haven't found a fix yet to prevent this from happening, though for the time being disabling audio redirection from the client works (but doesn't prevent accidental high jacking / I'm still to find the perm fix for this).

                  Comment

                  • Karam
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Mar 2005
                    • 863

                    #10
                    Marcus,

                    Yes I was just about to reply to say that this is not the issue which I was referring to with Windows 7/8. In fact the audio should work fine but you may (are likely to) have to grapple a bit with the Windows 7/8 audio controls rather than just set things up in Cortex mixer. But in a sense it may be a similar cause - i.e the OS automation getting in the way.

                    Comment

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