Long Time Away

[crankshaft]

Well....

I've been away a long time and it's now a new Forum and everything has changed, But I do see a few familiar names :-)

Having read this http://www.protonbasic.co.uk/ - I see that the compiler as it was no longer exists, and that Les & Crownhill went their separate ways.

Anyway, I am using Proton Basic on 3.5.4.5 on an old XP Virtual Machine (with USB dongle) and was wondering if there is any newer IDE that would still be compatible with my old files, and which would still allow access using my existing license / dongle.

The old compiler still works, but it's about time that old XP machine was retired :-)

[Colin G3YHV]

hello Crankshaft , long time no see !
Maybe its time to upgrade to Positron, then you can also chuck away the silly dongle
and also help Les at the same time.
Regards Colin G3YHV

[charliecoutas]

Nice to see another old face in this forum. As Colin says, go for the new compiler, it has some great new features: Procedures being my favourite.

Charlie

[John Drew]

G'day Crankshaft,
Welcome back.
Positron is Proton improved, but essentially things still work as they should. As with all upgrades there are some minor incompatibilities caused by necessary improvements but you probably won't notice them for most source.
As Colin said, an upgrade will mean no more dongle as Les provides a version with your name attached to it.
You'll need to send Les an email and he'll sort things out and for a modest payment you'll help Les pay some bills.
John

[Stephen Moss]

Anyway, I am using Proton Basic on 3.5.4.5 on an old XP Virtual Machine (with USB dongle) and was wondering if there is any newer IDE that would still be compatible with my old files, and which would still allow access using my existing license / dongle.

I think you are mixing up the compiler with the IDE, believe there are still three options update/upgrade options you could choose...
1) The last Proton compiler version I think is 3.7.5.5, if you can find a copy it will work with your dongle and should be free update
2) Pay for Positron (Dongle Version) - cheaper than dongleless but not by enough to make it worth the effort (in my opinion)
3) Pay for Positron (Dongleless version), IIRC £35
 
It is always helpful to keep reasonable up to date with your compiler as some replies to requests for help may use newer commands that are not available in the older compiler making the reply potentially useless to you. 
   
Even 3.7.5.5 may not be 100% compatible with older code depending on how old the version of compiler was when they were last compiled as it is evolving all the time.

As for the IDE's the Original Mechanique IDE is currently still packaged with the compiler but incorrectly reports the Positron version, Normnet' Fineline IDE is still available as an alternative as is the new Positron Studio by John Barratt, but only the Mechanique with the ISIS simulation.

[crankshaft]

Thanks so much for all your greetings and advice / suggestions.

I emailed Les yesterday, but have yet to receive a reply.

[JonW]

Welcome back! Getting back to the old forum

Jon

[Yves]

Hi Crankshaft,
I had the same worries when I switched from Proton to Positron. I thought my old codes may not be compatible but found sometimes only few changes were required and just looking at the excellent manual written by Les it was easy to do some patch up of the code. I'm glad the IDE kept the same look unlike lot of softwares that keep changing things around just for the sake of esthetic,eg: Win7,10 or 11. The new Positron has new functions which you can use or stick to the way you use to write things. It is definitely worth to pay for the upgrade.

Regards,
Yves   

[top204]

Hello Peter

I sent a reply to your email.

The USB issue is probably because you are now using a different Windows OS. The Positron compilers, and the downloadable last version of Proton, still recognise the USB key, but that will be removed next year, because the USB key is a silly mechanism that causes problems and stops international sales over the internet. So future Positron compilers will not recognise the USB key as valid registration. I have not done that immediately, so users have a time to catch up with the new compilers, and have been told over a period of time what will be happening in future.

Any USB key queries are not something I can answer with any confidence because I do not use them, and never actually wanted too. I wrote the code within the compilers to detect them, but drivers and Windows differences are something I have no knowledge in, and never wanted knowledge in. :-)

The software registration allows the compiler to be purchased, downloaded, then used immediately, all within about an hour, if I am available at the time the message comes to me from PayPal. It also allows the compilers to be installed on any machines you own or use, because it is personalised to the purchaser.

[crankshaft]

Many thanks @top204 - is that Les ?

"I sent a reply to your email." - thanks, but i've not received any replies ?

Also checked my junk folder and nothing in there.

[crankshaft]

I found Les's reply thanks, will reply.

Is anyone using "Proton Compilers Setup - 3.7.5.5-1.0.8.0.exe" on windows 10 using the spark dongle ?

Windows 10 recognises installs and enables the Spark Dongle, but the compiler wont recognise it and asks for registration key, however Les assures me (unless I misunderstand) that the dongle is a valid method and if that fails, it falls back to a registration key.

Not sure if updated drivers are available for Win 10, does anyone have them ?

[crankshaft]

I found Les's reply thanks, will reply.

Is anyone using "Proton Compilers Setup - 3.7.5.5-1.0.8.0.exe" on windows 10 using the spark dongle ?

Windows 10 recognises installs and enables the Spark Dongle (the green LED is on), but the compiler wont recognise it and asks for registration key, however Les assures me (unless I misunderstand) that the dongle is a valid method and if that fails, it falls back to a registration key.

Not sure if updated drivers are available for Win 10, does anyone have them ?

[crankshaft]

OK, resolved, I forgot that Windoze requires a reboot after every change and after reboot the dongle was not recognised.

Very difficult to find drivers these days without the risk of installing other unwanted rubbish, but managed to find the drivers and they work.

I have put them on one of my repos: Spark Dongle 64 Bit Drivers and also uploaded them to the user files on this forum.

Hopefully there's no copyright infringement, but maybe they will save others some search time.

[joesaliba]

Crankshaft,

Glad you made it working. In this thread, post #2 I had a solution that worked for a lot of users.

Regards

Joe

[crankshaft]

"Glad you made it working. In this thread, post #2 I had a solution that worked for a lot of users." - ahh thanks, should have made better use of search.

Found a lot of downloads via google search, but most were installers which installed a load of other unwanted apps too.

Pete