Problems with Colormunki

<p>Maybe I'll be lucky and find someone who can help with this one.</p>

<p>I bought a Colormunki Display late 2012. It worked ok, and early 2013 bought my current Dell 2410 for my PC running Windows 7. Still OK, though I had one or two strange colour calibrations a few months back, and an occasional statement that it couldn't establish LUT. In general I could get an ok calibration insofar as my pictures looked OK and prints I had made at labs would be close to my expectation.</p>

<p>Then last month it started to stall in the process of calibrating. To cut a long story short I had detailed discussions with X-Rite and with Colour Confidence who provide technical support. Tried a lot of stuff including uninstall/reinstall of software, and installing on a differentcomputer. All this just got me to a point where the hardware was not being recognised at all "Colormunki Display not connected" when it was using USB ports that I know to work. At this point all agreed that it seemed like a hardware error and Amazon (original supplier) sent another today.</p>

<p>But this one doesn't work either on my desktop and again I get "Colormunki not connected" every time. But this time it does work and calibrates plausibly on a small laptop, so I know this Colormunki can work. Just not where I really need it to. </p>

<p>So- any thoughts on what's up here please. I'm not discounting the possibility that the problem is with something I've inadvertently done, but frankly I don't have a clue on what to do or try next. </p>

 

<p>Two things come to mind (although there may be many other reasons for your failure):</p>

<p>1) Your hardware draws power through the USB port. If the USB port cannot supply the correct amount of power, the Colormunki will not be powered and, to all intents and purposes, will not be connected. Try a different set of USB ports. Be sure to connect it directly to the computer; do not go through a hub, including the hub built into the U2410 display. Try using a port on the back of the computer. Yes, the power can fail on a USB port but the data path is still intact or the port may not be able to supply enough power for the Colormunki, but sufficient power for say a flash drive.</p>

<p>By any chance, between the time it worked and the time it stopped working, did you add other devices that draw power from the USB controller in the computer - say an external disk drive ot the like? That could cause the power to drop below a threshold and cause the Colormunki to fail.</p>

<p>2) All the install/uninstall may have fouled up the drivers beyond all recognition. I am not sure what to do about this short of a re-install of Windows. I have reinstalled Windows before; it is not a trivial task.</p>

 

<p>1. What updates have been applied to Windows since it last worked correctly? Use system restore to go back to the state the computer was in when Colormunki worked.<br /> 2. Turn your internet connection off and disable your security suite. Does Colormunki work now?<br /> 3. When uninstalling software on a windows system there is a bit used to tell if the disk space the file is on is in use or if it is free space. Once that file has been removed via the uninstall it is still on the hard drive but marked free space and any registry entries are marked as inactive. Some programs write new files every time they are installed others don't. Once windows has "learned" your computer it is more likely to toggle the free space bit. Once a program has been uninstalled check the program files folder for remaining files for that program left behind by the uninstall. Some settings are in other folders elsewhere in the system. Run a disk wiping utility and wipe the free space or defragment the hard drive once the program and its files have been removed to ensure new versions of the program's files are written.<br /> 3a. Advanced System Care http://www.iobit.com/ under the products tab has a very good registry cleaner that will remove the invalid entries and defragment the registry if needed. It also has an uninstaller that has a power scan feature that will find all related registry entries left behind by the standard uninstall. I have been running the free version for several years on XP machines and for about 9 months on a Win8 machine without any problems or having to undo a clean.</p>

<p>4. My Win8 machine, a Dell XPS 8500, has USB 2 and USB 3 ports with some non powered. Some things will run on either and others (older printer) will not.</p>

<p>Use the above points in any order you wish. 3a may be the best starting point.</p>

<p>P.S.<br>

FWIW I recently got a Spyder 4 Express.</p>

<p>I had a similar problem on my macpro. Suddenly one day when I went to create a profile, i got a message that said the device was not connected. The xrite device manager even says it is connected. Xrite spent alot of time trying to help me, and even tested the unit for me, it works well for them, and on my laptop.<br>

<br />I finally got it to work accidentally by turning off, then rebooting the computer w/ the device already plugged in. It does't address the underlying problem on why I need to do use this method. However it is an acceptable work around for me.<br>

Let me know if this works.</p>

<p>Brooks. I've tried uite a few different USB ports on the tower and on the powered USB hub I use for most stuff and which worked fine with the Colormunki till mid August. I have no appetite for un/re-installing Windows.</p>

<p>Charles I'll certainly give your 1 and 2 a shot . Not so keen on 3/3a as my computer skills are limited and I don't want to risk creating more trouble than I have already. How do I disable my AVG Free though- apart from by uninstalling?</p>

<p>Don. I restarted the computer with the device connected. Doesn't work here I'm afraid.</p>

<p>The more I get into this, and talk with X-Rite and their agents, the less impressed I become about their capabilities and products. I have a load of devices and software here that are resilient enough to subsequent updates in Windows/antivirus, etc without failing and I'm wondering why X-Rite don't seem able (or interested?) in achieving this.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I have no appetite for un/re-installing Windows.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I can understand that, but I suspect there is some software conflict here based on what you report. Something is interfering with the Munki. That said, X-rite's XRD protocols are a huge mess and buggy. Did tech support mention anything about XRD or moving to a older version? If you registered the product, you should be able to log into "My X-rite" on their site where you'll have access to updates. There should be some that mention <em>X-Rite Device Services. </em><br /> Not sure if the ColorMunki is supported in the i1Diagnostics software, you might download that and try it as well.</p>

<blockquote>

<p> I'm wondering why X-Rite don't seem able (or interested?) in achieving this.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>They are a fine hardware company that thinks they are also a software company. Oh their color engines and color science is <strong>very</strong> good. But their recent products (since merging with GretagMacbeth) are a mess in terms of poor GUI and bugs. The entire XRD services was a huge waste of engineering resources that is no end to problems for users.</p>

<p>I have been running a Colormunki on a PC running XP for several years without problems. A week or two back, I tried to set it up on a newer PC running Windows 7. Long story short, I can't get the update that appears to make it compatible with Win7 to download properly. I contacted them once and the instructions that I got via e-mail, start with the update and after that are gibberish (to me). Some Goggle searches seem to indicate that other people had problems with Win7 compatibility. As my next move is to contact X-Rite again, I'm holding off until I'm in a better mood.</p>

<p>Peter. I found this after going through a similar process. I can't tell you that it works and it contains some apparently silly instructions- like download the most recent software ( not hard- there are only two versions published and they are available on the X-Rite site) and then uninstall it, re-installing later after you've been through a couple of processes??? <br>

<a href="http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=1513&Action=support&SupportID=5530">http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=1513&Action=support&SupportID=5530</a></p>

<p>But it might be what you're looking for. But you know these people have had years to work out and fix a problem with Win7. I mean its not like just a few people have it. Yet they're still shipping new product with the original 1.0.1 software. They could be shipping up to date software with all the bug fixes incorporated instead of leaving their customers to locate and try varying solutions. </p>

<p>I had AVG at one time. It kept interfering with things I was doing because it did not have them in its database. You can't really turn it off and the real time scanner cannot be uninstalled without going to "safe mode", changing the security settings via the files properties, then deleting the file in safe mode or boot to a DOS prompt and delete it there. I switched to Comodo http://download.cnet.com/Comodo-Internet-Security/3000-2239_4-10460704.html?tag=mncol;2 on my XP machines and will run it on this Win8 machine when the preinstalled McAfee runs out or sooner if their recent updates don't quit reconfiguring my system to suit them.<br>

http://www.iobit.com/advancedsystemcareper.php Advanced System Care is an easy, non tech savvy, application that will safely improve your system without harm. It has two modes, simplified where you just click one button and it does the rest, and advanced where you choose what to scan for and fix. I do not use the internet boost, system optimization, disk defragment, and occasionally, use the disk scan utility.<br>

The only reason I say to turn the internet connection off is so that an unwanted intrusion does not occur when the antivirus/internet security is turned off.<br>

Defragment is in the system tools folder from the start menu>all programs in XP and has its own tile in Win8. It is a built in tool in Windows operating systems. It can also be accessed through disk management in the control panel, or by right clicking the hard drive letter in windows explorer then properties then tools.</p>

<p>The newer security updates aimed at blocking hackers came out in the last week or two.</p>

<p>Peter,<br>

post the instructions for the update.</p>

<p>You can disable AVG in W7 by right clicking on the AVG icon in the tray function on Windows toolbar and selecting the disable option. I just did so, after disconnecting from the Internet. Sadly it did not reverse the "Colormunki display not connected" status- so it didn't solve the problem. </p>

<p>Check the quarantined items for related/blocked files for colormunki.<br>

Windows Data Execution Protection may be blocking it. I do not know a workaround as DEP cannot be turned off completely.</p>

<p>If it is a driver problem, this Microsoft TechNet article may prove helpful:</p>

<p><a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff184583.aspx">http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff184583.aspx</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>Just an update .</p>

<p>I contacted Amazon who agreed immediately to replace the Colormunki and the replacement was received at the weekend. Unlike the first one, it calibrated my netbook ( proving I guess that the first device was broken and this one isn't). But the software still won't recognise the Colormunki device on my main desktop. I've tried most of the potential solutions above- all those I understand and don't scare me witless- with no success at all. </p>

<p>I've spent two or three days on this now and I've had enough. I can and do buy and install quite a bit of software without having problems like this and I think its down to XRite to sell products that work without all this grief. It isn't unusual for computers and other software to be updated after an installation is made and the vast majority of application software seems to cope. Searching for other clues has led me to the conclusion that I'm far from the only one with similar problems and I guess I feel XRite need to get it solved as their reputation is being damaged. I've asked for the return of my money because the product isn't fit for purpose - whether that works or not I don't know. And I'll buy a Spyder.</p>

<p>Thanks to all those who've made suggestions.</p>

<p>David, if the ColorMunki is working on the laptop but not the desktop, then it may not be an XRite problem at all (at this point). For what it's worth I switched to the ColorMunki because of the software reliability issues I was having with my Spyder. I've had 100% better reliability with my ColorMunki. (I know, everyone else in the universe may have had different experiences, but that WAS mine. And I've been writing and installing software for 45 years.) Good Luck!</p>

<p>(ignore...browser caused double post)</p>

<p>I come late to this thread, but not late to this issue, which has dogged me intermittently since I first installed the Xrite application.<br>

I can report with certainty that using the Spectraview tool for calibrating an NEC monitor and then trying to use Xrite to fine-tune the printer profile is a guaranteed failure; a reboot is required first. I can also report that starting the Xrite application sometimes doesn't start up the two required services; the response in that case is to start the services, then close the application (with which of course you're already halfway through the profile process) and reopen it, at which point the Colormunki will (most likely) be recognized.<br>

But there are still instances when everything ought to work but the application won't see the Colormunki, despite the fact that it's connected and flashing. Clearly it's a software conflict of some kind, but I've never been able to figure out with what. Sometimes I'm tempted to throw in the towel and go elsewhere, but I haven't done so yet. Besides, in cost-effectiveness terms, to what would I go? </p>

<p>Best,<br>

Alan<br>

Have you checked out my Photo of the Day?: <a href="http://photoaskay.blogspot.com/2013/04/4172013.html">http://photoaskay.blogspot.com/</a></p>

<p>If anyone's still interested, the outcome was that X Rite showed up with a foc copy of the more expensive i1 Display Pro which seems to work. It is their issue. People change what's on their computer all the time and whats on one computer is not necessarily on another. The designers of most software used by photographers ( or at least by this photographer) manage to build in a degree of resilience to that. </p>

<p>So in the final analysis, after a bit of cajoling, X-Rite did the right thing and good on them for that. </p>

<p>I had a problem with my <em><strong>ColorMunki</strong> </em>when clicking on the <em><strong>Measure</strong></em> button, the message "<strong><em>ColorMunki </em></strong><strong><em>Display not connected. Please connect now</em></strong>", but only momentarily on each click. More..when clicking the <em><strong>Measure</strong></em> button, the CM device side lights momentarily flash - so the PC is communicating with the CM Device! I downloaded the latest software (rev 1.1.0) - but still did not solve the problem.<br>

What I found after many hours of fiddling is that my display adapter (Intel HD 4000) driver had lost the ability to set colour management profiles (no monitors were displayed in the <em><strong>Colour Management</strong></em> control panel settings - only printers). I updated the driver for the HD 4000 adapter, and once again I could manage profiles in the <em><strong>Colour Management</strong></em> control panel settings.<br>

This also solved the <em><strong>ColorMunki</strong> </em>issue of not finding the <em><strong>ColorMunki</strong> </em>device<em>!</em> </p>

<p>Thanks for this. I just checked and my display is visible in the Colour Management section of Control Panels; I can see quite a lot of profiles and my default is correctly set to the last one I added. So on the face of it, I'm pleased that what you did solved your problem, but it may not have solved mine. However the symtoms do seem remarkably close.</p>

<p>This is an old thread, but I just found a (partial) solution: after a lot of testing, I only succeeded unsing the simplified photo mode.<br>

In the advanced mode, at the end of the measures, I got a message saying a calculus error occured...<br>

Now, the new profile is active , my two displays seems similar and OK...<br>

I sent a message to X-rite, as it's not normal far their system to work only in the simplified mode...<br>

I am using Color munki 111 with Windows 10, but I got the same problems with W seven on severall PC.<br>

Hope this will help!</p>

It is 3 years since the last threat when I ran into the same problem. My ColorMunki Display had been working fine when I had Windows 7 and Microsoft forced everyone to upgrade to Windows 10 Home when they stopped supporting Win 7. Years later I was having problems with my computer where I needed to uninstall and re-install Windows 10 Pro. After that, I needed to re-install ColorMunki Display and I kept getting a message that the device was not connected to the computer. When I clicked on the "Measure" button to measure ambient light an image would pop up briefly showing a disconnected USB connector. Even though when I plugged in and unplugged the USB connector Windows made the sound signifying that a device had been plugged into the computer. After reading and trying many other people's attempts to correct their problems they didn't work for me. This is what I did for it to work.

I clicked on the Start Button> Settings> System> Display. On the right side panel, even though I have one monitor, I chose under multiple Displays "Extend these displays". I closed that window and I started the ColorMunki app. When I clicked on the Measure Button it worked!