Greetings. I have a problem with my SBIG ST10XME which I have been using for many years without problems in the observatory. The camera has never been disconnected from the PC in recent months. Until 3 days ago (23/Nov/2023) this CCD camera has always worked well, but suddenly, since 25/Nov/2023, this camera is no longer detected by the PC. No new programs or other devices have been installed on your PC. But now the driver gives an "Unknown device" error. I tried to update the drivers with the SBIGDriverChecker64.exe software, but nothing has changed and the PC continues to no longer see the camera. I tried connecting the camera to 2 other PCs with which it always worked correctly, but even with these PCs it now presents the same "Unknown device" error. All PCs use Windows 10. Can you help me solve this problem? Thank you Nico Montigiani
Nico, I'm afraid this could be a hardware failure; hopefully not the camera. First thing to check - use a different USB cable and plug the camera into a different port on the computer.
I have already used a different UBS cable and connected the camera to multiple ports on 3 different PCs. Unfortunately all PCs give the same error message. If it's a hardware problem, what checks can I do myself? Otherwise, would it be possible to repair it in some specialized center? I live in Florence, Italy. Thank you
Unfortunately that camera model is over 10 years old, and parts are no longer available for it. I'm afraid we cannot repair it.
Nico, This can be a driver problem, operating system corruption, a bad cable or port, or hardware failure. Check for operating system corruption/missing files. Do the DISM and SFC steps from here: https://forum.diffractionlimited.com/threads/windows-10-tune-up-fixing-pc-issues.8196/ Here's a possible solution if it is drivers: Power off and Disconnect the camera USB cable from the computer. Run the SBIG Driver Checker. Uninstall the drivers. Go into the Device Manager. View..Show Hidden Devices. (You didn't say what operating system you have - some older ones require an Environment String Setting to make this possible). Right Click on any SBIG devices and Uninstall them. Once you have done that, Uninstall the SBIG Driver Checker. Delete the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\SBIG\Driver Checker 64 Make sure to delete any subdirectories. Power off the PC and restart it. Download the latest version of SBIG Driver Checker - version 4.05 here: https://diffractionlimited.com/legacy-product-support/ or directly: https://cdn.diffractionlimited.com/downloads/SetupDriverChecker64.exe Install it, then run it. Update the drivers. It should report version 5.1.1.0 Quit driver checker. Launch Device Manager. Plug the camera in. It should take several seconds to find the camera and install the drivers. Wait perhaps 30 seconds. It may install additional drivers. Wait. The camera should be listed in the device manager. Other things to try: https://forum.diffractionlimited.co...sbig-legacy-st-cameras-on-new-computers.9744/
If that doesn't work, I have a digital board that could be used as a replacement. Send me an email, bill@ sbig.com, to see about sending it in. -Bill
Thanks for the tip Colin. I tried reinstalling the drivers with the procedure you mention, but the end result is still the same. The SBIG camera is not recognized. The operating system I use on the 3 PCs is Windows 10. At this point I really fear that the problem is with the camera. Many thanks Nico Montigiani
I also have an ST7XME that works fine. Could I replace the ST7XME electronic board with the ST10XME one? Could it work on the ST10XME or is it not possible to exchange the two cards with each other?
I manually reinstalled all the drivers. Now my SBIG ST10XME is detected by the software (CCDOps, Astroart) as an ST7 and downloads images that have the size of the ST7, all completely black. The AstroArt 6 program provides the following data: Driver version: 0510 Driver name: SBIGUDrv.DLL Ver 5.1.1.0 Firmware version: 578 Main CCD: Pixels X: 765 Pixel Y: 510 Name: SBIG ST-7 Dual CCD Camera CCD Guider: Pixels X: 190 Pixel Y: 162 OK: ST-7 CCD Camera found Instead it is an ST10XME. I don't understand this behavior.
Reporting the wrong camera model indicates that the EEPROM has been corrupted. That is probably fixable. The all zero image is concerning though, as that indicates a possible hardware issue. I recommend you send it in to @Bill for service. bill at sbig dot com
