When something is “broken” that used to work, look for changes in the system. Ask:
Have any Windows settings changed?
Was any new software installed?
Was any virus or spyware protection installed or enabled?
Was any new hardware (e.g. Palm Pilot, Blackberry, wireless devices, etc) installed?
Have I logged on to Windows the same way?
Was something unusual done to the system?
Most of the time, something will have changed, and affected the system. If anything has changed, first disable or restore the changes. If this does not work, try to remove (not just disable) the new software or hardware. Look for changes in the COM port (Control Panel / System / Hardware / Device Manager / Ports) or the MIDI drivers (Control Panel / Sounds and Multimedia). Your control panel may look different based on how your Windows is set up. Set the Control Panel for “Classic View”.
If the computer is being used for other unrelated things such as games, etc., it can interfere with the BrainMaster, if COM ports or MIDI or other system settings are changed. It is best not to operate recreational or unrelated software on the same computer as the BrainMaster. The BrainMaster does work generally on computers with other biofeedback system on it, such as Thought Technologies, J&J, Neurocare Pro, EEGer, Nexus, BrainMirror, BioExplorer, HeartMath Freeze Framer, etc., without problems. It should not be necessary to remove any such needed biofeedback software to use the BrainMaster.
If you use additional software that uses or maps to a COM port (most do), then make sure you use different COM port numbers for the different software. COM port numbers can be reset in the Control Panel / System / Hardware / Device Manager / Ports control by double-clicking (or right-clicking and selecting “properties”) on the port and changing the port number in the resulting control panel.
We do NOT generally recommend uninstalling and re-installing software, especially our software. This rarely solves anything, and can lead to more complications as you try to re-install your software. Most issues are not solved by removing and replacing the software.
