windows requires OpalKelly Front-panel to be installed manually

[hsemwal]

I set up miniscope-io through github, received the following error messages when I attempted running.

PS C:\Users\Sayum\PycharmProjects\PythonProject.venv\Lib\site-packages> pdm run mio stream capture -c .\miniscope_io\data\config\MSUS.yml
Process _fpga_recv:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File ".\Python313\Lib\multiprocessing\process.py", line 313, in _bootstrap
self.run()
~~~~~~~~^^
File ".\Python\Python313\Lib\multiprocessing\process.py", line 108, in run
self._target(*self._args, **self._kwargs)
~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File ".venv\Lib\site-packages\miniscope_io\stream_daq.py", line 323, in _fpga_recv
dev = self._init_okdev(BIT_FILE)
File ".\venv\Lib\site-packages\miniscope_io\stream_daq.py", line 262, in _init_okdev
dev = okDev()
File ".venv\Lib\site-packages\miniscope_io\devices\opalkelly.py", line 30, in init
raise DeviceOpenError(f"Cannot open device: {serial_id}")
miniscope_io.exceptions.DeviceOpenError: Cannot open device:

However, after I installed Frontpanel from Opalkelly, the FPGA now works. Does this mean that the .dll FPGA drivers did not properly install?

[sneakers-the-rat]

hmm hmm @MarcelMB / @t-sasatani do you also have to do this when you go to use the FPGA on a new machine?

[sneakers-the-rat]

We should print the error code there, that would be helpful for debugging lol.

method for GetErrorString - https://github.com/Aharoni-Lab/miniscope-io/blob/87487a1db75d2b59fabfe96dc60653079b0c5f21/miniscope_io/vendor/opalkelly/win/ok.py#L1105

[sneakers-the-rat]

frontpanel says that windows nees a special driver installed (doesn't have docs for mac or linux, but on mac i can just open frontpanel without installation). https://docs.opalkelly.com/fpsdk/getting-started/

I had just sort of assumed this was working bc it was being used successfully, but if it requires some additional installation we should absolutely vendor that too - we don't want people to have to make an account and download a separate installer and install it, it should work out of the box.

[sneakers-the-rat]

ok if i extract the windows .exe i find the driver files, but not using windows I don't know how to install them manually. We should

• vendor those files
  • okuart.cat
  • okuart.inf
  • okusb.cat
  • okusb.inf
  • WdfCoInstaller01009.dll
  • WinUSBCoInstaller2.dll
• create a wrapper script to install them. Looks like...
  • PnPUtil for .inf - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/pnputil-command-syntax
  • Looks like we just copy .dll's into system32 but that seems... bad.
• detect when drivers have not been installed and prompt to do so

[t-sasatani]

hmm hmm @MarcelMB / @t-sasatani do you also have to do this when you go to use the FPGA on a new machine?

@MarcelMB works on Mac, and I already had the front panel installed on my Windows PC for different reasons, so not sure if this was necessary. Eventually, it should be boxed, but I think we can just keep this as an issue and say install it from here for now, as we're the only users anyway.

[sneakers-the-rat]

Agreed - put it in the docs and leave this open as a low priority todo for now