Page tested for compliance with INDUSTRY (not MS-only) standards, using the free, publicly accessible validator at validator.w3.orgAlmost everything from Sheepdog Software is supplied as self contained packages.
A few applications, notably those using 1-Wire hardware need other things. In the case of the 1-Wire applications, they need the 1-Wire drivers. But fear not...
The 1-Wire drivers come from Dallas Semiconductor, now part of Maxim. This is a major player of 25 years' standing, and I don't think that installing software from them is going to hurt you. Nor is it complicated.
Apologies... if you want to try my FarWatch application, even if you aren't going to use its 1-Wire capabilities, you will still have to install the drivers. I hope this isn't a Big Issue for you? I could re-write the application, but then I'd have to incorporate a switch, which you would have to deal with. Is it worth it? Just to avoid installing the drivers? (If yes, tell me why... and I will try to help.)
Good news: If you have access to the file, all you need to run FarWatch without using the 1-Wire features is IBFS32.dll in your Windows, or Windows\System32 folder. (If you just copy that from someplace else, don't expect all of the 1-Wire stuff to "just work"... although it may be sufficient.)
Bad news: If you are running XP, and you want to see if IBFS32.dll is on your system, you may have to edit your Windows Explorer folder options to view not only hidden files, but even un-tick an additional box: "hide protected operating system files"
Very Bad News: If you are using a 64bit version of Windows, there may be problems which I will find difficult to overcome for you. Please write and tell me of any experiences, good or bad, you have on a 64-bit system with my 1-Wire software?
At 3/12 (and previously, 12/08), there was a page on the Maxim site with a "select operating system" pull down, which worked well. If when you read this, that link is no longer satisfactory, start nearer Maxim's root, (http://www.maxim-ic.com/products/) and drill down into the 1-Wire or iButton pages, going into the Software Resources section.
Once you have downloaded what Maxim/ Dallas is making available, you just double click on it. (You should not have any 1-Wire adapters connected yet.) It installs what you need to use 1-Wire products... the drivers (for a variety of adapters), and some simple software for using 1-Wire devices: "OneWirerViewer.exe". After the drivers are installed, connect your 1-Wire adapter, without 1-Wire devices, for now.
(3/12, for 32-bit Win XP, the version ID was 4.03)
The driver installation file is an .msi file, which seems to work well. You will probably merely install the drivers. It handled everything intelligently, with no adverse effects as far as I have noticed. In March 2012, I did an install for a netbook. No hassles, no odd behavior, etc.
If you are using a USB 1-Wire adapter, the New Hardware Wizard will probably run. It should work without needing to go to the internet for drivers, and it should find them automatically.
Once you've dealt with any USB issues, start "OneWireViewer.exe".
The first time you do this... and again later, if no adapter seen when OneWireViewer started... you will be taken through the Setup Wizard, where you specify the port you want to use for connecting to your 1-Wire products. The system should auto-detect... a bit like connecting to a WiFi network. (In ver 4.03 of the package, the window's title is "1-Wire API for Java Setup Wizard".)
For now, set "Device polling speed" to once per second. (A longer polling interval may be necessary with complex MicroLans, or if the PC is doing lots of things... but for initial tests with a simple MicroLan, once per second should be okay. ("MicroLan": some 1-Wire chips attached to a 1-Wire adapter.)
Select "Show Normal Devices"... and that should bring you to the end of the setup process....
... and a new window should open, titled "OneWireViewer". It may or may not list devices in the panel at the left. Quite possibly, it won't. If, however, you have one of the adapters with a 1-Wire chip in it, already on the "mini-MicroLan" inside the adapter, that chip will be reported. (Such chips are put there, among other reasons, to provide a machine readable "serial number" for the adapter.)
(An aside: The menu where you found "OneWireViewer.exe" also has "Default 1-Wire Net.exe". The latter is a way to enter the "set adapter settings" process which we've just been through. It's all a bit like "Save" being "Save As" the first time you save something from, say, a wordprocessor.)
Right! Now connect one or a few 1-Wire chips to your adapter. There's no need to stop OneWireViewer and restart it after connecting the devices. It should just "see" whatever you connect, without incident.
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In an earlier session of writing this for you, I installed the drivers, removed them and then reinstalled them, simply by double-clicking on the downloaded file (three times). (Windows XP.)
As explained above, besides the mere drivers, you also get some small 1-Wire utilities. Don't be alarmed. Sorry for the extra stuff, if all you wanted to do was to test FarWatch... but maybe having the software in place will tempt you into the fun world of 1-Wire.
My friends say I worry too much. None of the above "should" be any problem, but maybe you, like me, have the view that the less we do to our computers the longer they run? Ah well.
Right! That should have your computer "1-Wire Capable"... I hope you came here along the way to trying my (Windows) FarWatch application, so there's a link back to that, in case you need it!
Page tested for compliance with INDUSTRY (not MS-only) standards, using the free, publicly accessible validator at validator.w3.org