S1 lighting control program (updated in 20240228)

[hsehestedt]

I have some more results...

I did a clean install and added the VC redistributable and screen control software. It runs fine manually. It's when I introduce my idea of stating it with task scheduler that things go bad. Yes, that makes it start automatically, but apparently that is where I ended my testing yesterday. Because now, the icon does not appear in the notification area and if I launch it manually, I get the really screwy display. I also discovered that when launching it manually you should make sure to run it as Administrator.

I have to break now and will be out the rest of the evening, so I won't be able to resume until tomorrow.

Ultimately, it would be nice to have an installer program to setup this program as it "should" be installed, but I'll keep plugging away at it. we do know that it should fundamentally be able to work now, it's just figuring out the details.

[hsehestedt]

EDIT: DO NOT trust the steps below (yet)! Although I am at a point where I believe this procedure to be just about "ready for prime time", I still want to do a little more testing over the weekend.


Procedure for setup of the screen control software

Assumptions: I am making the assumption that Windows was installed with a Local User Account rather than signing into a Microsoft account. This is the same as the factory shipped configuration of the system. I still need to test to see if any changes in the procedure are needed to support a Microsoft Account Log On.

Start by placing all the files for the screen control software in the location of your choice. I went into "My Documents" and created a folder called "Screen Control Software" and dropped all the files in there.

Now, we are going to create a Task Scheduler task to automatically start the screen control software and avoid the UAC prompt.


Create the task

Open Task Scheduler. In the left pane, right-click on "Task Scheduler Library" and select "Create basic task…". Give it whatever name you wish. I used "Run screen control at log on".

Set the trigger to run "when I log on".

Set the action to "start a program" and point it to TFTConfigQMake.exe in the folder that you created above.

On the last screen of the wizard select "Open the properties dialog for this task when I click Finish" and then click on "Finish".

On the "General" tab, select "Run only when the user is logged on" and also "Run with highest privileges". Where is says "Configure for:" select "Windows 10".

Go to the "Settings" tab and uncheck “Allow task to be run on demand” and also uncheck "Stop the task if it runs longer than:".

Click on "OK".

OPTIONAL

In the task scheduler library, you should see your task with the name that you created. Right-click on that task and select “Export…”. This will allow you to save the task. Place it wherever you like. I typically save it to my desktop for now. In the future, if you reinstall Windows from scratch again, you can simply right-click on the Task Scheduler Library, select “Import Task…” and point it to the file that you just saved. That way you you don’t need to go through all the steps of creating the task again.
IMPORTANT: Please be aware that the exported file contains information such as your username. As a result, importing this file will only work if you reinstall Windows with the same user account.

END OF OPTIONAL STEP


Verify sign-in option in Windows settings

We want the screen to be displayed and to show useful information even if the user does not log on. To ensure that this happens, please verify the following setting:

NOTE: This setting is already enabled by default in Windows 11 23H2, but you should check to be sure.

Open Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Use my sign-in info to automatically finish setting up after an update. Make sure that this option is ON. If this option is not turned on, then the screen will not be displayed until you log on.


Create a shortcut for the LED control software

The LED control software is included with the screen control software. My suggestion would be to right-click on the file LEDControl.exe and select "Pin to Start". You will find this file in the folder that you created for the screen control software. If you prefer, you could create a shortcut elsewhere, for example, on the desktop.


Testing

Reboot the computer. The screen should be displayed before you even logon. It may take just a few seconds at the logon screen before the screen is displayed.

Logon to Windows.

The CYX icon should be present in the notification area of the taskbar, likely in the overflow area. Click it to run the screen customization software.

Verify that both the predefined templates and the custom images work properly. You should also be able to add your own background and to add your own text to the screen.

NOTE: Upon log on the first time after the above setup, you may see the screen control software displayed on the screen for a few seconds before it minimizes to the notification area. That should happen only on first log on.


Known Issues

1) When editing your own text on the screen, the original version of the software had an option to change the color of the text. This new version lacks that capability.

2) When running the software and selecting "Customize", the Time and Date options will be selected but you will not see the time and date in the preview window on the left. To work around this, simply click off and back on both the time and date check boxes. Of course, if you do not want the time and date on your screen, simply uncheck these and leave them unchecked.

3) The program places a single white pixel in the upper left corner of the main system monitor (not the screen built into the S1 Mini PC). This is rather obvious if you use a dark desktop background. This happens even when the screen control software is running in the background.

[Gabe]

On the "General" tab, select "Run whether user is logged on or not" and also "Run with highest privileges".

Unfortunately, because I don't use a Windows password, I can't use the option to "Run whether user is logged on or not". If I try, it asks for my password, and if I leave it blank, like I did for Windows, it gives me an error, saying it can't be blank.

Great info and thorough directions though! I've no doubt it's going to be helpful to people.

[Gabe]

I tried the factory image, which installed mostly without any surprises, though it kept giving me Chrome errors until it could install it as the last step, but I found that on startup and subsequent startups/restarts the LCD screen program triggered the UAC, needing an approval each time. So, even the available factory image has a problem with the LCD screen program.

I've pretty much given up on trying to get it to run the way it did on the original system. It's not worth the frustration. I'll continue using the Customized screen, hoping they eventually create a good installation program for it so that we can use it without issue. And they need to fix it in the available factory image as well.

I regret having made the mistake of not saving a system image of the original install at the beginning, but it's not that big of a deal.

[hsehestedt]

Interesting. Let me see what I can do about that, Gabe. I'm about to perform another clean install so that will be a good time for me to emulate your scenario.

BTW, I'm to the point where everything else is all worked out now. I actually like my method better than what Acemagic is doing. With their factory install you always get a UAC prompt (yuck!) when the screen control software starts.

Also, that new factory image that was provided to us - pardon my French, but it is rubbish. After installation 4 devices show as failed in Device Manager. Even after allowing Windows to apply all updates, 3 devices still show errors in Device Manager.

I'll see what I can do about the issue when you logon with no password and I'll keep hammering the procedure to make sure it seems bulletproof. I've modified the procedure a good deal now so after this next test I'll edit that post with the latest changes.

Thanks for the feedback! I had not considered your scenario. I also know that I have not tested using a Microsoft account to logon rather than a local account.

[hsehestedt]

Gabe, I have updated the procedure. It will now work even if you autologon with or without a password!

Let me know what you think.

[Gabe]

Gabe, I have updated the procedure. It will now work even if you autologon with or without a password!

Let me know what you think.

While it did work, as in starting at logon, the default options are still dead. If I choose any of the four, the LCD screen goes black, with nothing showing. So, I set it back to the Customized screen.

Screenshot 2023-11-04 200713.png (95.09 KiB) Viewed 41996 times

With this said, this is on the same Windows install I've been playing around with, not a fresh clean or factory install. Either later this evening or tomorrow I'll try the factory install again on the SATA drive, and try the task scheduler setup even before connecting to the internet. However, with that it may clash with the LCD control start script in the factory install. If this is the case, I'll try a clean 23H2 install and the LCD panel control I downloaded before they removed it, installing the required C++ runtime library first. I saved the drivers from the original install, so this isn't a problem.

[barry777]

Copy CYX_TftTool\Config.ini to C:\Users\**\AppData\Roaming\CYX TFT\
Copy CYX_TftTool\whole.png to C:\Users\**\AppData\Roaming\CYX TFT\

** Represents the username of the user logging into the current computer.

[Guest]

how can I get the cyxtftool software to fix my issue with the current version on my mini s1 PC. it keeps crashing on me and I can't program or personalize the screen stuck on Acemagic. someone please help me without me reinstalling the OS.

[skrinsky89@gmail.com]

how can I get the cyxtftool software to fix my issue with the current version on my mini s1 PC. it keeps crashing on me and I can't program or personalize the screen stuck on Acemagic. someone please help me without me reinstalling the OS.