Instructions for installing the Lego USB Tower driver using the MicroWorlds EX CD-ROM

These instructions are almost identical to Lego's instructions except for the fact that the New Hardware Installation Wizard will ask you for a disk that you may not have at hand (the Robolab disk). The files that the Wizard is looking for are present on the MicroWorlds EX CD-ROM. Follow these instructions to perform the installation.

This procedure can be done before or after installing MicroWorlds EX Robotics, but before connecting the Tower to the PC.

DO NOT CONNECT THE TOWER TO THE PC BEFORE INSTALLING THE DRIVER. If you do, you may get a message saying that a new USB hardware (Lego Tower) has been found, but this does not mean that it is ready to be used. In fact, the Tower is ready to use only after you get a message saying explicitly "ready to be used".

• Insert the MicroWorlds EX Robotics in the CD-ROM drive.
• If your computer is set to run AutoPlay CD-ROMs, you may want to;
• let it run the MicroWorlds Installation Wizard if you wish to install MicroWorlds;
• hold down the Shift key as you insert the CD-ROM to keep the computer from running the AutoPlay Installation Wizard;
• cancel the AutoPlay Installation Wizard if it starts and you don't wish or need to install MicroWorlds.
• Open My Computer on your desktop.
• Locate the CD-ROM drive from the list of volumes, right-click on it and choose Open (don't double-click, this may run the AutoPlay Installation Wizard, depending on your computer's configuration).
• Locate and open the RCX USB Tower folder on the CD-ROM.
• Run (double-click) the file Tower.exe.
• Follow the steps of this very short Installation Wizard. This does not install the driver per say. It copies some files on your hard disk. They will be needed when you connect the actual Tower later on.
• Connect the actual Tower to the PC.
• The PC will display a message saying that is has found new USB hardware, and when you close this message, the New Hardware Installation Wizard will start.
• The Wizard will ask you to insert the Robolab disk.
• Don’t look for that disk, you don't really need it. Insert the MicroWorlds EX disk instead. Again, hold down the Shift key to keep the Install Wizard from running (or if it starts, cancel it).
• Click on Browse and locate the CD-ROM drive, the RCX USB Tower directory, and finally the file Tower.sys.
• Click OK, let the computer copy some files, and click on Finish.

You are basically done, but be aware that if you disconnect the Tower and connect it to a different USB port on the same computer, you are likely to have to redo this process. However, once it is done for all USB ports, the setup is permanent, even after restarting the computer. From then on, you should hear a USB specific chime when you connect or disconnect the Tower from the computer. This, and a message saying that a new USB device has been found and is ready to work, indicates that the Tower is ready to be used with MicroWorlds.

Now give it a try

• Start MicroWorlds EX Robotics
• Choose Preferences in the File menu, check that the Robotics communication is set to RCX USB Tower.
• If you had to change the setting, you will be prompted to restart MicroWorlds EX. If this is the case, restart MicroWorlds EX.
• Place the Brick a few inches in front of the Tower, and perform a Beep Test.
• We suggest that you download the firmware from MicroWorlds EX (choose Download Firmware from the MicroWorlds EX File menu). It may not be mandatory in your case, but it never hurts.