Need help with Pen Tablet Drivers

[darrengreer]

I bought a "Pen Tablet" off of e-bay, which is basically a generic version of something that UC-Logic makes (www.uc-logic.com). I verified this by the fact that the Windows drivers that I used, are the same drivers that you can download from UC-Logic.com.

So, now that I own a Macbook Pro, I wanted to use that tablet on my Macbook. However, there are no OS X drivers that I can find anywhere. So, I wrote to the UC-Logic service desk and asked them. I received an e-mail and an attachment that are supposedly OS X drivers.

However, when I extract the driver zip file, I am left with a file of the same name, with no extension that shows an "exec" icon. If I try to "run" it, it just asks me to choose an application. I cannot tell if this is the actual driver or what, but my Mac can't seem to figure it out.

Thoughts? Btw, I tried to open it on my Windows machine to be sure, and it does the same thing.

 

[iMeowbot]

What is the name of the file (the zip and the one inside) that they gave you? That might offer some hints as to what you have. If you get info on the file in the Finder, does an extension appear there?

 

[darrengreer]

What is the name of the file (the zip and the one inside) that they gave you? That might offer some hints as to what you have. If you get info on the file in the Finder, does an extension appear there?

Name of the file: OS X - PenTablet Driver.zip
Extraced: OS X - PenTablet Driver
Kind: Unix Executable File

If I run it from the shell:
darren-greers-computer:~/Desktop darren$ ./OS\ X\ -\ PenTablet\ Driver
-bash: ./OS X - PenTablet Driver: cannot execute binary file

Thanks

 

[iMeowbot]

I have some good news and some bad news.

The good news: by comparing the name of the driver and some other tablets on the market, I have found what I think is the correct driver package.

The bad news: the driver package I found is only for PowerPC.

This P-Active tablet model 8060 is clearly the same as this UC-Logic tablet model 8060. The pen is different, but the same pen is used on other UC-Logic tablets, so I think it's the same animal.

Here is the Mac driver provided by P-Active. But, there is only PowerPC stuff inside the package, so I don't think this is going to get you anywhere on your MacBook Pro

 

[darrengreer]

the Mac driver provided by P-Active. But, there is only PowerPC stuff inside the package, so I don't think this is going to get you anywhere on your MacBook Pro

Forgive my ignorance, but would Rosetta not allow it to run? Anyway, I'll give it a try and hope it doesn't mess up my machine.

Thanks!

 

[iMeowbot]

Forgive my ignorance, but would Rosetta not allow it to run?

Not likely. Even to get to the preference pane, I think you would need to force System Preferences to run in emulation

 

[darrengreer]

Not likely. Even to get to the preference pane, I think you would need to force System Preferences to run in emulation

Well, I have good news and bad news as well.

The good news, after installing those drivers, the pen tablet "works", however, photoshop is so delayed in it's response it is unusable. Also, nothing shows up in the system preferences, so I can "set" anything.

We'll see if the other folks respond to my questions on what to do with the drivers they sent me.

Thanks for trying!

 

[darrengreer]

Not likely. Even to get to the preference pane, I think you would need to force System Preferences to run in emulation

One more question. How do I go about uninstalling those drivers if I need to?

 

[iMeowbot]

I'm not surprised about the lousy performance, even if it did work. That driver was written for OS X 10.2-10.3, which offered a horribly inefficient tablet interface. Even mainstream stuff like Wacom would eat up CPU like it was going out of style. Tablet drivers written to take advantage of Tiger are much, much nicer.

One more question. How do I go about uninstalling those drivers if I need to?

Gah, the installer doesn't have an uninstall option.

Okay then. Trash these:

/System/Library/Extensions/USBPenTablet.kext
/Library/StartupItems/PenTabletDriver (folder)
/Applications/PenTablet Setting (folder)
/Library/Receipts/PenTabletDriver.pkg

----

To make everything tidy, you can also do this:

Edit /Library/Preferences/loginwindow.plist (with TextEdit will do) and remove the following lines:

			<key>Path</key>
			<string>/Library/StartupItems/PenTabletDriver/PenTabletDriver.app/</string>

[ actually TextEdit may not let you do that, you might need to fiddle with the file permissions first. No biggie, this isn't that important. If you happen to have the developer tools installed, Property List Editor would handle it better. ]

----

This would be a good time to reboot.

 

[darrengreer]

This would be a good time to reboot.

Thanks for all your help. I must ask (I'm new to the Mac world obviously , where did you figure all of this out from? Just looking at the package?

 

[iMeowbot]

Thanks for all your help. I must ask (I'm new to the Mac world obviously , where did you figure all of this out from? Just looking at the package?

Once you run a .pkg file and get to the installer screen, you will find a "Show Files" option under the File menu. It tells you everything that it will add to the system. It probably does take some time playing with OS X to figure out what pieces of that list can be deleted, but it's a pretty good guide.

 

[darrengreer]

Ok, so I heard back from this company again, and this is what they had to say:

Attention Darren,
The Mac driver (OS X) file is sent from UC-Logic which Aurelie (Smoby coompany) ask us to do so. We are use "MAC Computer" to send you the file, pls check if the it is workable.

This is what they sent:

This
And
This

I try to run the App, and it states something about not being supported by this system. Thoughts?

 

[iMeowbot]

I try to run the App, and it states something about not being supported by this system. Thoughts?

These are even worse They are for OS 9 (Classic). They are use very old "MAC Computer" to send you the file.

 

[darrengreer]

These are even worse They are for OS 9 (Classic). They are use very old "MAC Computer" to send you the file.

heh! Well... I guess it is off to look for a used Wacom. 6x8 is what I want, and $200 is a bit out of my price range.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[anim8or]

heh! Well... I guess it is off to look for a used Wacom. 6x8 is what I want, and $200 is a bit out of my price range.

Thanks for all your help!

The wacom official webstore does refurbs and they are pretty much brand new, i purchased one and it came in a few days and had no marks or scratches or anything, it sbeen perfect for me and at a very good discounted price. Dont quote me but i think it was about 30-35% off the original price.

I live in the Uk so i purchased from the euro-wacom store.... ...so i am not 100% sure if the US wacom store hs this... im sure it will.

Hope that helps

 

[darrengreer]

I live in the Uk so i purchased from the euro-wacom store.... ...so i am not 100% sure if the US wacom store hs this... im sure it will.

Hope that helps

Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look. However, I only paid $35 for my 6x8 I have now (granted I got what I paid for I guess). I'm shy about spending $100 for the 4x5 as it is.

I'll check the refurbs though.

Thanks