As with any peripheral, your Jukebox needs device drivers installed on your computer in order to run. Please note that the device drivers are different from the firmware. Device drivers are installed on your computer, while firmware is installed on the Jukebox itself.

You should always make sure that the Jukebox device drivers are installed on your computer before installing and using Dudebox. If you have previously installed Dell MusicMatch, the drivers are already installed.

Note that while Dudebox requires the device drivers to operate, it does not require MusicMatch to be installed. MusicMatch and the drivers are separate, and you can have the drivers installed without installing MusicMatch. Or, if you have MusicMatch installed now, you can uninstall it, leaving the drivers in place.

Since the Dell DJ is relatively new, you can just install the drivers that came on the included CD. To install just the driver, run the file X:\Drivers\DELL_Drv.exe where X is the letter of your CD-ROM drive.

Today's MP3 players are a far cry from the original cassette-tape Sony Walkmans. They are literally miniature computers complete with CPU, memory, display, input buttons, permament storage, and I/O ports. And just as a desktop PC runs Windows or a Palm Pilot runs PalmOS, each Jukebox device runs its own operating system. This embedded operating system is known as firmware.

Originally, the term firmware was intended to describe something between hardware and software. Firmware would generally run with more specific knowledge of the underlying hardware, while software existed several layers of abstraction away from the hardware. Today, with portable devices becoming more like their more powerful, generalized desktop predecessors, firmware is becoming much softer.

Dudebox should run fine with the firmware revision that came installed on your Jukebox.

Once you have the proper drivers and firmware installed, the next issue to consider is the proper physical hookup of your Jukebox device to your computer. The issues discussed here are not specific to Dudebox. Rather, they are general best practices for using your Jukebox device regardless of what software you use.

First, while this may sound like something out of a tech support nightmare, make sure your Jukebox is turned on! The Jukeboxes turn themselves off after some period of inactivity, and the delay always seems to be shorter than you think it is. From time to time we actually get requests for help on a connection problem in Dudebox, and it turns out that the Jukebox was not even powered up.

Second, make sure your Jukebox is connected to AC power whenever you are accessing it from your computer. Your Jukebox may behave unpredictably and potentially cause corruption during transfers if battery power is low or runs out altogether. Sometimes it may not be possible to supply AC power (e.g. on an airplane with a laptop), so just be aware of potential problems if your battery level gets low.

At the present time, Dudebox does not support having more than one device physically connected at once.

The Jukebox has built-in cleanup and maintenance routines. If you have a problem where you suspect file corruption or it seems like some capacity is missing from your Jukebox, you should try these routines. Take care not to reformat your Jukebox if that's not what you intend to do, because a reformat deletes all your music files. These modes are power-user features, so be alert when using them!

• Rescue Mode: While holding down the "Play/Pause" button with your finger, use a straightened paperclip to press the pinhole reset button on the Jukebox, which is located on the lower lefthand side.

The Jukebox also has a "Reset" button, the kind that can only be pressed using a straightened paper clip. It is usually located on the side or bottom of the unit. If your Jukebox gets stuck while booting up, try using the "Reset" button.

For the free Trial Edition of Dudebox Explorer, go to our Trial Download page. Registered users of the full version of Dudebox Explorer looking to upgrade should use the "Registered User Login" at the top of every page on this website.

From time to time, a user will say that they could not download the file because they were asked for a username and password after clicking on the download link (we're not talking about Registered User Login here). Our downloads are not password protected, so if you are getting that message, you have some software running that is mistakenly thinking that they are. If you are using Netscape Navigator, temporarily turn of SmartDownload. Otherwise, disable any download manager software you may have running.

After download, simply double-click on the installer file. If you get a message about a CRC error, that means your download was somehow corrupted. In that case, clear your web browser's cache and download again.

To install Dudebox Explorer, just double-click the installer file. The installation process is divided into the following steps:

• License Agreement
  If you agree, click "I Agree". If not, click "Cancel".
  
  
• Select Device Support
  Check the devices you need support for, and uncheck the ones you don't. Make sure to uncheck support for devices that you don't have, or you will end up with extra icons that don't do anything.
  
  
• Install Directory
  Choose the directory where you'd like Dudebox Explorer to be installed. If you don't have a good reason for changing it, just leave it as the Windows-standard location for program files.
  
  
• File Installation
  The installer then unpacks, places, and registers all the files it needs.
  
  
• Install Log
  If you'd like to see all the gory details of the install, click "Show Details". Otherwise, you're done.

At the end of the install process, you may see a message indicating that some files were locked and could not be immediately overwritten and that you need to reboot. If you see this message, you do need to reboot before using Dudebox. If you don't, you may get mismatched versions of Dudebox Explorer and Dudebox Manager, which can cause problems. For more detail on this, see the following section on "Upgrading Dudebox Explorer".

The installer creates a program group in the Windows Start Menu named "Red Chair Software". This group contains shortcuts to documentation, for opening Dudebox Explorer, Dudebox Manager, and running the uninstaller. Shortcut icons for launching Dudebox are placed on your Desktop. The installer also places shortcuts in the Windows Send To context menu.

If upon running Dudebox Explorer you get a Windows message saying that the file "oleacc.dll" is missing, you need to go into the Windows Control Panel and install the Windows accessibility features. The normal Windows installation process installs accessibility features by default, but in case you turned it off during install, you'll need to add it now. Dudebox Explorer needs this Windows component to enable some of the features we have for blind users.

We had mixed feelings about writing this section. Our hope is, of course, that nobody ever uninstalls Dudebox Explorer! :-)

When Dudebox Explorer is installed, an uninstall program called "uninst.exe" is automatically generated and placed in the main program directory. You can run that directly by double-clicking it or using the shortcut placed in the "Red Chair Software" program group in the Start menu. Another uninstall method, which is functionality equivalent, is to go to the Windows Control Panel applet called "Add/Remove Programs", and select Dudebox Explorer to be removed.

Upgrading from one numeric release of Dudebox Explorer to another normally involves just downloading the installer file for the newer version and running it.

Because Dudebox Explorer is tightly integrated with Windows Explorer, there are a few things you should be aware of to ensure smooth upgrades.

The main component of Dudebox Explorer is a DLL (dynamic link library) file that is loaded by Windows Explorer (explorer.exe) when you browse to your Jukebox device. While this DLL file is loaded and in use by Windows Explorer, the operating system locks it, preventing it from being deleted or overwritten. Depending on how you use and navigate Dudebox, the DLL may continue to remain loaded and in use by Windows Explorer even after you close the Dudebox Explorer window.

These DLL files need to be replaced with newer versions during an upgrade. When the Dudebox installer runs, it examines each DLL file to be replaced. If a particular DLL is in use and locked, Dudebox will place the new version in a temporary location and then leave a message for the Windows operating system to replace the file the next time your computer is rebooted. If the installer finds one or more such files, it will notify you at the end of the install process and prompt you to reboot immediately. You can choose to defer the reboot until later, but you should not try to use Dudebox Explorer until after you do. The reason is that if Dudebox Manager (dudemgr.exe) is upgraded to a new version but one of the Dudebox Explorer DLL files is not because it is locked, Dudebox may malfunction because of the version mismatch.

After you install or upgrade Dudebox, you can check the file versions by going into "C:\Program Files\Red Chair Software\Dudebox Explorer" in Windows Explorer. When you get to that folder, switch Explorer to "Details" view. Then right-click on the column header area in the right pane to add a new column. The column you want is named "File Version" or "Module Version". Explorer will then display a column listing the versions of all the files in that directory.

If for some reason you run into trouble with the upgrade process and need to start again from scratch, we recommend the following process:

1. Uninstall Dudebox Explorer as described in Section 2.2.3.
2. Make sure "C:\Program Files\Red Chair Software" is empty. If it is not, manually empty it. You may have to reboot first to unlock DLL files in use.
3. If you did not reboot in the previous step, do so now.
4. Download the latest Dudebox installer and run it.
5. Reboot.

First let's define two terms. "Physically connected" means you have your Jukebox device powered on and it is plugged physically into your computer via a cable or dock. "Soft-connected" means that Dudebox Explorer has established a software connection and is communicating with your Jukebox device. Please keep in mind that physical connection and soft-connection are two distinct states and do not confuse them. Your device must be both physically connected and soft-connected before using Dudebox Explorer.

When your Jukebox is merely physically connected, it can still be controlled using the on-board buttons and display. However, once your Jukebox is soft-connected to Dudebox, a "connection graphic" (varies depending on Jukebox model) appears on its display, and its on-board buttons stop responding to input until you soft-disconnect your device. Note that from this point forward in the discussion we will assume your Jukebox is always physically connected to your computer, so when we talk about connecting and disconnecting we'll be referring to soft-connection.

Do not physically disconnect your Jukebox while it is still soft-connected. In some rare instances, the Jukebox may "forget" some of the new content you transferred if you don't soft-disconnect before physically unplugging your device.

The device icon displayed by Dudebox Manager in the systray is used for soft-connection.

Right-clicking on the systray icon will bring up a menu for the device:

• Connect Dell DJ - Soft-connects your device.
• Disconnect Dell DJ - Soft-disconnects your device.
• Open Dudebox Explorer - Opens Dudebox Explorer for your device.
• Browse Dudebox Xtreamer - Opens your web browser to the Dudebox Xtreamer web interface.
  
  
• Dudebox Manager Options... - Opens a dialog where you can set Dudebox Manager's various options.
• About Dudebox Manager... - Displays the version of Dudebox Manager you are running.
• Exit Dudebox Manager - As mentioned above, you should usually leave the Manager running, but if you really need to close it, this menu item will do it.

To soft-connect your Jukebox, just use the "Connect Dell DJ" item in the menu of the systray icon. Once you are soft-connected, you will see the connection graphic appear on the Jukebox's display. At this point, your Jukebox is under the control of the computer and you cannot use the buttons on the Jukebox itself until you soft-disconnect.

At the present time, Dudebox does not support having more than one device soft-connected at once.

After soft-connection, you'll want to launch Dudebox Explorer itself. There are several different methods for doing this.

Once you are soft-connected, the most basic way of launching Dudebox is also one of the reasons Dudebox was created: integration into My Computer. For each device you selected for support during the installation process, a device icon will appear in the My Computer folder of Windows Explorer.

Simply double-click your device icon and you will begin browsing the contents of your Jukebox. For your convenience, the installer also creates a Desktop shortcut for each device. Double-clicking one of the Desktop icons will also launch Dudebox to your device.

Another way to launch Dudebox is to double-click the Dudebox Manager device icon in the systray. In fact, this may be the quickest way because it combines the steps of soft-connecting and launching Dudebox into one double-click.

While your device is soft-connected, it is under the control of your computer and cannot be operated by the on-board buttons and controls. You will see a graphic displayed on the Jukebox device's screen that indicates this state. To regain control of your Jukebox using the on-board controls, you must soft-disconnect from Dudebox.

Before you can soft-disconnect, make sure all Dudebox Explorer windows are closed. Dudebox won't let you soft-disconnect if there is a Dudebox Explorer window still open.

To soft-disconnect, simply use the "Disconnect [device name]" item in the menu of the Dudebox Manager systray icon for your device. Once you have soft-disconnected, you can safely unplug your Jukebox.