PDM & Windows VM on OS X
Yes, I'm aware there are other threads about this same topic, but all seem a bit dated, so I mostly would like to share my frustration with my experience and document it, should someone from Inuslet/Abbott ever care to make their software work for those of us who refuse to either a) use a dedicated Windows machine or b) BootCamp into Windows.
I'm a new OmniPod user and was very hopeful that I would be able to export the data from my PDM to the CoPilot software by using a Windows VM on my Mac. I had read the other posts (1)(2)(3)(4) about people's experiences, but thought I would somehow have better luck. I was wrong.
I have both the Abbott CoPilot software and the OmniPod extension installed on a copy of Windows 7 running as a virtual machine via VMWare Fusion 4 on my MacBook Pro, which is running OS X 10.7 (not that any of that matters). When I plug in the PDM, it gives me the USB device detected and that it is preparing data. It then says, "USB device ready". At this point you would think it is ready to communicate with the CoPilot software. Unfortunately, Windows gives me a "USB Device Not Recognized" message in the task bar.
When I click the bubble I'm presented with the USB devices list and in bold is what Windows describes as an "Unknown Device".
Now granted, I'm not a Windows user, but typically I would think that means it needs a driver of some kind. As far as I can tell from what I've found on the Googles, no such driver exists.
Feeling adventurous I decided to try and go through the motions in CoPilot to see if the PDM would still export/upload the data. I click on the "DataEntry" menu item and select "Read OmniPod PDM". I'm then greeted with a delightful message that says, "Make sure PDM is connected and says "Ready" and click "Retry" to continue or "Cancel" to return to CoPilot".
When I click the Retrybutton I get another warm and happy error message. This one says, "An unexpected error occurred while reading data from the OmniPod PDM. Please attempt to read data from the OmniPod PDM again, or call Customer Care for assistance (code 2). Cannot read data from device".
I click the OK button on that message and get a more generic Windows error message saying, "An error occurred while reading data".
Thanks, I wasn't clear that something was wrong there CoPilot software.
That's as far as I've gotten, which isn't very far at all. I've also tried doing the OmniPod PDM Settings Report option under the OmniPod menu, but I get much of the same. No PDM detected. Sad. I am ok with the fact that they don't have Mac software, but I'm trying really hard here to make it work in this VM. I guess there's some kind of disconnect with the PDM as a USB device and the way VMWare Fusion handles it. I can get just about every other USB device I've tried in the past to connect without issue to a Windows VM, so this one is a special case of annoying.
If anyone has had any luck with getting their PDM to communicate with Windows as a VM on their Mac, please let me know your secrets.
EDIT: I finally gave in an tried using an actual Windows computer. My father had an ancient Toshiba notebook lying around and I threw a fresh copy of XP on it and installed CoPilot and the OmniPod extension and downloaded my data. I noticed the PDM showed up as a USB storage device on the computer. That makes me think you don't need a driver for it and all the CoPilot software is doing is taking the .ibf file on the PDM and copying and interpereting it to a human readable format. Either way, it does work, but my MacBook Pro is sad and wants OmniPod to write a new web based system for downloading PDM data.
Tags: copilot, export, mac, omnipod, parallels, pdm, software, upload, vm, vmware fusion, More…
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by clubkobe on -
Did you try Omni tech support? If anyone would know, seems like they would. I use a Mac but always have to pull out the Dell when I need to get data off my PDM. Good luck. If you figure it out, please update this thread.
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Permalink Reply by David Cintron on -
I haven't contacted OmniPod support. I just assumed they would give me the OmniPod and CoPilot are not intended to work with a Mac. I guess I could leave out the part that I'm trying to do it via a VM ;)
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Permalink Reply by clubkobe on
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It's an interesting question. I would like to know the answer and why it's not possible if that's their answer. I've been thinking of getting bootcamp. I run a maclab at school and it might be useful to have the option of running Windows.
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Permalink Reply by David Cintron on
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Yeah, ultimately if I want to get the data, I'll likely either BootCamp my Mac or use my wife's Windows computer. I just am morally opposed to that idea, and even using a Windows VM makes me hurt a little inside.
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Permalink Reply by Natasha Bowlds on -
I think it's worth calling them - even if they can't help you - to at least make them more aware of the number of people who use both Omnipod and a Mac. I wish they would take a survey of Omnipod users and what systems they use. I would bet a large percentage of people who use Omnipod use a Mac.
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Permalink Reply by David Cintron on
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Yeah, there are a lot of people who uses Macs these days in general. And with Medtronic announcing Mac compatibility with their CareLink adapter last year (link) and the new t:slim pump by Tandem Diabetes Care announcing their pump will be Windows/Mac compatible via a web app called t:connect (link). Insulet/OmniPod needs to get on the bandwagon. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE a web app that had to just use some kind of plugin to connect to the PDM. That would be amazing.
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Permalink Reply by Putertech on -
Have you tried an older version of Windows, such as XP, by any chance? With a Windows environment, once a device shows up as "unknown", Windows won't work with it. While the PDM is still plugged in, try removing the unknown device from Device Manager and have Windows scan for new hardware again.
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Permalink Reply by David Cintron on
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You know, I considered the fact that Windows 7 isn't an explicitly supported OS version on the system requirements list on the software page (link), but I just assumed it would work. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of Windows XP to install as a VM. I guess I could uh acquire one from the Internet, but I generally try to avoid that sort of thing.
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Permalink Reply by Putertech on
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Actually, my CoPilot system does work on my Windows 7, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try an older version. Did you try the Device Manager suggestion? I've had that work for old dial up modems before. At first, Windows treats it as unknown. But after removing it from Device Manager and having it scan again, it seems to recognize it then. Weird, but that's Windows.....
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Permalink Reply by David Cintron on
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I did try both disable and uninstall from device manager. When I uninstall and scan for hardware changes it finds it again and tries to "install" the driver software. I then just get this message:
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Permalink Reply by Putertech on
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Sounds like Kristen might have your answer. Good luck, hope you get it figured out.
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Permalink Reply by Kristen on -
I am a Windows user but was getting the exact same error messages that you are. I finally ended up talking with someone at Insulet. He had me pull up my list of programs and asked how many I had for Omnipod. Long story short, when I downloaded the second step from the omnipod website, the driver did not install. We aren't sure why but he has me uninstall the other omnipod program in there and then reinstall everything through the website. Then we checked to be sure the driver did get installed and it was there. Everything has worked fine since.
In your programs, the driver is listed as: OmniPod Extension/PSR
The other file is called: OmniPod Extension for CoPilotThey had me try many other things before we found this problem, but since it only happened a few days ago, I am willing to bet that you are having the same problem. Let me know! :)
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