Zboard Driver Downloads

[bussey]

all i need is driver download for zboard keyboard on windows7 64 bit

 

[FinalDrive]

Drivers can be found HERE

http://steelseries.com/support/downloads if the link fails to work. The 32 bit version should work fine on 64 bit, at least it did on mine.

 

[WickedKisses]

Ideazon Support sent me this message

"Please take the following steps and make sure your device is connected during these steps unless otherwise specified. To ensure a successful installation, use the download link in step 9 and save the software to your desktop. Be sure to re-download the software as requested and do not rely on a previous download to avoid any complications.

1) Close the software (ctrl-alt-delete) -> task manager -> processes tab -> find “zboard.exe” and terminate this process.

2) Go to start -> control panel -> programs and features (add/remove programs in win xp), find the ZEngine and uninstall it.

3) Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Run
Type “%appdata%" then click "Ok"
Find the Ideazon folder and find the SteelSeries folder (if it exists) and delete them.

4) Delete the remaining folder in directory: c:/program files/ideazon/

5) Access your Device manager through Control panel. Go to the Keyboards section and right click any applicable keyboard entry -> uninstall -> repeat this process for additional entries. Keep in mind that this will make the keyboard stop working.

6) Unplug the keyboard and restart you computer (keeping the keyboard unplugged - do not plug in until instructed).

7) Re-download the latest Z Engine drivers - please do not rely on a previous download and use the 'save' option, NOT the 'run' option: www.steelseries.com/support/downloads

8) Right click the Z-Engine installer file -> properties -> compatibility tab -> check “run this program in compatibility mode for” and select “Windows XP SP3” from the dropdown box -> check the “run this program as an administrator” checkbox -> hit apply -> hit ok

9) Right click the installer once more and click “run as administrator”

10) Once installed, plug in your keyboard and wait for drivers to successfully load, close the software (ctrl-alt-delete) -> task manager -> processes tab -> find “zboard.exe” and terminate this process.

11) Access the Zengine folder: c:/program files(x86)/ideazon/Zengine/ -> right click the “Zboard” executable -> properties -> compatibility tab -> check “run this program in compatibility mode for” and select “Windows XP SP3” from the dropdown box -> check the “run this program as an administrator” checkbox -> hit apply -> hit ok

12) Restart your computer and then verify that the settings in the Zboard executable have been saved.

13) Access your Z-Engine -> Tools -> Skins
Select "Do not use skins"

Please advise if this resolves the issue or if further troubleshooting is necessary. Thanks.

If that still does not work, can you please try installing another version of the software? We've isolated an odd bug that became present post-SP1 release where the first version installed will not work. Don't take the whole 15 step process as shown above, simply un-install and reinstall the software.

Try UK version first (if you already installed UK version, please try NA version):
64 BIT: http://cdn.steelseries.com/keyboards/zengine/ZE_25030_UK_64.exe
32 BIT: http://cdn.steelseries.com/keyboards/zengine/ZE_25030_UK_32.exe

If that still does not work, uninstall by using the Start -> All Programs -> Ideazon -> ZENgine -> Uninstall
64 BIT: http://cdn.steelseries.com/keyboards/zengine/ZE_25030_NA_64.exe
32 BIT: http://cdn.steelseries.com/keyboards/zengine/ZE_25030_NA_32.exe

Please let me know if this resolves the issue.

Regards,
Brendan M
SteelSeries Support

Best regards,
Brendan M
SteelSeries Support"

I replied:
"That did not work at all, and the links you sent lead to an error page that says:

ERROR

The request could not be satisfied.

--------
Bad request.

--------

Generated by cloudfront (CloudFront)
Request ID: 2xWGOYNFWlglN3VqTSEmKXqY22ZLrieiIBWX5ARKvtxhXRZZ9ZncrA=

I love the zboard I have, and I can't afford to buy a new one, so it is very important to me to get it working properly."

As of this time, the 'special keys' do not work, or do not work as they are supposed to. If anyone has the OLD(pre 2005) drivers, I'd love to have them.

 

[Marc_UK]

Both those files that you said the links don't work for, can be found on the steelseries.com downloads page that's linked in the previous post.

On the page scroll down to "Legacy Device Software" and to the right where it says "Z-Engine for Merc, Merc Stealth, Zboard, and Fang".

I have windows 7 64bit and I think I had problems with the UK versions. Go with files that have NA in their name. Just installed ZE_25030_NA_64.exe and it seems to be working well. Detected my Fang with no problems.

Marc

 

[Trevor Sherman]

I love my Zboard but had forgotten about it for the past year lol my son stole it from me but just reinstalled it today and all is working well. Here is a working 64 bit Link

 

[NiMiZ]

someone post a fix for the driver (I can confirm that it worked on my Fang) - here is the link:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-hardware/steelseries-merc-keyboard-driver-alpham164sys/c8dd681f-7fa6-4e98-8403-e00e95b7b24c

and here is his solution:

1) In your D:\Program Files\Ideazon\ZEngine copy the Kernel2k directory to preserve an original untampered version.
2) In the Kernel2K dir, rename every file that starts with Alpham or alpham to something else (ex. Alpham1.sys => Merc1.sys).
3) Open the renamed .inf file in a text editor (Notepad++, etc) and do a similar find and replace on "Alpham" replacing with "Merc" (or whatever you used), replace all.
4) Delete merc12.cat (the security catalog file)
5) Install Windows Driver Kit ( it's going to give you a number of warnings during install that you won't be able to develop drivers since you don't have an IDE installed. Just OK through them... you're not developing a driver)
6) Add the inf2cat.exe installation directory to your PATH variables (Type path in search and select "Edit environment variables for your account" then select Path in the top window and click edit. Click new then add the directory of your inf2cat.exe file. Mine was in D:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits\10\bin\x86. Hit enter, then OK all open windows.)
7) Generate a new .cat file (open a Command Prompt and type: inf2cat /driver:"path" /os:10_X64, 10_X86 where "path" is the directory of merc.inf. So, for me it was inf2cat /driver:"D:\Program Files\Ideazon\ZEngine\Kernel2k" /os:10_X64, 10_X86)
8) Disable Signed Driver Enforcement (step-by-step instructions)
9) In Device Manager locate the entries "Ideazon Merc MM USB Human Interface Device" and "Ideazon Merc USB Human Interface Device" (they could be under Keyboards or Human Interface Devices)
10) Right click > update driver > browse computer > Let me pick > Have Disk > Browse > manually select your newly renamed merc.inf. Acknowledge any unsigned driver warnings.
11) Enjoy a working zMerc again!