Note that, if you are planning to use a USB-to-Serial Converter or the NCE USB Interface unit to connect your PC to the NCE equipment, the associated driver software can be installed either before or after installation of the A-Track program, although both have to be correctly installed before the full functionality of A-Track will be available. Some guidance on the installation of the various varieties of driver software can be found in the Installation Guide for USB Drivers, available from the A-Train Systems Download page.

Before starting installation of A-Track from the Full Installation Package, from a Distribution CD, or directly from the Setup File, ensure that no other applications are running on the PC, and that the active User has administrative rights (this is the normal status when the operating system is either Windows XP Home or Media Edition, in Windows Vista or Windows 7 Starter or Home Editions, in Windows 8 Standard Edition, and Windows 10 or 11 Home Edition, but you may need to log on as an Administrator when using Windows XP Professional Edition, Windows Vista and Windows 7 Business, Professional, or Ultimate Editions, or Windows 8, 10, or 11 Professional, Enterprise or Education Editions).

Once all of the necessary driver and program software is installed, A-Track can be run by any User - no aspect of A-Track operation requires administrator privileges.

 

Uninstalling a Previous Version of A-Track

If you have a previous version of A-Track installed on the PC, then it is recommended that you uninstall it before proceeding to install the latest version.

The easiest way to do this is to use the Uninstall A-Track option from the Start Menu, as shown below for Windows XP. In Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 10 click on All Programs, followed by a click on the A-Track folder to reveal the Uninstall link  –

However, (for reasons known only to Microsoft) this option is not displayed directly on the Windows 8 Start Screen, but can be accessed by a right-click on the A-Track tile –

While you can click on ‘Uninstall’ to go through the normal Control Panel process, it is quicker to click instead on the ‘Open file location’ option and then double-click on the Uninstall A-Track option shown when the File Explorer window opens on the Desktop –

If an A-Track tile does not appear on the Start Screen, you can access the program by a right-click on a blank area of the Start Screen, then on the ‘All apps’ option (or in Windows 8.1 click the All Apps  button on the Start Screen), and then locating the A-Track group of tiles –

Of course, you can also take the conventional uninstall route by opening Control Panel and selecting Add or Remove Programs in Windows XP, or Uninstall a Program in Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11 (access Programs and Features if you have the Classic View of Control Panel enabled in Windows Vista or an Icons View in Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11). Wait for the list of installed programs to be displayed then click on the entry for A-Track, and finally click on the Remove button in Windows XP, or the Uninstall button in Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11. Once the A-Track program is uninstalled, close the open Control Panel window. Whichever method you choose, note that, when using Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, or Windows 11 their default security settings will display one or two warnings, requiring you to allow the uninstall program to run.

The Uninstall process then starts (except in Windows XP) with two requests for confirmation –

Since the A-Track installer gives the uninstaller a rather anonymous filename (unins000.exe), you can always check that this is the correct file by clicking on ‘Show more details’, where you can see that this is, in fact, the A-Track uninstaller –

With or without showing the details, click Yes to proceed, when you will see the second request for confirmation –

Click Yes again to continue (or No to abandon the uninstall process).

During the uninstall process in Windows XP you may be presented with a set of windows inviting you to remove shared files which were installed with A-Track, and which are not believed to be used by any other installed program. For example –

Leaving these files in place will not cause any harm, nor slow down the performance of your computer, and is the ultra-safe approach, but you can choose to uninstall them if you wish, by clicking on the appropriate button shown above.

The A-Track program itself is then uninstalled –

– followed by a final confirmation window –

Click OK to complete the uninstall process.

In some circumstances you may see a different confirmation window  –

Generally this will occur when changes have been made to the installation folders or their contents following installation (not to be recommended at any time), or you have saved some of your own files to an installation folder (again not really recommended), and the A-Track uninstaller is unable to remove one or more installation folders because they contain a file which is either unrecognised or is currently open.

After clicking OK in such cases, you can either leave the remaining files or folders in place, since they will not generally have any adverse effects on your computer’s operation, or you can open the A-Track installation folder in C:\Program Files (or C:\Program Files (x86)) and manually delete, or move, the offending files or folders.

One situation where this can arise is where, for some reason, A-Track has not shut down correctly and the A-Track Command Server file is still running in the background.

In such a situation, one option is to open Task Manager, locate the file (A-Track4-4 DCC Command Server) in the list of background processes, and click the End task button, as shown below –

After ending the A-Track Command Server task, you will then be able to delete the file and the installation folder.

Alternatively, you can simply close all of your other programs and restart the computer. Once restarted, and with no parts of the A-Track application running, you should be able to delete the A‑Track installation folder, if required, without further problems.

Note that, in all cases, uninstalling A-Track will still leave a small set of A-Track custom settings within the Registry. These settings are stored automatically during your normal use of A-Track and reflect your preferences regarding window formats and views, together with lists of the most-recently used files and any selected options. If you then reinstall A-Track at a later time, your preferred settings will be re-applied to configure A-Track. The custom settings occupy a very small proportion of the Registry and will not have any discernable effect on the performance of your computer or other applications.

Warning : unless you know exactly what you are doing, do not attempt to edit or delete any item within the Registry, since any change made incorrectly can have disastrous consequences (changes take effect immediately, and there is no Undo facility), and may crash your computer completely or render it unable to run properly in future.

 

Installation from the Setup File

If you have chosen to download the simple Setup File (A‑Track44-301-SetUp.exe or a later version) from the A‑Train Systems website then locate the file in the folder into which you downloaded it. With Windows 8 you will need to do this from the Desktop, accessed by clicking the appropriate tile on the Start Screen, and then opening File Explorer.

Before running the Setup File (by double-clicking on it) ensure that no other applications are running on the PC. Although the Setup File will normally run immediately under Windows XP, in the case of either Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11, the standard operating system in-built security measures, as described in the following section on installation from the distribution CD, will prompt you to allow the file to run – click Yes to continue. You may also receive some cautionary messages from any anti-virus or Internet security software which is installed on your machine.

Installation from the Full Installation Package

Having downloaded the Installation Package from the A-Train Systems website, ‘unzip’ the compressed file (A-Track4_Install.zip) to a convenient folder by right-clicking on the file, and then on the Extract All option on the pop-up menu (if you do not have a dedicated file-compression program such as WinZip installed on your computer).

The installer program (A-Track4_Install.exe) can be run directly from the folder into which you ‘unzipped’ the Package by double-clicking on it. Alternatively, you can copy the complete set of unzipped files and folders to a USB flash drive (memory stick), or write them to a CD-R disk, if you wish to install A-Track on another computer (such as one without Internet access) – ensuring that you preserve the unzipped folder structure. Once copied to a CD-R, the A-Track installer should run automatically when loaded into a suitable CD-DVD drive (provided that your computer’s ‘Autorun’ options are set appropriately), as described below for installation from the Distribution CD.

If you have copied the Installation Package to a USB flash drive then, after plugging the device into an available USB port, it is unlikely that the installer will run automatically. Hence, click on My Computer in XP, Computer in Vista, Windows 7 or 8, or This PC in Windows 8.1, 10 or 11, and locate the USB drive (usually D: or E:). In Windows 8, 10 or 11 you will first need to open File Explorer on the Desktop in order to locate the USB drive in Computer or This PC. Double-click on the drive icon to reveal the list of files and folders, then double-click on the file named A‑Track4_Install.exe.

When the A-Track installation window opens, and presents you with a set of simple options, follow the instructions given below for Installation from the Distribution CD.

Installation from the Distribution CD

Insert the distribution CD into your DVD / CD drive, ensuring that no other applications are running on the PC.

Although the installation program will normally run immediately under Windows XP, in the case of either Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 (8.1), Windows 10 or Windows 11, the standard operating system in-built security measures will first display an AutoPlay window to confirm that you wish to run the program –

              

Click Run A-Track4_Install.exe to continue, and then click Yes on the following security prompt, similar to one of those shown below, to allow the A-Track installation to proceed  –

   

If, for any reason, the Autorun (or AutoPlay) facility has been disabled on the PC, and the CD-R fails to run automatically, click on My Computer, Computer, or This PC, depending on your version of Windows, and locate the DVD / CD drive (usually D: or E:). In Windows 8 or 8.1 you will first need to open File Explorer on the Desktop in order to locate the DVD / CD drive in Computer or This PC. Double-click on the drive icon to reveal the list of files and folders, then double-click on the file named A‑Track4_Install.exe.

With Windows 10 or 11, because A-Train Systems is not an organisation known to Microsoft, and A‑Track is an unrecognised application, you are likely to receive a warning as shown below.

You may also receive some cautionary messages from any anti-virus or Internet security software which is installed on your machine.

A‑Track does not contain malware nor pose any kind of danger to your computer. To proceed, click More info and then the button labelled Run anyway, which appears at the bottom of the window –

The A-Track installation window opens and presents you with a set of simple options  –

Installation Guidance – View Notes opens a copy of these instructions in webpage format (.htm), and displays them in the browser program installed on your computer. If no browser is found, then Windows will display an error message.

Install A-Track Program – Install will close the installation window and then run the A-Track SetUp process, as described for installation from the Setup File in Installing A-Track Step-by-Step below. However, note that, if you have a previous version of A-Track installed on the PC, then it is recommended that you uninstall it before proceeding to install the latest version - most easily done by using the Uninstall A-Track option from the Start Menu or Start Screen (as described previously).

View User Guides – Open Folder will open a folder containing the A-Track User Guide, Installation Guides, and Reference Manual in Portable Document Format (.pdf) which can be read using the Adobe Reader program

Install Adobe Reader will install a copy of this free program (Version 11.0.8) if you do not already have a suitable version installed on your computer – just follow the prompts to complete the straightforward set-up. Note that Adobe is likely to update this version immediately to the latest Version 11.0.23, which was not directly accessible for download.

Close removes the A-Track installation window from the screen – you can open it again by re-inserting a copy of the Installation Package on CD-R into a DVD / CD drive, by plugging a copy on a USB drive into a USB socket, or by locating and double-clicking on the A-Track4_Install.exe file from wherever you stored it.

Installing A-Track Step-by-Step

If installing from the Installation Package, click on Install, or otherwise locate and double-click on the SetUp File (A‑Track44-301-SetUp.exe or a later version) in the appropriate folder to start the installation.

The default security settings in Windows Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11 (but not under Windows XP) will then display a couple of warnings, requiring you to allow the set-up program to run –

 – and you may also receive some cautionary messages from any anti-virus or Internet security software which is installed on your machine – before the A‑Track SetUp Welcome screen shown below is displayed. Again, as noted in the SetUp window, it is recommended that any other open programs or windows are closed before proceeding further.

Click on Next to continue with the installation (or Cancel to quit SetUp) and to display the end-user licence screen. Here the full text of the licence, under which the A-Track software is provided, is available if you wish to read it (printed in full in the User Guide or Reference Manual).

You must accept the terms of the licence, by clicking on ‘I accept the agreement’, in order to display the Next button and to be able to continue with A-Track installation –

Click Next to display the default destination folder for A-Track. Unless you have very good reasons to change the install destination (and understand the possible complications of doing so) it is recommended that you leave it as shown at C:\Program Files (x86)\A-Track (or C:\Program Files\A-Track) -

Click on Next to continue. The set-up program will now ask you to confirm that it should proceed to create a set of entries for A-Track on the computer’s Start Menu. These will be complemented by the placement of an A-Track icon on the Desktop. As in previous windows, you are also offered the options of returning to change your previous selection (Back), or of abandoning the A-Track SetUp (Cancel)  -

Accepting the default option gives A-Track its own entry on the Start Menu, but you can choose to place the A-Track entry within an existing Start Menu folder (such as Accessories) by using the Browse button.

When you are happy, click Next to continue –

On the confirmation screen, if you are satisfied with the installation settings, click Install. Setup will then proceed to install all of the files required to support A-Track, together with the A-Track executable program itself. If any of the Windows support files are already installed in the PC then SetUp will only install a replacement version if it is more up-to-date than the existing file  -

Installed files are linked into the Windows Registry as required –

 

 - followed by some tidying of the installed files -

 - and then a final window is displayed to show that the A-Track installation is complete -

Click Finish to close A-Track SetUp and return to the Desktop.

To launch A-Track double-click on the program icon () on the Desktop. In Windows 8 (and in Windows 10) a corresponding tile () is placed on the Start Screen.

In Windows versions other than Windows 8, you can also launch A-Track from the Start Menu by clicking on Start, then Programs (or All Programs, depending on your selected Start Menu format). Locate and move the mouse to the A-Track folder, and then click on the A-Track program as shown in both the Windows XP screen-shot below, which also shows the A-Track Desktop icon, and that from Windows 10 on the right –

Note that, as well as an entry for the executable program, A-Track, the A-Track Start Menu folder also contains a link to the A-Track Help file. This file contains the full text of the A-Track Reference Manual which you can open directly on the screen, and which can be accessed from anywhere within the A-Track program while it is running by using the normal Help menu, or by pressing the F1 key at any time.