Since software updates to the T.O.V.A. are free, we’ve worked to make keeping your T.O.V.A. up to date as easy as possible. When a new version of the T.O.V.A. is available, the T.O.V.A. will download it automatically.
Note: The T.O.V.A. will never update without your consent; you will always be prompted before an update is installed. However, you can disable automatic download of updates in the Preferences (section 27.16).
When there is a new update available, the ‘Status’ button on the main window will turn yellow.
Click the ‘Status’ button on the main window and then ‘Updates’, and you’ll see the Updates pane. This pane will tell you if your T.O.V.A. is up to date, if there’s a newer version available, and more. Some of these options may also appear:
Once the T.O.V.A. finishes downloading the latest version, click ‘Install software update’ button, and you’ll be next prompted to review the release notes and accept the updated license agreement, if any.
Note: Please save or erase any session on the T.O.V.A. USB device before updating the T.O.V.A. software. Software updates often include a firmware update, and any session data on the device will be lost.
If you accept the agreement, the T.O.V.A. will exit and begin the update process. Once the update is complete, the T.O.V.A. will automatically start back up.
Some software updates may come with updates to the device or microswitch firmware, the software on your T.O.V.A. hardware. Yeah, the hardware has software, too.
When a firmware upgrade is available, the T.O.V.A. will prompt you to install it immediately (Figure 56). Though you can choose to ‘Continue Anyway’, the T.O.V.A. will prompt you pretty persistently. Firmware upgrades often involve fixes critical to testing, so we advise you to always install firmware upgrades. Click the ‘Install firmware’ button, and the firmware update will begin. It shouldn’t take more than two minutes. Note: Please don’t disconnect the T.O.V.A. USB device or try to administer a test during a firmware update.
When the firmware update is finished, you’re ready to administer more T.O.V.A. tests. If the firmware update fails, restart the T.O.V.A. application, reattach the T.O.V.A. USB device , and let it try again. The T.O.V.A. USB device must have valid firmware compatible with the software.
Usually an update to the T.O.V.A. means an update to the PTE, to increase compatibility with new hardware, add new features, and fix bugs. If you’re using a T.O.V.A. CD to boot the PTE on your system, you need to update that CD to boot the latest version of the PTE. See section 35.3 for details on where to download the latest CD image and steps to update the CD in your OS.
Likewise, if you’re using the T.O.V.A. flash drive to boot the PTE instead, it also needs to be kept up to date (section 35.2).
We try to anticipate every hardware and software configuration, but something may still happen that causes the automatic update to fail. If there were install errors or the install didn’t complete, the Update tab of the Status window will display a red error status and will prompt you to ‘Retry update’. We recommend you reboot your computer before trying the update again.
You can also click ‘Manual Update’ to try manually updating the T.O.V.A. . For more information, see section 37.3.
If you encounter further problems, please contact T.O.V.A. tech support for help (section 29).
Downloading update
A new firmware update is available