Computer Software for Steel Professionals

Downloading Drivers for USB Security Keys

Structural Material Manager makes use of software known as "key drivers." The drivers are comprised of software that coordinates the interaction between Structural Material Manager's USB security keys and the Windows operating system.

A common misconception is that a key driver is a hardware device. For instance, customers will sometimes mention that "the key driver is plugged into the computer." Actually, the key is the physical security device, i.e., hardware, whereas the key driver is the software that provides the Windows operating system support for the key.

All USB security keys used by E.J.E. Industries are from the same manufacturer. However, key size and color changes the manufacturer has made through the years result in these different styles that are all recognized by the Structural Material Manager software:

  • Micro-size USB keys are less than 1 inch long. The plastic housing of all such keys is completely green. The vast majority have a small slot in the green plastic tip with "Sentinel" printed at the tip’s end. A small percentage of micro-size keys have a completely solid green plastic tip (slotless) with "E.J.E. Industries (800) 321-3955" printed on one side of that tip.
  • Medium-size USB keys are about 1-1/2 inches long. They exist in (3) styles: black with purple accent stripes, completely purple and completely red.
  • Full-size USB keys measure a bit under 2-1/2 inches long. They are either black with purple accent stripes or completely purple.

If you have any type of USB security key, and Structural Material Manager is not recognizing the presence of that key, the latest drivers should be downloaded and installed as per the instructions at this Webpage.

Structural Material Manager runs under Windows 11, 10, 8/8.1, 7, Vista and XP. Under every one of those operating systems, installation of any driver requires administrative privileges from a security standpoint. You thus need to make sure that you have administrative privileges before proceeding. After confirming that you are logged into Windows under a user account that has administrative rights, the latest drivers can be downloaded and installed.

Click here to view a video that demonstrates the following procedures:

1) Important: The driver software must be loaded before connecting a USB key the first time, and the key must be removed before uninstalling existing driver software. If the USB key is ever connected in the absence of the proper driver software, the Windows Plug ’n Play feature will misidentify the key as a "Generic USB Token" causing Structural Material Manager to not detect the key’s presence. The first step is thus to disconnect the USB security key from the computer if necessary. If the USB key is already disconnected, do not plug it into the PC until the driver software has been installed.

2) Once you have verified that no Structural Material Manager USB security key is attached to your PC, the next step is to uninstall any existing version of the driver. That driver software is called Sentinel Protection Installer. The reason Sentinel Protection Installer needs uninstalled is that reinstallation is not always effective unless the existing version is first removed. Follow these steps to see if it is present and to remove it if it exists:

A) Open the Windows Control Panel. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to simply type "Control Panel" into the Windows search box, and click on the Control Panel App that is then listed in the search results.

B) Get into the Control Panel area labeled either Programs or Programs and Features.

C) Click on the "Uninstall a program" link.

D) An alphabetized list of installed programs appears, and you are looking for Sentinel Protection Installer. You can simply proceed directly to the next step if Sentinel Protection Installer is not listed. However, if that program is found, double-click it, and acknowledge that you wish to uninstall it. You'll probably be asked to restart your PC after Sentinel Protection Installer is removed.

3) It is now time to download the Rainbow.Exe file which is a self-extracting archive containing the setup program for the latest drivers. Download it as follows:

A) You can download the Rainbow.Exe file either from our HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) server or our FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server.

All browsers support HTTP transfers, and HTTP should thus be your first choice. Click here to download from the HTTP Server.

We still maintain an FTP server only as a second choice for those experiencing trouble downloading from the HTTP server. This is because FTP support has been removed from the latest versions of all mainstream browsers such as Chrome, Edge and Firefox. A legacy browser such as Internet Explorer, or a modern browser such as Edge run in Internet Explorer mode, may thus be needed for FTP transfers. Click here to try the FTP Server if, and only if, you experienced trouble with the HTTP download. If clicking the FTP link appears to do absolutely nothing, or if you are asked to choose an application to handle the FTP download, it is a sure sign that your browser does not support FTP downloads.

B) Clicking the desired link in the previous step should have caused the "Save As" dialog to open. However, it is possible that rather than opening the Save As dialog, your browser instead asked whether you want to run the file or save it. If this sort of question appears, choose to save the file. Upon choosing this option, the desired Save As dialog should appear.

C) We'll assume that you now have the Save As dialog open. Before actually saving the file, pay careful attention to the following:

  • The location, such as the "Downloads" special folder, at which the file is being saved. Your Windows Desktop also makes a good choice as a place to save the file since Rainbow.Exe will be easy to later find there.
  • The name under which the file is being saved. It usually will be Rainbow.Exe. However, since .Exe is a well-known extension under Windows, that part of the name might be assumed so that the file is listed simply as Rainbow. It is also possible that your browser will substitute some variation of the name such as Rainbow(1), Rainbow(2), etc.

After noting the above items, and changing them if desired, click or press whatever button (usually "Save") your browser requires to begin saving the file.

D) Once the download is complete, close the Save As dialog (if it did not close automatically).

4) Once you have successfully downloaded the Rainbow.Exe file, the Sentinel Protection Installer setup program needs launched as follows:

A) After the download is complete, your browser may offer to open the file that was just saved. If that option appears, go ahead and run the file that way since this is your easiest and most direct option.

B) If your browser did not offer to run the file that was just saved, you'll need to locate that file to run it. If the file was saved to the Windows Desktop, simply find the Rainbow icon there, and double-click it. If you saved the Rainbow file to some other location such as the special Windows folder named Downloads, you'll of course have to first browse to that location before double-clicking the Rainbow icon.

C) If asked whether the program should be allowed to make changes your computer, provide permission to do so.

D) Exit your Internet browser if it is still open, as the browser will no longer be needed.

5) The Sentinel Protection Installer setup program should now be running. Just follow the on-screen prompts until installation is finished. You won't have to worry about selecting very many specific options in this program, as the defaults will usually be the correct choices. Just click Next or Ok to move through the setup screens as options are presented. If your PC has a Windows Firewall running, the installer will ask if it may modify the firewall settings, and it is very important that you allow it to do so. If you are presented with a license agreement, choose the "Accept" option. At some point you'll be able to click he "Install" button to finish the installation. Note that it may be necessary to re-start your PC at one or more points during the installation; do so as directed by the setup program.

6) Once the key driver software has been installed, it is safe to connect the USB security key. With the old parallel-port type of keys that are now hardly encountered, it does not matter whether you connect the key before or after the drivers are installed, but it is indeed critical that USB keys are not connected until now. Connect your USB key at this time to any free USB port. Once the key is connected, the presence of the key driver software you just installed will allow Windows to automatically identify and activate the key.

7) Run Structural Material Manager. If the Open Job dialog successfully allows you to open a job, the security key is being properly detected.