Installing Stenograph Writer Drivers
Written by Justin Sieger
Updated at April 9th, 2026
The following are steps to installing the drivers for your Stenograph writer on your computer. These steps can be used on the NexGen, Luminex I/II, and Diamante writers.
The first two options are using the automatic driver installer. The second two options are for installing the drivers through Windows Device Manager. This is more for IT professionals who may limit a user's access to driver installation.
From CATalyst
Do not have your writer connected to your computer until the drivers are installed
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Open CATalyst and in the Menu Bar click Help, Open User in Windows Explorer (Alt-h, w).
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The File Explorer window will appear. At the top of the window you will see an Address Bar with a path that says This PC > Windows C: > CAT4 > usr > username. Click on CAT4 to go to the CAT4 folder.
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Scroll to the bottom and double click on StenographDriverInstall. The Stenograph Writer Drivers Setup dialog box displays.
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The drivers will install automatically. Once the drivers are installed the Stenograph Writer Drivers Setup Complete dialog box displays. Click Finish to close the wizard.
Turn your Stenograph writer on and plug the USB cable into your computer’s USB port and into the writer’s USB port. You may see a small notification display information about installing the driver. Once the driver is installed, open CATalyst and start a realtime job.
From Windows
Do not have your writer connected to your computer until the drivers are installed
Download the Stenograph Writer Drivers from the Stenograph website.
Navigate to the location where you saved the drivers, usually the Downloads folder, and right click on the file and click Extract All.
At the Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box, click Extract.
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In the new window that appears, double click the USB Writer Drivers folder. Now double click on StenographDriverInstall. The Stenograph Writer Drivers Setup dialog box displays:
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The drivers will install automatically. Once the drivers are installed the Stenograph Writer Drivers Setup Complete dialog box displays. Click Finish to close the wizard.
Turn your Stenograph writer on and plug the USB cable into your computer’s USB port and into the writer’s USB port. You may see a small notification bubble display information about installing the driver. Once the driver is installed, follow your CAT system’s instructions for connecting to the writer.
From Device Manager with CATalyst
Make sure your writer is connected to your computer with a USB cable before you install the drivers.
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Right click on the Start button and left click on Device Manager. You can also click the Search bar and type Device Manager.
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In Device Manager look for a category that says Other Devices. Below that you should see a yellow exclamation point that says the name of your writer (NexGen Machine, Luminex Machine, etc.). Right click on the yellow exclamation point and left click on Update Driver.
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The Update Driver Software Wizard will appear. Click on Browse my computer for driver software.
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In the next screen type C:\Cat4\Drivers\Writer (or copy and paste this text) in the Search for driver software in this location field. Then click Next.
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The drivers will install. You may be prompted to verify whether you want to install the driver; click Install. When the driver has finished installing, click Close.
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This will bring you back to Device Manager, but you’ll notice the yellow exclamation point is gone. You should see a new category that says Stenograph USB Writer with Steno Machine listed below it. Now that the drivers for your writer are installed, you can close Device Manager.
From Device Manager without CATalyst
Make sure your writer is connected to your computer with a USB cable before you install the drivers.
Download the Stenograph Writer Drivers from the Stenograph website.
Navigate to the location where you saved the drivers, usually the Downloads folder, and right click on the file and click Extract All.
At the Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders dialog box, click Extract. A new window will appear, you can close that window.
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Right click on the Start button and left click on Device Manager. You can also click the Search bar and type Device Manager.
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In Device Manager look for a category that says Other Devices. Below that you should see a yellow exclamation point that says the name of your writer (NexGen Machine, Luminex Machine, etc.). Right click on the yellow exclamation point and left click on Update Driver.
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The Update Driver Software Wizard will appear. Click on Browse my computer for driver software.
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In the next screen, click the Browse button and browse to the the location where you unzipped the Stenograph USB Writer drivers. Most of the time, the path is C:\Users\username\Downloads\USB_Writer_Drivers\USB Writer Drivers\Drivers. Then click Next.
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The drivers will install. You may be prompted to verify whether you want to install the driver; click Install. When the driver has finished installing, click Close.
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This will bring you back to Device Manager, but you’ll notice the yellow exclamation point is gone. You should see a new category that says Stenograph USB Writer with Steno Machine listed below it. Now that the drivers for your writer are installed, you can close Device Manager and the System Properties windows.
