Unable to get FT232R drivers loaded under Windows 7 64bit

[Vincent77]

Later edit:

As it turns out the problem is caused by counterfeit chips, I must delete the workaround procedure I have found, because altering device drivers is contrary to the FTDI license agreement.

If you have such a fake chip, please contact the seller for reimbursement.

[DumDum]

Unfortunately FT_PROG cannot be used because the program does not see the problematic chip.

[Vincent77]

Just to be clear, the workaround I described above is to make the driver work with the defective chips, not only FT_PROG!

[DumDum]

Vincent77 thank you very much! The workaround worked for me, I get my board operating again.

[DumDum]

another question, do I need to modify all 60XX positions?

[DumDum]

Thank you, not it clear.

[mike_plano]

Vincent get's the glory. Thanks for finding the solution.  I saw that the PID in the .inf file didn't match that shown using USBView but I hadn't gotten around to trying it.  The remaining question in my mind is how did the PID get set to 0000.  I looked at the .inf file in the Arduino-1.05r2 download that I originally used and which worked and the PID there is 6001, so at some point the PID in my Arduino Nano must have matched one of the 6000 series PIDS.   Go figure.

[niccodemi]

Thanks Vincent. Your solution works great.

[CrossRoads]

Mine has
FTDIBUS\COMPORT&VID_0403&PID_6001

Is that programmable?
I see a whole bunch of application notes
http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/AppNotes.htm

And the FT_PROG Utility
http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.htm#FT_Prog

[CrossRoads]

Oops - didn't see the 2nd page of comments before I posted.

[Vincent77]

I have received the following response from FTDI:

We have investigated the device information that you submitted. This information indicates that the FT232R device is not a Genuine FTDI product.
As this device is not genuine it will not operate with FTDI`s certified drivers.

We recommend to all our customers to guarantee genuine FTDI products please purchase either from FTDI directly or from one of our authorised distributors. Please follow this link to locate your local distributor:  FTDI Sales Network

For more information please refer to FTDI`s counterfeit statement and driver license agreement.

[shayo]

I think this is also a problem in macs. Does anyone has a solution for Mac? (I tried peering into the FTDI dmg  file, but it is binary, so I don't think you can change text like the inf file in windows).

[bobcousins]

This is interesting , in the INF file for the latest FTDI driver 2.12.00 this text has appeared

; Copyright © 2000-2014 Future Technology Devices International Limited
;
; USB serial port driver installation file for Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008,
; Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2.
;
;
; IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING THE RELEVANT
; SOFTWARE: This licence agreement (Licence) is a legal agreement between you (Licensee or
; you) and Future Technology Devices International Limited of 2 Seaward Place, Centurion Business
; Park, Glasgow  G41 1HH, Scotland (UK Company Number SC136640) (Licensor or we) for use of
; driver software provided by the Licensor(Software).
;
; BY INSTALLING OR USING THIS SOFTWARE YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENCE
; WHICH WILL BIND YOU.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENCE, WE ARE
; UNWILLING TO LICENSE THE SOFTWARE TO YOU AND YOU MUST DISCONTINUE
; INSTALLATION OF THE SOFTWARE NOW.
;
; 1.   GRANT AND SCOPE OF LICENCE
;
; 1.1   In consideration of you agreeing to abide by the terms of this Licence, the Licensor hereby
;      grants to you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty free licence to use the Software on
;      the terms of this Licence.
;
; 1.2   In this Licence a "Genuine FTDI Component" means an item of hardware that was
;      manufactured for, and sold by, the Licensor or a member of the Licensor's group of
;      companies. It does not include any counterfeit or fake products.
;
; 1.3   If you are a manufacturer of a device that includes a Genuine FTDI Component (each a
;      "Device") then you may install the Software onto that device. If you are a seller or distributor
;      of a Device then you may distribute the Software with the Device. If you are a user of a
;      Device then you may install the Software on the Device, or onto a computer system in order
;      to use the Device.
;
; 1.4   In each of those cases you may:
;
;      1.4.1   install and use the Software for your purposes only; and
;
;      1.4.2   only use the Software in conjunction with products based on and/or incorporating a
;             Genuine FTDI Component.
;
; 1.5   The Software will not function properly on or with a component that is not a Genuine FTDI
;      Component. Use of the Software as a driver for, or installation of the Software onto,  a
;      component that is not a Genuine FTDI Component, including without limitation counterfeit
;      components, MAY IRRETRIEVABLY DAMAGE THAT COMPONENT.  It is the Licensee's
;      responsibility to make sure that all chips it installs the Software on, or uses the Software as a
;      driver for, are Genuine FTDI Components. If in doubt then contact the Licensor.  

.. continues....

(my highlights)

You have all read and agreed to that haven't you?

So it seems that FTDI are now deliberately disabling counterfeit devices.

The license stated in the INF file is not legally binding, since the driver is installed automatically without the user seeing and given the opportunity to decline the agreement [IANAL]. Disabling user's property is probably illegal, but I doubt you'd win any suit in court.

FTDI are perfectly within their rights to only support genuine products, but I am not sure disabling clones is a sensible tactic, particularly when there is a trivially easy way to circumvent it. They are probably looking forward to the day when only Microsoft approved drivers can be installed on Windows, and it is a crime to tamper with your Windows installation!

I didn't see anything in the INF file that disables counterfeits, so either the change happened in an earlier release or more likely the code is in the binary drivers.

The advice to "only buy from FTDI authorised sellers" may as well be "don't buy FTDI", since not even big suppliers like RS and Farnell are authorised sellers. You'll be ok with Mouser and Digikey though

[bobcousins]

The problem of counterfeit FTDI chips and FTDI drivers trying to detect them has been around for a while, so it may just be coincidence that people are finding devices stop working now. If you plug an old device into a USB port that has never been used with that device, Windows downloads the latest driver (unless you disabled that) rather than use the already installed driver.

There is a fascinating page here literally taking the lid off http://zeptobars.ru/en/read/FTDI-FT232RL-real-vs-fake-supereal

[danielmc1]

Having also come across this problem I have downloaded the new FTDI drivers and tried the two newest in the list. While they install and I am able to apply them to my arduiono nano, I get the following error in the IDE when trying to upload code:

processing.app.SerialException: Serial port 'COM3' already in use. Try quiting any programs that may be using it.
   at processing.app.Serial.<init>(Serial.java:171)
   at processing.app.Serial.<init>(Serial.java:77)
   at processing.app.debug.Uploader.flushSerialBuffer(Uploader.java:77)
   at processing.app.debug.AvrdudeUploader.uploadViaBootloader(AvrdudeUploader.java:175)
   at processing.app.debug.AvrdudeUploader.uploadUsingPreferences(AvrdudeUploader.java:67)
   at processing.app.Sketch.upload(Sketch.java:1671)
   at processing.app.Sketch.exportApplet(Sketch.java:1627)
   at processing.app.Sketch.exportApplet(Sketch.java:1599)
   at processing.app.Editor$DefaultExportHandler.run(Editor.java:2380)
   at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
processing.app.debug.RunnerException: Serial port 'COM3' already in use. Try quiting any programs that may be using it.
   at processing.app.debug.Uploader.flushSerialBuffer(Uploader.java:101)
   at processing.app.debug.AvrdudeUploader.uploadViaBootloader(AvrdudeUploader.java:175)
   at processing.app.debug.AvrdudeUploader.uploadUsingPreferences(AvrdudeUploader.java:67)
   at processing.app.Sketch.upload(Sketch.java:1671)
   at processing.app.Sketch.exportApplet(Sketch.java:1627)
   at processing.app.Sketch.exportApplet(Sketch.java:1599)
   at processing.app.Editor$DefaultExportHandler.run(Editor.java:2380)
   at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)

It basically tells me that the COM port is already in use. I've tried a reboot and also clearing out the list of coms ports in windows to no avail....

Am I missing something here? (it is late...)  I think a section of this thread was removed for legal reasons. Was that an important bit of info? Am I ultimately looking at buying new boards and rebuilding my project?