Driver Problems (Win XP)

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Software Troubleshooting
1

I recently tried to connect a Wiring board to my computer and it didn't work. I'm trying to connect an Arduino and, not surprisingly, I'm having the same problems.

I successfully installed everything on my desktop computer but my laptop is giving me problems.

Here's where I'm at now: when I plug in the controller and check my Device Manager it shows that my USB Serial Converter is working properly and that the FTDI drivers are properly installed.

However, it does show that the USB Serial Port does not have its drivers installed. When I click Update Driver and select from location, it shows the FTDI driver twice. One is the version I downloaded the other is listed as a Windows Update. I select the one I downloaded.

After that, it says: **"There was a problem installing this hardware: USB Serial Port. **
This name is already in use as either a service name or a service display name."

I have tried uninstalling & reinstalling the drivers with FTDIUNIN.exe and uninstalling the hardware from the Device Manager but I continue to encounter the same problem.

One other thing, possibly related: the Arduino software will not open on my computer. When I try to execute it, nothing happens.

Thanks for your help, I'm sorry my problem couldn't be more concise.
Dan

2

Strange problem. Are you installing the VCP drivers?

Poking around the FTDI knowledge base FTDI Knowledgebase, I saw a suggestion that you disconnect from the Internet when installing the drivers, to prevents Windows Update from trying to do it automatically. It was for another driver, but worth a try. Otherwise, I'd suggest you contact FTDI support (support1@ftdichip.com) as this one is over my head. But please let us know what you find out in case anyone else has the same problem.

3

I had a similar issue a few months ago with a USB-UIRT and what I had to do was:

  1. Disconnect the device
  2. Choose "show hidden devices" from the view menu in device manager
  3. Delete any hidden USB Comport devices that were listed in device manager
  4. Re-connect the device and point it to the FTDI drivers.

No idea if it applies in this situation, but it may be worth a try.

4

FTDI tech support solved my problem. Here was their instructions:

"I suspect that there may be conflict between the two drivers you are seeing. If you run FTClean (http://www.ftdichip.com/Resources/Utilities/FTClean.zip) it removes all old FTDI driver files from the system. You can then download the latest driver and install again.

If you still see the problem, change the description 'USB Serial Port' in the ftdiport.inf file. See the section 4.2 of the following document for details on that:

http://www.ftdichip.com/Documents/AppNotes/AN232B-10_Advanced_Driver_Options.pdf "

The first step wasn't enough, so I needed to edit the ftdiport.inf file. This took a few tries; I needed to change a few things. Here's what I changed the bottom portion of that file to (it's slightly funnier if you've seen the movie "Hudsucker Proxy".)

[Strings]
FTDI="FTDI"
DESC="CDM Driver Package"
DriversDisk="FTDI USB Drivers Disk"
PortsClassName = "Ports (COM & LPT)"
VID_0403&PID_6001.DeviceDesc="USB Serial Port for kids"
VID_0403&PID_6010.DeviceDesc="USB Serial Port for kids"
SvcDesc="USB Serial Port for kids Driver"
SerEnum.SvcDesc="Serenum Filter Driver"