FTDI Driver Issues

JetMan

I've been using my machines (WIN7 x64 Laptop and desktop) to program props for years now. For some reason they stopped communicating via either machine. I installed Prop tool on a AMD x64 machine neghboring me and it works great, no issues at all. I noticed that the AMD machine or prop tool rolled out the 2.8.24 driver version, I've run full cleans on all of my drivers, shown and deleted all old drivers (both newer and older versions) , installed 2.8.24 and still no dice. I've tried multiple USB ports (2.0 & 3.0) to no avail. I'm really bummed that I now have to move my dev board from my desk to the guy next me to upload code and have spent hours today trying to figure this out, can someone help me here?

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

if you've got Windows Update enabled, you might have gotten a new driver from Microsoft. Be sure to download and install the driver provided by Parallax instead.
-Phi;

jmg

If you fire up a simple terminal can that see the com port and communicate thru it ?Do you have any other serial devices you can check ?

DigitalBob

I never buy AMD machines. But try going through the hoop's again downloading the latest USB ftdi drivers from parallax . Try a different USB. Mini B cable with just the prop plug connected. When you plug in the USB the LED's on the prop plug should blink at lest twice at the same time. I feel your pain I made some of my own prop plug Pcb's that did not work at first ( I forgot a 150 ohm resistor) But once I fixed that they work great.

Publison

I have had no problem with my last three AMD machines. It is all the same driver as far as Window is concerned . The driver included with the Prop Tool download works fine.

DigitalBob

Just a matter of choice. Back in the day of win 95, win 98 people would develop drivers on Intel and when you tried them on AMD they would not work. Mainly a developer issue and not necessarily an AMD issue.

JetMan

Again I've tried every driver possible and used FTDI's own uninstall utility to completely strip the drivers and packages, windows has not downloaded any update as I have them set to wait for my approval. My buddies AMD machine works great, my two machines , not working. I've spent another hour today trying to uninstall and clean drivers and tried the Parallax version, the FTDI versions, all with no function. The most frustrating part is that I've been programming Parallax and other FTDI driver based devices on both of my machines for years wio9thout issue.

jmg

What does a simple terminal test tell you ?
Do other USB drivers still work ok (eg CP210x ?)
Do you have FT232H/ FT2232H you can trial ?

Chris Savage

Based on our phone conversation yesterday it seems some program is accessing your COM port when your PC starts up. I'm inclined to say PortMon from SysInternals could help you, but I couldn't get it to run on my Windows 8.1 PC yesterday, so not sure if it is a viable option to determine what is opening your port.

Jeff Martin

Does the virtual COM port appear in your Device manager when you plug it in to the machine? (in the Ports section)

Does it have any exclamation point icon on it or anything else there that indicates it's having trouble?

When you say "clean," do you mean uninstalling the drivers from Control Panel's Programs... feature? I've noticed that drivers installed from Windows Update do not show up in the Control Panel's Programs... feature, so I don't know how to Uninstall them.

Chris Savage

Jeff,

I spoke with him and it does. But whenever he tries to open it with the IDE the port is in use. Even if he changes the port number and reboots.

Jeff Martin

Thanks Chris!

@JetMan, There must be some software or service on your computer that is grabbing the port. Have you installed anything recently that you know of which might be trying to communicate to an external device of some kind?

Have you tried using the Parallax Serial Terminal (just press F12 in Propeller Tool) to selectively open any other existing ports to see if it's able to open others?

Is this a Propeller board that has a power switch, and have you always plugged the board into your computer while the Propeller is powered up? If so, please try switching it off first, then plug it to your computer. I'm struggling to find a culprit here, but I know that the Windows kernel will grab the port upon connection and things like the serial enumerator will try a few tests to determine if the device is an HID (keyboard, mouse, etc) or some other device that it has a service for. If the Propeller is powered and transmitting serial data shortly after connection, it may be confusing the system into thinking it's something else and Windows will prevent other software from opening that port. I don't think we've seen this problem with the Propeller, because of the extra delay in launching an EEPROM-based application- we see it with the BASIC Stamp on occasion though.

Chris Savage

As a note, these links describe using Process Explorer to determine what application or service has your serial port.

http://www.equisys.com/technotes/ztn1838.htm

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/42197/how-do-i-determine-which-process-is-using-a-serial-port

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Something that happened a lot on some versions of Windows is that, if the Prop were outputting stuff, Windows would mistake it for a mouse and tie up the port. IIRC, the solution was to go into the Control Panel and disable the "mouse" attached to that port. Then the port would be free for the IDE to access.

-Phil