Newbie having trouble setting up port communication

PaolinSF

Hi,

I just got a HomeWork board and I'm excited about starting on projects! I have it hooked up to a MacBook Duo and I have the Basic software running on Windows XP on Parallels. I bought the USB->serial cable and hooked everything up, but it doesn't recognize the port. I tried the troubleshooting in the manual but haven't been successful. Has anyone set this up on a Macbook under Windows XP?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Paolo

Forrest

Which USB-serial adapter? Parallax's? If so, you'll need to install the FTDI driver BEFORE connecting the Homework board to your computer.

Nauketec

I use the mac running XP for basic stamp work and it runs fine - one tip - wait till Parallels is fully booted up then plug the USB cable in - It should post a message that asks if yoou want this device available to XP and you click OK

Try that and see if it works

Daniel

PaolinSF

Thank you both for the quick replies and suggestions, I installed the driver that I downloaded from the link on the parallax.com page of the USB->serial cable that I bought. After the installation it gave the "driver successfully installed" message(in Parallels Windows XP), but it still doesn't seem to recognize the port. WHen I run the BS2 sw and try to "identify" the board in the "device type" field it says "can't open port" and nothing in the other fields.
When I start the BS2 sw it doesn't recognize any port, even if I enter them manually as COM0 or higher, but the LED light on the USB hub on the cable lights up green when I plug it in.
I also tried downloading the BS2 sw for Mac and it installed fine, runs, but again doesn't recognize the HomeWork board. Could it be that I have to install a driver for the Mac? If so, could you let me know if and where I can find one?
Thanks for helping me out and looking forward to your suggestions, best wishes,
Paolo

allanlane5

You still haven't stated definitively that it IS an FTDI USB to serial adapter that you're using.

The driver MUST match the USB adapter -- download it from the VENDOR'S website (not Parallax) if it's anything other than an FTDI adapter.

If you're using a USB hub, it probably should be a POWERED USB hub. The "unpowered" USB hubs don't support full speed USB connections -- I'm not sure this is an issue, however.