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Computer cannot find BASIC Stamp HW Board (XP Guest OS in VirtualBox) — Parallax Forums

Computer cannot find BASIC Stamp HW Board (XP Guest OS in VirtualBox)

RFrenetteRFrenette Posts: 10
edited 2011-12-29 11:28 in BASIC Stamp
Hello and Happy Holidays!

I received the BASIC Stamp Activity Kit as a gift and am following the instructions in the "What's a Microcontroller" manual to connect my board to my computer. However, when I click Identify, I get a dialog box with a "No usable serial ports found" message.

I have installed the BS Editor v2.5.2 software, and updated the Parallax USB drivers, on XP which is running in a VirtualBox Guest on an OSX Host. I'm not sure why I'm getting this "... serial ports" as the HW Board I'm using is the USB model--the board is connected to a USB port on my Mac, the 9v batt is installed, and the Running light is illuminated.

Note: I have the USB controller enabled in VirtBox but no Serial ports enabled, as there are none on the Mac.

Does anyone have any idea how I can get my computer to recognize the HW Board?

Thanks for any advice!

Best,
Rob

Comments

  • jvrproductionsjvrproductions Posts: 61
    edited 2011-12-26 05:44
    hello and welcome. i think you need to try on a pc
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2011-12-26 06:11
    I've not used VirtualBox, but the Stamp Editor works fine with other PC virtualization software under the MacOS like Parallels Desktop and VMWare's Fusion. You might try installing the MacOS version of the FTDI virtual serial port driver and enabling a serial port in VirtualBox using the virtual serial port that the MacOS sees. In other words, download the MacOS driver from FTDIchip.com and let the MacOS handle the USB adapter on the the HomeWork board. VirtualBox will see a serial port which it will pass on to the virtual PC.
  • RFrenetteRFrenette Posts: 10
    edited 2011-12-26 06:19
    Thanks, Mike, I'll look into that.
  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2011-12-28 01:02
    You'll need to enable the serial port(s) in VirtualBox, then assign the port names used in OS-X... ie, /dev/ttyUSB0 or something like that. You will also need to make sure that USB is enabled in VBox, and you'll need to add the device from the choices presented.
  • RFrenetteRFrenette Posts: 10
    edited 2011-12-29 11:28
    After rereading Mike's post, I went to FTDIchip.com and installed the drivers. Now the editor works on the Mac (MacBS2) as well as in VirtBox.

    Thanks guys!
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