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Installation of USB Basic Stamp on Windows VISTA! — Parallax Forums

Installation of USB Basic Stamp on Windows VISTA!

NYC BotNYC Bot Posts: 1
edited 2008-01-03 00:34 in BASIC Stamp
All,

After 2hrs of research, I figured out how to get the Basic Stamp 2 USB version working with VISTA. I searched the forums, knowledgebase, etc·and did not find any previous posts or information on this, so I am posting my solution here to hopefully help someone else.

* Disclaimer: I cannot guarantee that these instructions are 100%, however this is the general idea on how to proceed. *


1. DO NOT install the USB driver from the Parallax download page/CD. This driver is for XP and below, NOT Vista (as of 8/10/07 -·May be updated for Vista by the time you read this).

2. Go to: http://ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm·and download the latest driver for VISTA (download the ZIP and NOT the exe file).
* Note: There are also D2XX drivers. These worked for me as well, however I believe the VCP drivers are the proper ones to use.

3. Power up the Basic Stamp 2 and connect the USB cable.

4. Vista should detect the new hardware. Now the important part!! (see #5)

5. Cancel the option to have it install the driver!

6. Unzip the .zip file with the Vista driver that you downloaded to a new directory.

7. Open the Device Manager. You should see a new entry with a Yellow exclamation!, that says "ft232r usb uart".

8. Right-click and select Update Driver. Select the option to manually browse to the location.

9. Now, Important, browse to the location where you unzipped the driver, however YOU MUST SELECT THE ROOT FOLDER with "CDM Version # WHQL Certified", for example: CDM X.XX.XX WHQL Certified, and NOT any sub-folder for the driver to be detected bi Vista!

10. Vista should now detect the driver and install it! If not, see #9.

11. In the Device Manager, you should now have 2 New Entries: (1) under USB Controllers, "USB Serial Converter" and·*most important*(2) under Ports, "USB Serial Port (COMx)".· #2 is what will allow the Basic Stamp Software to "Identify" and "Connect" to the Basic Stamp.

12. Open the Basic Stamp software and select Run - Identify. It should now connect to the Basic Stamp.

I hope these instructions help. Thank-you. yeah.gif

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2007-08-11 04:59
    To save forum members any potential issues, the official Parallax drivers from our website are Vista compatible (V2.0.0). Also, in getting the latest drivers (slightly newer) from the FTDI website bear in mind that instead of going through all the trouble with the ZIP file you can download an EXE version which includes an install wizard (like the one from our website). The link to it is immediately to the right of the ZIP link. Take care.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
  • Don FrenchDon French Posts: 126
    edited 2007-08-19 02:26
    The driver on the Parallax site didn't work for me, Chris. I had to uninstall it and reinstall using the zip file mentioned by the OP. Using the executable did not work for me either. I had to follow the OP's instructions (after a fashion).
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2007-08-19 16:32
    Don,

    I am not debating that you and maybe some others have had issues with the drivers. As of their original release (V2.0.0) they were tested by us and listed by FTDI as being Vista compatible. I myself installed them and used several USB devices. Now, that said, I have seen several issues with Vista using the new drivers (V2.02.04). In my own tests under Vista the new driver (executable) never presented me with any sort of install wizard, but merely a brief flash of a DOS window, then several minutes of intense hard drive activity. I had to restart for the device to be recognized after this procedure. My guess is the recent updates to Vista may be the cause of some of these problems. I will be contacting FTDI directly about the current driver release as well. Take care.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
  • spry981spry981 Posts: 13
    edited 2008-01-02 11:31
    I, too, could not get the drivers to work in Vista. Thank you very much, NYC Bot. Your instructions worked for me. I did, though, have to manually install the drivers for the "USB Serial Port"; all I had to do was a manual install using the same location as the FT232R drivers.

    I am running Vista Ultimate x64.
  • Technic-R-CTechnic-R-C Posts: 117
    edited 2008-01-02 23:19
    I am running Windows Vista Home Premium, and all i had to do was to install the USB driver and plug in the·Basic Stamp to my computer.· Smooth sailing from there...............

    Technic-R-C
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2008-01-03 00:34
    I had no problem with the initial install of the USB to serial adapter from parallax on Vista but then I got an evaluation board for xbee from maxstream and my computer would blue screen every time both devices were plugged in at the same time. Turns out someone is using a generic device ID and Max Stream "Customer non-support" said "the chip is made by FTDI go talk to them" FTDI gave me a set of, at that time beta drivers to try and after the third set it all works fine.

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    - Stephen
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