Dec 21, 2020 • Filed to: USB Recovery • Proven solutions

Have you ever had difficulty connecting your devices to your computer using a Prolific USB to Serial adapter? If yes you are lucky to find this page, it will give you all the information need to fix an unresponsive Serial driver adapter. You may have noticed a yellow exclamation mark hovering over or beside the USB to Serial Driver when searching your Device Manager and if you have we can all agree that it signifies a prevailing problem.

To install serial ports and COM ports using these system-supplied components, do the following: Provide an INF file that specifies the Ports device setup class and the Serial function driver as the service for the port. To configure a serial port as COM port, comply with the requirements that are defined in Configuration of COM Ports. To manually install the driver, go to the device manager and click on the USB serial device needing the driver. Click on the driver tab. Click on Update Driver. Select the Browse my computer for driver software option, and browse to the driver folder you unzipped. Make sure the Include Subfolders box is checked, and the driver should install.

The 'PCI Serial Port Driver is not actually a Serial Port' Its the Intel AMT HECI & AMT SOL/LMS Hardware. The Current Driver for this works with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 32 and 64 bit. Name: Huawei FC Serial Drivers File size: 526 KB Category: Drivers Operating System: Windows Uploaded: 2016-02-27 07:31:20. On Windows, this driver allows to you access the serial device type. This step is not necessary and does not appear on Mac OS-X and Linux. Windows 10 has the proper driver, which is automatically detected. Select the location where you extracted the Arduino Software.

Overview of the Error

If you are not able to connect your device to your PC using a USB to Serial adapter it may be that

  • The USB driver is outdated
  • The USB Driver is missing
  • Or even a corrupted driver

While you can't be so sure what the exact problem is there are solutions you can adopt to fix the issue once and for all. Read on to find quick fixes to resolve the problem.

1# Fix Prolific USB to Serial Driver not Working

Solution: Roll your Prolific USB to Serial Driver back to an older version

Updating your drivers often work wonders for your system because it makes sure that it runs on the latest features that guarantee maximum functionality. Unfortunately updating your drivers can cause this kind of error especially if your latest update does not work too well with your hardware. Once you upgrade your PC to the latest Windows version your Prolific USB to Serial Driver also updates to the latest driver software and if the driver is not compatible with your Hardware issues may arise. To correct the error, you will have to download the driver again by following these steps.

  • Right-click on your PC Start button and open Device Manager
  • Double click LPT and COM ports then locate the Prolific USB to Serial Driver and right-click it so you can select Update Driver
  • For driver software click My computer
Serial Driver
  • From My computer select 'Let me pick from a list of drivers available'
  • Choose an older version from the list then click Next
  • The driver you selected will be installed automatically
  • Once it has been downloaded reconnect the driver to see if it works.

2# Fix Prolific USB to Serial Driver 'Coder 10'

Driver issues reveal themselves in so many ways or through messages such as

  • This device will not start (Code 10)
  • There is no driver installed in this device
  • The driver was not successfully installed

A code 10 error may arise because the chip you are using is not an original one. If you are using a fake, the manufacturer has a way of disabling it due to copy write infringement and the copy write takes effect once you download a recent update. To protect your PC from getting this code, you will have to make sure that your Windows 10 never updates a driver without approval. Updates come in the form of 64 bit and 32-bit drivers. Below we will show you how to work your way around the problem.

Window 64 bit Fix

To fix Windows 64 bit OS including Prolific USB to Serial Adapter, follow through these steps.

  • Download 'PL2303_64bit_Installer.exe and Save
  • Remove every USB to Serial adapter from your PC and double click the 'PL2303_64bit_installer.exe
  • Follow the prompt by plugging in one USB to Serial adapter the click on Continue
  • Reboot your PC to get Windows up and running

If you have followed these process through and you still see the same error go to your device manager

  • Open the control panel and navigate to Device Manager
  • From your control panel navigate to the System category and click the Hardware tab
  • Scroll to the LPT/COM port and double click Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port
  • Click Drivers in the Properties section
  • The Driver you choose should read '3.3.2.102 with an appropriate date attached
  • If the date is wrong then it means the wrong driver was installed
  • Unplug the Serial adapter and run the steps again to install the correct driver

Window 32-bit

For Windows 32-bit OS systems follow these steps

Serial Driver Easy

  • You will have to download the 'PL-2303_Driver_Installer.exe and save from Microsoft download link
  • Run the program and eradicate the driver if you can
  • Run the installer once more to install a correct driver

To Troubleshoot for error if your device still does not work

  • Go to Control panel, enter System to access your Device Manager
  • Scroll down to the LPT/ COM port then double click Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port
  • Click Driver in the Windows Properties section
  • The driver must be numbered as '2.0.2.8' and dates accordingly

If the driver was not installed, remove the Serial adapter then run 'PL2303_Driver_Installer.exe' again. Follow directions in Device Manager to download the correct driver

Serial Driver Download

The three solutions listed in this article have proven to be quite helpful in fixing a Prolific USB to Serial driver not working on Windows 10. They may appear confusing at first but if you follow each step in detail you can resolve the issue.

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Table of Contents

This content relates to a deprecated version of Mbed

Mbed 2 is now deprecated. For the latest version please see the Mbed OS documentation.

For the latest information about Serial, please see The Windows Serial Driver.

The mbed serial port works by default on Mac and Linux, but Windows needs a driver. These instructions explain how to setup the mbed Microcontroller to use the USB serial port on Windows.

1. Download the mbed Windows serial port driver¶

Download the installer to your PC, e.g. your desktop.

Serial

2. Run the installer¶

With your mbed plugged in, and no explorer drive windows open, run the installer:

Serial Driverdoc

It will take some time (especially on Vista), and pop up a few 'unsigned driver' warnings, but after a while you should have a Serial port.

Where Next¶

  • SerialPC - Communication with a PC
  • Terminals - Guide to using terminal applications
Serial driver download

Troubleshooting

If you have multiple mbed microcontrollers, but the serial port only appears for one of them:

  • Make sure you run the installer for every mbed; windows loads the driver based on the serial number, so it needs to be run for each mbed you use

If the installer fails because 'No mbed Microcontrollers were found':

  • Check your mbed Microcontroller is plugged in

If the installer reports the message 'mbedWinSerial_nnnnn.exe is not a valid Win32 application':

  • It is likely you are using Internet Explorer to download the installer file, which sometimes seems to only download part of the installer application for an unknown reason
  • To solve this, download the installer with a different browser (Firefox, Chrome), and try again; this should solve the issue.

If the Installer appears to hang:

  • Check if windows has popped-up a 'unsigned driver/permission' window; these often get hidden behind other windows with nothing to indicate so in the taskbar! Windows may be waiting for you to click 'OK'!

If you have any problems, or think this tutorial could be improved, please tell us in the Forum!





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