FTDI driver installation problems

I found a similar problem in an earlier thread, but not really a 
solution...

I am trying to install the FTDI FT232BM VCP driver on a Windows 98 system.  
The system won't "pick up" the driver.  It recognizes the USB device 
(unknown) when I plug it in.  It then insists on automatically attaching 
its own USB driver.  I can tell it to "update driver" and point it to the 
directory where the FTDI driver is located.  However, it insists that it 
knows better (the best driver is already installed) and won't update.

I've tried removing the "unknown device" and doing it over, no change...

Any ideas?  [FWIW, I am currently using the FTDI FT232BM without an 
EEPROM.]

tnx, jmk

James M. Knox wrote:

> I found a similar problem in an earlier thread, but not really a 
> solution...
> 
> I am trying to install the FTDI FT232BM VCP driver on a Windows 98 system.  
> The system won't "pick up" the driver.  It recognizes the USB device 
> (unknown) when I plug it in.  It then insists on automatically attaching 
> its own USB driver.  I can tell it to "update driver" and point it to the 
> directory where the FTDI driver is located.  However, it insists that it 
> knows better (the best driver is already installed) and won't update.
> 
> I've tried removing the "unknown device" and doing it over, no change...
> 
> Any ideas?  [FWIW, I am currently using the FTDI FT232BM without an 
> EEPROM.]

Why don't you send these question to Mr keith dingwall from
FTDI ? He's really helpful and has accumulated quite a lot of knowledge ?

Rene
-- 
Ing.Buero R.Tschaggelar - http://www.ibrtses.com
& commercial newsgroups - http://www.talkto.net

On Sun, 29 May 2005 22:48:37 -0500, "James M. Knox" <jknox@trisoft.com> wrote:

>I found a similar problem in an earlier thread, but not really a 
>solution...
>
>I am trying to install the FTDI FT232BM VCP driver on a Windows 98 system.  
>The system won't "pick up" the driver.  It recognizes the USB device 
>(unknown) when I plug it in.  It then insists on automatically attaching 
>its own USB driver.  I can tell it to "update driver" and point it to the 
>directory where the FTDI driver is located.  However, it insists that it 
>knows better (the best driver is already installed) and won't update.
>
>I've tried removing the "unknown device" and doing it over, no change...
>
>Any ideas?  [FWIW, I am currently using the FTDI FT232BM without an 
>EEPROM.]
>
>tnx, jmk

It makes life a whole lot easier if you use the eeprom and prorogram a product  ID (PID) into it
(FTDI will allocate you one if you ask them). You just need to update the driver .INF files
(described in th ehelp files of FTDI's MPROG eeprom-programming utility). That way it will always
look for a driver for your specific PID and ignore any previously installed drivers. 

Mike Harrison <mike@whitewing.co.uk> wrote in
news:7ukl91dad0530npakusulihted57av7nij@4ax.com: 
 
> It makes life a whole lot easier if you use the eeprom and prorogram a
> product  ID (PID) into it (FTDI will allocate you one if you ask
> them). You just need to update the driver .INF files (described in th
> ehelp files of FTDI's MPROG eeprom-programming utility). That way it
> will always look for a driver for your specific PID and ignore any
> previously installed drivers. 

That's the plan, and in fact I laid out the board with a spot for the 
EEPROM on it.  But the documentation (and other comments I googled on this 
newsgroup) say that it should work without one.  So the idea was to start 
with the least number of variables in the equation. <G>

But I may have to install an EEPROM just to see if I can force the driver 
to load...
    	    	    	    	jmk

First, the support of USB under win98 is not perfect.
Second, use DX2XX drivers instead of VCP they are far more stable.
Stef Mientki

James M. Knox wrote:
> I found a similar problem in an earlier thread, but not really a 
> solution...
> 
> I am trying to install the FTDI FT232BM VCP driver on a Windows 98 system.  
> The system won't "pick up" the driver.  It recognizes the USB device 
> (unknown) when I plug it in.  It then insists on automatically attaching 
> its own USB driver.  I can tell it to "update driver" and point it to the 
> directory where the FTDI driver is located.  However, it insists that it 
> knows better (the best driver is already installed) and won't update.
> 
> I've tried removing the "unknown device" and doing it over, no change...
> 
> Any ideas?  [FWIW, I am currently using the FTDI FT232BM without an 
> EEPROM.]
> 
> tnx, jmk

Stef Mientki <S.Mientki-nospam@mailbox.kun.nl> wrote in
news:99227$429b603b$83aef479$13935@news2.tudelft.nl: 

> First, the support of USB under win98 is not perfect.
> Second, use DX2XX drivers instead of VCP they are far more stable.

Long term, probably will.  But for now the VCP driver allows us to continue 
to use the PC-based host program with no changes (just tell it to use a 
different serial port).  

"Stef Mientki" <S.Mientki-nospam@mailbox.kun.nl> wrote in message
news:99227$429b603b$83aef479$13935@news2.tudelft.nl...
> First, the support of USB under win98 is not perfect.
> Second, use DX2XX drivers instead of VCP they are far more stable.
> Stef Mientki

There is nothing wring with the stability of the VCP drivers. We use the
chips and the VCP drivers in a commercial product for 3 years and we've
never had any reported problems. One good thing to do is strip out any PnP
enumerator stuff from the INF files. Makes Windoze behave more nicely when
any data is present on the FTDI chip when Windoze starts.

Meindert

Meindert Sprang wrote:
> "Stef Mientki" <S.Mientki-nospam@mailbox.kun.nl> wrote in message
> news:99227$429b603b$83aef479$13935@news2.tudelft.nl...
> 
>>First, the support of USB under win98 is not perfect.
>>Second, use DX2XX drivers instead of VCP they are far more stable.
>>Stef Mientki
> 
> 
> There is nothing wring with the stability of the VCP drivers. We use the
> chips and the VCP drivers in a commercial product for 3 years and we've
> never had any reported problems. One good thing to do is strip out any PnP
> enumerator stuff from the INF files. Makes Windoze behave more nicely when
> any data is present on the FTDI chip when Windoze starts.
> 
> Meindert
> 
> 
At what baudrate are you using them ?
(we use 115kB en 230kB)
Stef

"Stef Mientki" <S.Mientki-nospam@mailbox.kun.nl> wrote in message
news:3f390$429ca3af$83aef479$25524@news1.tudelft.nl...
> At what baudrate are you using them ?
> (we use 115kB en 230kB)

38400 and 57600 max.

Meindert

For test purposes, I have been using Procomm Plus.  Straight terminal
program, just to display the data being sent over the line from the
device.  If I let everything settle down between the host and the
device, then set Procomm Plus to serial port 3 (the "VCP" port), then
tell the device to start sending data - works fine.  But if I then turn
off the device (the FTDI chip is self powered, which means it goes off
as well) and back on, not only does Procomm Plus appear to lock up, but
Win98 comes up with an internal error that won't go away without a
reboot.  Haven't tried it under Win2K or XP yet.

One thing I suspect is that the driver is not happy if the device
starts sending data (or trying to) before all the enumeration is
completed.  I will try your suggestion of stripping out any extraneous
stuff in the INF file.  Also, as has been suggested, now adding the
EEPROM may help.