USB-232 device not recognized

[cirrusio]

Hello all,

This is a hardware problem.  I have a NI USB-232 device that seems to not be working properly on one computer.  In MAX, it appears to connect and disconnect repeatedly and it never shows up in the Windows Device Manger.  The USB-232 device seems to be working properly as it is recognized by other computers that it is attached to.  And other NI USB-232 devices work fine on this computer.  Does anyone have any pointers with regards to things I can do to get this device functional on this computer?

Cheers, cirrus

[crossrulz]

Sounds like a problem with a driver installation.  Try downloading the latest driver for your device and install that.

[Hooovahh]

This wouldn't happen to be a cheap and crappy FTDI, or Prolific USB to RS232 from China would it?  If it is these are usually counterfeit and will usually not work with the latest drivers because they will disable counterfeit hardware.

http://hackaday.com/2016/02/01/ftdi-drivers-break-fake-chips-again/

http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProduct.aspx?p_id=155&pcid=41

http://www.totalcardiagnostics.com/support/Knowledgebase/Article/View/92/20/prolific-usb-to-serial-f...

For every cheap and crappy converter I have, I usually have to track down the one version of the drivers that actually works, and then make sure all other versions are removed from the computer.

Make sure the COM port shows up in Device Manager and doesn't have any issues before trying to use it in MAX or LabVIEW.  If it doesn't look right there, then there isn't any chance it will work in MAX or LabVIEW.

[RTSLVU]

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@cirrusio wrote:

 I have a NI USB-232 device that seems to not be working properly on one computer.  In MAX, it appears to connect and disconnect repeatedly and it never shows up in the Windows Device Manger.  

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From my experience dealing with cheap "Prolific" USB to serial adaptors I would have to agree with Hoovah, you have a counterfeit device.

You can buy actual FTDI USB to serial adaptors from Digikey for as low as $15 each.

https://www.digikey.com/product-search/en/cable-assemblies/smart-cables/1574108?FV=fff40018%2Cfff804...

Sure that might seem expensive when you can get a counterfeit one for <$1 from China but in the long run it will save you time, money, and frustration.  

[Sam_Sharp]

He says he has an "NI USB-232" - this would indicate to me that it's non-counterfeit (unless NI have counterfeit parts in their devices!).

The fact you say that it's only that particular NI USB-232 on that particular PC but the NI USB-232 works fine in other PCs and other NI USB-232s work fine on that PC seems very strange. If it was one or the other it would narrow it down to a problem with the PC (e.g. USB controller, drivers) or the NI USB-232 (e.g. faulty).

Why can't you just use that NI USB-232 on a different computer?

[RTSLVU]

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@Sam_Sharp wrote:

He says he has an "NI USB-232" - this would indicate to me that it's non-counterfeit (unless NI have counterfeit parts in their devices!).

The fact you say that it's only that particular NI USB-232 on that particular PC but the NI USB-232 works fine in other PCs and other NI USB-232s work fine on that PC seems very strange. If it was one or the other it would narrow it down to a problem with the PC (e.g. USB controller, drivers) or the NI USB-232 (e.g. faulty).

Why can't you just use that NI USB-232 on a different computer?

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I guess I missed that NI part.

But it would not be out of the realm of possibility that a NI device ended up with a counterfeit chipset after dealing with the "buyers" at my company.

If a buyer can save a tenth of a penny per part buying from some shady parts outlet they will do it.

[Hooovahh]

Sorry I do apologize I scanned the first post and missed that too.  At the price NI charges I'd hope they aren't counterfeit but I don't have one on hand to test with.  The counterfeit ones are usually something like a dollar or two.  At my first job someone ordered a large bucket of those USB converters.  We had a hard time getting them to work and tried to get a refund, instead the seller sent us another bucket of them for free.  I'm not sure what you do with 200 cheaply made USB converters that only work part of the time with one the right drivers.

[cirrusio]

No.  The device is ok - it works on other computers.  

In the end, I simply swapped it with another usb-232 cable.  A less painful solution then continuing to try to diagnose why this cable all of a sudden did not want to work with the current computer.  For the record, I spoke with AE about this and got no further.

The lesson - hardware issues are hard.