USB Driver v4.16 Installation Instructions


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System Requirements


Driver Installation


Note: the screenshots below were obtained in Windows XP; certain system prompts may differ in other versions of Windows, but the overall procedure will be the same.

  1. Download and run (double-click) the file "CP2101.exe" from the link above:

    Step 1: Unpack files.


    Click Unzip to copy files to an extraction directory (default c:\cp2101).

  2. Connect the instrument to a USB port on your computer and turn the instrument on. Ignore and close any windows that appear automatically.

  3. Open Device Manager (right-click on [My] Computer on the Desktop or Start Menu and select Manage; then click on Device Manager). Find a device marked with a exclamation mark and named "CP2101 USB to UART Bridge Controller" or similarly, as shown below. (This should be located under the category "Other devices" or "Universal Serial Bus controllers"; in Windows 98, the device may be named "Cygnal USB Composite Device" instead).

    Step 3: Device Manager.


  4. Double-click on the "CP2101 USB to UART Bridge Controller" (or similarly named) device, click on the Driver tab, and click the Update Driver button shown below.

    Step 4: Update Driver.


  5. When asked, do not search for software online, and instead choose "Install from a list or specific location".

    Step 5: Install from a specific location.


  6. Have the system search the extraction directory from Step (1) (default c:\cp2101) for the driver files to install. Click Finish when prompted. You may need to override warnings about unsigned drivers, especially in Vista/7.

    Step 6: Have the system search the directory from Step 1.


  7. Repeat Steps 4-6 until the "CP2101 USB to UART Bridge Controller" device no longer shows up with an exclamation mark. Upon successful installation, you should have two CP2101 drivers installed as shown below.

    Step 7: Driver installation complete.



Instrument Installation

  1. First complete the USB Driver installation procedure above.
  2. Disconnect the instrument from your PC, if applicable.
  3. Connect the instrument to your PC and turn the power on.
  4. Wait for any automatic system installation tasks to complete.
  5. Open Device Manager (right-click [My] Computer > Manage > Device Manager).
  6. Double-click the category "Ports (COM & LPT)" to display:


  7. Locate "CP210x USB to UART Bridge Controller" or a similarly named device to verify successful installation.

This completes instrument installation.


Take note of the COM port number (COM5 in the example above). Assign this number in your instrument software, using the System command under the Setup menu, and then run the Hardware Test command under the Setup menu to confirm that the instrument and computer are communicating properly.




Driver Uninstallation

To uninstall any previously installed drivers, right-click on the device in Device Manager and click Uninstall. You may need to do this not only for the COM Port, but also a USB Composite Device.

  1. Right-click on the CP210x COM device in Device Manager and click Uninstall (check "Delete the software driver for this device" when prompted).
  2. If present, you will also need to do this for a "Cygnal USB Composite Device" or "CP210x USB Composite Device" under the Universal Serial Bus Controllers category as shown here.
  3. To confirm that the USB driver is fully uninstalled, disconnect and reconnect the instrument to your computer and make sure that the CP210x device is now listed under Other devices as shown here. The Cygnal or CP210x composite device should also no longer be installed.
  4. If at this point a COM port is still assigned, you may also need to uninstall the driver from Control Panel > Programs and Features and repeat the procedure above.
  5. Rebooting your computer immediately after uninstalling drivers may also help, especially in Windows XP and earlier.


Notes


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