[aprssig] Prolific USB<>RS232 woes (Was Re: New tablet usable for APRS.)

[Dave]

OK, so here goes.

The drivers that Byon use for the prolific devices, seem to be general 
issue from about 2008.

They helped a little, but didn't fix the problem.

I now suspect, the driver that is causing the issue may not be the 
USB<>Serial one, but be (ATI) display related.

The only info I have as to what goes bang, is that the file Wdf01000.sys 
is involved, buy poxy W7 insists on auto rebooting after a BSoD, so 
unless I'm there at the (now infrequent) times it happens, I don't get to 
see the "Stop Error number".   I've not found a way to get it to just 
park with the BSoD left for me to get to next time I'm passing.

Then...   It started to put a security alert shield on some program 
shortcuts, that in turn provoked a full AV/Malware sweep (nothing found) 
but again I can find no way to remove them.  None of the forum posts on 
t'web on the matter have come up with the definitve solution either.  
(Unticking the *unticked* "run as administrator" check box.)

I would have posted all the diagnostic/health info as requesed on one 
list (run and populated by MS MVP's etc) but again, I can't get the 
blessed thing to NOT reboot after a crash, when it does restart, it has 
all the files I need to wrap and send, but because it's sitting there 
with a dialog waiting for me to tell it if it can send it all to MS, and 
I guess the files are open and locked by that, I can't even open or copy 
them.   Once that error reporting dialog is let run, or closed, it erases 
the files!

For the moment, I've gone back to XP, as I know that "Just works" with no 
hassles with all the software I want to run, including the Prolific 
device, now I've recompiled my program with some artificial delays in the 
byte handshaking routines.

So, £89.99 and several days time down the pan, and I have a nice recycled 
high spec PC I can't use for what I wanted.  No, I can't put XP on it, 
most of the hardware has no XP drivers, only Vista or later.

I've got a bucket of beer under a rock somewhere.  I think I'll go stick 
my head in that.  It's more productive.

73.  Thanks for the bandwidth and suggestions..

Dave G0WBX.









On 3 Feb 2012 at 13:48, Dave wrote:

> Thanks Arthur.
> 
> I've pulled the zip, and will play later.  From a brief look, they are
> earlier Prolific drivers (2008) than currently available, but if they
> work and do not cause problems, I'll be happy.
> 
> I'll report back when I've tried it all.  Might be a day or three at
> this rate...
> 
> Best 73 etc.
> 
> Dave G0WBX.
> 
> 
> On 2 Feb 2012 at 9:41, KB1TX at aol.com wrote:
> 
> > 
> > 
> > Dave:
> > I had similar problems with USB/232 and Byonics TT 3 and 4. Byon
> > suggested I use the driver they use, and it loads as ports 8 and 15
> > on my HP desktop running Windows 7 -32.
> > http://www.byonics.com/downloads/sabrent_usb_to_serial_drivers.zip
> > It may take several tries to get it to load completely. My system
> > loses the internet connection after a couple seconds of the
> > download, but eventually I get it all. Arthur L Smith KB1TX
> > KB1TX at AOL.COM Chocorua, NH, USA In a message dated 2/1/2012 6:58:53
> > P.M. Eastern Standard Time, dave at g8kbv.demon.co.uk writes:
> >     While on the subject of USB<>RS232...
> > 
> >     Does anyone have any idea what the trouble is with the recent
> >     Prolific drivers, on XP, Vista and 7 (32 bit.) Myself and others
> >     have found that many Ham applications can have trouble now when
> >     using such chipset based adapters, ranging for scrambled
> >     communications, to random BSoD's.
> > 
> 
> 
> 
>