USB to Serial RS232 Cable

[nerdyrcdriver]

Hi everyone, I have a gigaware usb to serial rs232 cable that I am trying to use. I know it worked the last time that I used it. It looks like this one but is beige.  http://www.radioshack.com/gigaware-usb-to-serial-cable/2603487.html#q=usb%2Bserial&start=9

 

From what I have found on it, nobody has found a working driver for it that will run on anything newer than windows xp 32 bit. 

 

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this problem or if anyone knows of a possible solution. 

[ionbasa]

Hi everyone, I have a gigaware usb to serial rs232 cable that I am trying to use. I know it worked the last time that I used it. It looks like this one but is beige.  http://www.radioshack.com/gigaware-usb-to-serial-cable/2603487.html#q=usb%2Bserial&start=9

 

From what I have found on it, nobody has found a working driver for it that will run on anything newer than windows xp 32 bit. 

 

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this problem or if anyone knows of a possible solution. 

Maybe try this somewhat generic driver: http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/ScopedViewRedirect.aspx?updateid=ba572282-f01a-4236-8532-45c5fa0d09d2

[Beltboy]

I have a couple of similar cables that work fine under windows 7 and 8.1 Have you managed to get it to show in Device manager?

 

I've found with later versions of windows you need to spend a little more on the cables and get one with com port retention in the cable or windows changes all your settings each re-boot.

[nerdyrcdriver]

Maybe try this somewhat generic driver: http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/ScopedViewRedirect.aspx?updateid=ba572282-f01a-4236-8532-45c5fa0d09d2

How do I install a .cab file? From what I found .cab is generally language packs and the guides that I found didn't work. 

[nerdyrcdriver]

I have a couple of similar cables that work fine under windows 7 and 8.1 Have you managed to get it to show in Device manager?

 

I've found with later versions of windows you need to spend a little more on the cables and get one with com port retention in the cable or windows changes all your settings each re-boot.

 

Yes, it shows up as USB-Serial Controller under the Other Devices tab. 

[Beltboy]

Yes, it shows up as USB-Serial Controller under the Other Devices tab. 

presumably with an ! I don't suppose there are any extra com ports showing under ports?

[NelizMastr]

Have you considered running XP in virtualbox and connecting the serial port to the VM? In the end, this might be your best bet.

[wako7654]

Hi everyone, I have a gigaware usb to serial rs232 cable that I am trying to use. I know it worked the last time that I used it. It looks like this one but is beige.  http://www.radioshack.com/gigaware-usb-to-serial-cable/2603487.html#q=usb%2Bserial&start=9

 

From what I have found on it, nobody has found a working driver for it that will run on anything newer than windows xp 32 bit. 

 

I was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this problem or if anyone knows of a possible solution. 

 

Taken from the comment section on the site.

 

"The driver installation is a little complicated for windows 7/8. The driver's themselves are fine, it is the installer that is packaged with them that is flakey. It will work fine with w2k/vista/winXP but on 7 or 8 the installer will crash a lot. HERE IS HOW TO MAKE THE DRIVER INSTALLATION WORK in win7/8:

Unzip the file, go to the Vista folder, and right click the 'setup.exe' file and select properties. 

Here's the magic: Select the compatibility tab, then select the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" check box and then select the 'VISTA' option from the menu below the checkbox. Click apply and then right-click 'setup.exe' again and this time 'run as administrator'. Enter credentials and the driver installation should complete successfully. Make sure the device is NOT plugged in when you install the drivers or the installation may fail.

I've run these up to the max allowed by the drivers (128kb/sec in windows, and 460.8kb/sec in linux) without transmission errors. That sort of thing is possbile due to the long length of USB cable leading to the adapter. Usually I can plug the DB9 directly into a device instead of needing a separate RS232 cable. (Note:Purchase a gender changer and a null-modem adapter with this and you'll be able to plug into anything RS232 with ease!)"

 

Just download the setup file and run in vista compatibility.

[nerdyrcdriver]

Taken from the comment section on the site.

 

"The driver installation is a little complicated for windows 7/8. The driver's themselves are fine, it is the installer that is packaged with them that is flakey. It will work fine with w2k/vista/winXP but on 7 or 8 the installer will crash a lot. HERE IS HOW TO MAKE THE DRIVER INSTALLATION WORK in win7/8:

Unzip the file, go to the Vista folder, and right click the 'setup.exe' file and select properties. 

Here's the magic: Select the compatibility tab, then select the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:" check box and then select the 'VISTA' option from the menu below the checkbox. Click apply and then right-click 'setup.exe' again and this time 'run as administrator'. Enter credentials and the driver installation should complete successfully. Make sure the device is NOT plugged in when you install the drivers or the installation may fail.

I've run these up to the max allowed by the drivers (128kb/sec in windows, and 460.8kb/sec in linux) without transmission errors. That sort of thing is possbile due to the long length of USB cable leading to the adapter. Usually I can plug the DB9 directly into a device instead of needing a separate RS232 cable. (Note:Purchase a gender changer and a null-modem adapter with this and you'll be able to plug into anything RS232 with ease!)"

 

Just download the setup file and run in vista compatibility.

 

That would be great and all, but the driver download is missing from that page and from their main drivers download page. 

This seems similar, but when I click the driver download I get a 403 forbidden error. 

http://www.radioshack.com/gigaware-6-ft-usb-a-to-serial-cable/2600949.html#prefn1=brand&start=18&prefn2=cableLength&prefv2=4-6+ft.&sz=12&prefv1=Gigaware

I found another cable and managed to get it working correctly. 

 

Thanks everyone! 

[nerdyrcdriver]

Have you considered running XP in virtualbox and connecting the serial port to the VM? In the end, this might be your best bet.

 

The problem with that is I need to use this adapter with a specific software that is licensed in windows 8 and I can not re use the license. 

[NelizMastr]

So, you're using an adapter that's only certified for XP for use in Windows 8? I think you see the problem here. Your best bet is to get  a USB>RS232 adapter that has Windows 8 drivers since 8.x doesn't accept XP drivers anymore.

[nerdyrcdriver]

So, you're using an adapter that's only certified for XP for use in Windows 8? I think you see the problem here. Your best bet is to get  a USB>RS232 adapter that has Windows 8 drivers since 8.x doesn't accept XP drivers anymore.

Yeah. I am going to need to switch to a cable with a newer chip. Windows 8 does allow you to install xp drivers through compatibility mode, but I can't find a download for the actual xp driver anyway.