USB to Serial converter PL2303: Error 10 fix
THE PROBLEM:
Happens so that I was tinkering with an Arduino Pro Mini and decided to buy an USB to serial adapter. It is true that one doesn't need any dongle to program the Pro Mini or the Micro, as it can be easily set up with any other board (UNO / MEGA), but having the board directly connected to the computer through a COM port is highly convenient.
The adapter that I purchased was a PL2303 one from Prolific, the cheapest on AliExpress, and it is an easy mistake to do so. As soon as I plugged in the dongle and installed the driver, an error in the Device Manager appeared.
"Error 10, device is unable to start".
This indicates that there is a problem between the driver and the hardwared, being the protocols unable to start. I checked the driver version, which was the newest one (v3.8.18.0). I reinstalled the drivers and tried different USB ports, all with the same result.
It wasn't until I got to Prolific's webpage (which is not even running an HTTPS protocol) and searched under the product category for the PL2303.
After all the installer and setup program, a note in RED reads:
NOTE:
- Windows 8/8.1/10 are NOT supported in PL-2303HXA and PL-2303X EOL chip versions.
- Run PL2303 CheckChipVersion tool program in Windows XP/Vista/7 to check chip version.
- Windows Vista, XP, 2000, 98 and Windows ME driver technical support are discontinued.
- Prolific recommends to use PL-2303HXD (HX Rev D) or PL2303TA chip
What this means is that there are certain dongles/adapters on the markers with the PL-2303HXA and PL-2303X chips which are no longer produced (EOL) and whose Windows 8/8.1/10 compatibility is not assured. Basically, they were too lazy to update the common driver for the versions with the HXA and X chip variants.
THE FIX:
However! One can still circumvent this and use an earlier version of the driver (which, to my surprise, works flawlessly), in particular to the v3.2.0.0.
If you plug in your dongle and it does not get recognized while you are using Windows 8/8.1/10, follow the steps below:
- Open Windows Search and head to the Device Manager.
- If you have a COM port (in the Ports tab) with a warning sign on the left corner proceed with this guide.
- Right click on the faulty device and select "Properties", check that it is prompting "Error 10, device unable to start". If it is your case, proceed.
- Click on the "Driver" tab, if it is any version other than the 3.2.0.0, uninstall it.
- Finally, download the early driver from here and proceed with the installation.
If you feel so, you can reboot your PC. Remember to connect the Arduino RTX pins correctly to the dongle and you should be ready to go.
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