Many of the USB to Serial cables on the market use Prolific chipset, these chipsets do require drivers to be installed for reliability and compatibility. As this device converts a serial connection usually in the form of a RS-232 based com connector to a more modern high speed USB type serial the drivers are going to need to be installed correctly. Even though the latest drivers are recommended some users report better stability and compatibility using older versions of drivers on older systems running Windows 7 and lower. The best thing to do is install the latest unless a told to install a older version.
Installing the Prolific USB to Serial Driver
- Download the Driver: The driver files are available in a zip format below.
- Extract the Files:
- Using Windows explorer, right-click the dowloaded zip file and select "Extract All..." to choose a location where the files will be placed.
- Alternatively, you can use a free third party tool like 7-Zip to extract the files.
- Run the Setup File:
- Navigate to the extracted folder and locate the setup file, typically named something like
PL23XX-M_LogoDriver_Setup_xxx_xxxxxxxxxx.exe. - Right click and run the file as an Administrator. To install drivers and applications it is typical for the need for administration rights.
- Navigate to the extracted folder and locate the setup file, typically named something like
- Connect the Device:
- Plug in your device containing the Prolific USB to Serial device. If the drivers do not install automatically, you may need to manually point the system to the extracted drivers.
