Unable to use NI USB Serial Ports after Installing NI-Serial

Hardware: Serial>>RS-485>>USB-485, Instrument Connectivity Other>>USB>>USB-485/2, Serial>>RS-485>>USB-485/4, Serial>>RS-232>>USB-232, Instrument Connectivity Other>>USB>>USB-232/2, Serial>>RS-232>>USB-232/4

Problem:
After upgrading or installing NI-Serial on a new system, I was unable to use the NI USB or ExpressCard serial ports attached to my computer. This hardware worked fine when a previous version of NI-Serial was installed on my system or when I use it with another computer. How can I get my ports to work again?

Solution:
The version of NI-Serial that was installed may require a new version of the firmware to be running on the NI USB or ExpressCard hardware. Users may run into this problem if their hardware does not get powered off before new versions of NI-Serial try to access the hardware. This can happen in several ways.

Upgrading NI-Serial without unplugging and powering down the hardware.
Using a USB-485/4 on two different computers with different operating systems or different versions of NI-Serial.
Using any other NI USB serial hardware with a USB self powered hub with different operating systems or versions of NI-Serial.
Imaging to a new operating system/version of NI-Serial.

To fix this problem, unplug the hardware from the system and disconnect power after the new driver has attempted to detect the hardware. Unplugging the USB cable will also cut power to the hardware unless it is still connected to a self powered USB hub or using a power supply (USB-485/4 only). When the hardware is plugged back into the system and powered on, the new firmware will be loaded. This problem only affects NI USB and ExpressCard serial hardware.

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Report Date: 07/01/2008
Last Updated: 07/02/2008
Document ID: 4N07NHG2

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