Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 Version 1.0 Issue Date: 2016-02-02 The purpose of this application note is to provide users of FTDI chips with a simple procedure for installing FTDI drivers for FTDI devices used under Windows 10. Use of FTDI devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at the user’s risk, and the user agrees to defend, indemnify and hold FTDI harmless from any and all damages, claims, suits or expense resulting from such use.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................ 2 2 Installing FTDI Device Drivers ................................. 3 3 Installing CDM Drivers ............................................. 4 3.1 Windows Update .............................................................. 4 3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 1 Introduction The purpose of this application note is to provide users of FTDI chips with a simple procedure for installing FTDI drivers for their devices under Windows 10. This installation guide is only intended for installing FTDI devices on the following versions o f Windows 10.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 2 Installing FTDI Device Drivers The Windows Combined Driver Model (CDM) may be installed on XP, VISTA, Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 10 allowing applications to access FTDI devices through either the D2XX DLL or a COM port without having to change driver type.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 3 Installing CDM Drivers To install CDM drivers for an FTDI device under Windows 10, follow the instructions below: Connect the device to a spare USB port on your PC. 3.1 Windows Update If there is an available internet connection, Windows 10 will silently connect to the Windows Update website and install any suitable driver it finds for the device .
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 3.2 Pre-Installation using the FTDI setup executable The Windows 10 CDM driver is also available as a setup.exe from the FTDI Web Site, as shown in Figure 3.2. The executable copies the default FTDI driver to the PC’s driver store prior to the FTDI device being plugged into the PC. Figure 3.2 Setup Executable Location Download the setup.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.4 Extract CDM Drivers Follow the installation instructions shown in Figure 3.5 including license terms agreement acceptance shown in Figure 3.6 and the driver will be automatically installed. From a legal point of view, the user must accept the license terms of the driver. Successful installation is shown in Figure 3.7. Figure 3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.6 Driver Installation Wizard License Agreement Figure 3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Whenever an FTDI device is plugged into the PC, VCP and D2XX drivers will be installed, depending on EEPROM settings, and listed in device manager as shown in Figure 3.8. Device Manager can be found as shown in Figure 3.9. Figure 3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 3.3 Manual Installation If no suitable driver is automatically found then the following procedure should be followed. Firstly download the latest FTDI windows driver files from http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm and save the driver .zip file to a known folder on the PC.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 In the Device Manager window there should be a device under Other Devices with a yellow warning symbol to indicate a problem i.e. no driver installed , as shown in Figure 3.10. The text next to this device will depend on the device attached. In this example the device was a USB Serial Cable. Figure 3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.11 Update Driver Software This then displays the option for an automatic search or a manual search. Select the second option to browse manually as shown in Figure 3.12.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.12 Browse my computer for Driver Software In the address box put the exact location where the drivers have been saved to. The location should be the top level folder of the extracted files and contain two *.INF files. It is not necessarily the exact same location as shown in Figure 3.13.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.13 Search Location After entering or browsing for the address, select “Next” to start the installation as shown in Figure 3.14.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.14 Installing driver software When the installation has finished a completion screen is displayed as shown in Figure 3.15.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.15 Successful Driver Software Update Press Close to close this window and go back to the Device Manager Window. If the Virtual Com Port option has been selected then the Device Manager will show a device under Other Devices but in addition to this there is a new entry under Universal Serial Bus Controllers indicated in Figure 3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.16 Device Manager View Right click on the other device (USB Serial Cable in this example) to bring up a menu as shown in Figure 3.17.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.17 Update Driver Software This then displays the option for an auto matic search or a manual search as shown in Figure 3.18.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.18 Browse my computer for Driver Software In the address box put the exact location where the drivers have been saved to. The location should be the top level folder of the extracted files and contain two *.INF files. It is not necessarily the exact same location as shown in Figure 3.19.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.19 Search Location After entering the address select “Next” to start the installation as shown in Figure 3.20.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.20 Installing driver software When the installation is finished a completion screen is displayed as shown in Figure 3.21.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.21 Successful Driver Software Update Note this screen also displays the COM port number assigned to the device. Press Close to close this window and go back to the Device Manager Window as shown in Figure 3.22.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 3.22 Device Manager View This time the Device Manager does not have an entry under Other Devices but does show entries under Universal Serial Bus Controllers and Ports (COM & LPT). Figure 3.22 displays a correct installation. The device is now ready to use on COM3. NOTE: Not all devices will install to COM3.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 4 Uninstalling FTDI Devices The FTDI utility CDM Uninstaller can be used to remove FTDI drivers from the Windows 10 PC. The utility is available on the FTDI website. Alternately devices can be removed using the Device Manager by simply right-clicking on the mouse and selecting "Uninstall".
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 5 Troubleshooting 5.1 Windows 10 cannot find drivers for my device This error can occur if the VID and PID programmed into the device EEPROM do not match those listed in the INF files for the driver. The VID and PID programmed into the device EEPROM may be found by using the USBView utility from the FTDI web site.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 5.2 Devices not shown in Device Manager for uninstalling Devices that have been installed on a system but are not currently available are referred to as "phantom devices". These devices are not usually displayed in the device manager, but can be made to be displayed as though they are attached.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 In the System Variables section (NOT THE USER VARIABLES SECTION) shown in Figure 5.3 Figure 5.3 System Variables Click "New..." to display the following window in Figure 5.4. Figure 5.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Create a new System Variable called "DevMgr_Show_NonPresent_Devices" and set the value to 1, then click OK. Open the Device Manager and select "View Show Hidden Devices" as shown in Figure 5.5. Device Manager will then show all hidden and phantom devices available on that PC as shaded. Figure 5.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 5.3 Windows 10 warning message If the driver is not certified then a pop up window such as shown below may be displayed. Figure 5.6 Windows can’t verify the Publisher If you are certain of the source of the driver the warning can be ignored and you can continue installation by selecting “Install this driver software anyway”.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 5.4 Driver will not install on Windows 10 x64 Windows 10 x64 OS will only allow certified drivers to be installed.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 5.5 Unable to view device installation status If the installation progress is not shown automatically by the PC, it can be accessed by entering the PC Settings. Click on the Windows icon on the bottom left hand corner of the PC and select Settings. A window should appear as shown in Figure 5.8. Figure 5.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 5.9 Windows Update Settings Click on Install updates if available as shown in Figure 5.10.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 5.10 Windows Update Install Now Please ensure that your PC is kept up to date by always installing the latest Windows updates. This can have an adverse effect on driver installation if the PC is not kept up to date.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Appendix A – References Document References AN_107 Advanced Driver Options http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm http://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Utilities.
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Appendix B – List of Tables & Figures List of Figures Figure 2.1 Windows CDM Driver Architecture ................................................................................ 3 Figure 3.1 Windows Update Installation ........................................................................................ 4 Figure 3.2 Setup Executable Location ........
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Figure 5.10 Windows Update Install Now ....................................................................................
Application Note AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 V ers ion 1 .0 D oc ument Reference N o.: FT _001281 C learance N o.: FT DI# 4 8 6 Appendix C – Revision History Document Title: AN_396 FTDI Drivers Installation Guide for Windows 10 Document Reference No.: FT_001281 Clearance No.: FTDI# 486 Product Page: http://www.ftdichip.com/FTProducts.htm Document Feedback: Send Feedback Revision Changes Date 1.
