French assistance needed.

[Diego Diaz]

Hi all,

A French valued contributor to the HP-41 community mailed me in seek of help with the Win10 USB driver "downgrade" for the Clonix/NoV programmer, as his XP system stopped working, forcing him to move to a Win10 box.

My French is quite near to zero, my English and his understanding are both far from perfect, and therefore explaining the details of the process to remove the "upgrade" Win10 Serial Prolific driver and install the older Win7 (3.3.11.152) driver on his Win10 system is becoming a challenge.

I'd really appreciate that some French spoken member who have already go thru this driver change process, can offer the details in French.

Thanks and best wishes from Canary Islands.

Diego.

[Archilog]

Hello Diego,
I don't really understand: if this member understands English well, why couldn't he understand your explanations?
I am sorry not to be very helpful in this matter, but perhaps he can find some help on http://www.silicium.org/forum/

Regards

[Diego Diaz]

Thanks for your input,

Regrettably he doesn't quite understand (my) English...

I've mailed him the link to the French forum.

Hopefully we'll find a workaround to his problem in short.

Best.

Diego.

[grsbanks]

Diego, give us a shout if he needs further assistance. I am bilingual French/English.

[Bernd Grubert]

Hello Diego,
you could try DeepL. It worked quite well for me.

[Sylvain Cote]

Hello Diego,
My native and daily speaking tongue is French, so check for the first requirement.
I have left the Windows world 15 years ago but I still use it in a VM for your softwares.
I have downloaded an evaluation copy of Windows 10 yesterday.
I will install it in a VM and try to find my way around it, I have never used Windows 10 so it may take a couple of days.
Sylvain

[Diego Diaz]

Hi all,

And thanks for stepping in.

The ideal scenario would be some French spoken user, who have already go thru the process of removing the "upgraded" Prolific USB driver in Win10 and replaced with the old driver (Ver.3.3.11.152 12/03/2010) required for the Clonix/NoV programmer to work properly. So he can explain the details and steps in French.

Quite like it was posted here some years ago when the problem first arises:
https://www.hpmuseum.org/forum/thread-4116.html

Sylvain, I sincerely appreciate your help. It may be quite an effort to arrange all this into an OS X "Win10 box" though, and not really sure the behaviour of the final set-up will be comparable/equivalent to a real Win10 64bit PC. However, it may be of help for other users with such platform and environment.

I'm waiting for the user's reply to my last mail and will post again.

Best. and keep safe.

Diego.

[rprosperi]

I can recommend a simple and safe procedure, however it would have to be translated by Sylvain (or someone) to be most useful to the French user.

Steps to follow:

0. Unplug the cable from the Win-10 PC.

1. Get the utility program USBDeview from here:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html

This is a free, portable program with no installation needed, it simply runs as a standalone .exe file.

2. Run the program (as Administrator - so right-click, Run as Admin...), it will open showing you all the USB related drivers that are currently installed. Note - there are far more than you think so don't be alarmed or confused by the long list.

3. Look in 2nd column (Description) for the device/driver to remove - probably something close to "Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port". Many columns over to the right one can find driver version and lots of other details.

4. Right-click on the Prolific device and a large menu opens.

5. Select "Uninstall Selected Devices" and confirm any prompts which come up.

6. Once completed, exit this utility and then install the drivers that Diego provided with the Clonix s/w package before rebooting.

7. Once done, you can connect the Clonix burner device and it should be recognized.

The above procedure is simpler and safer than any registry edits, etc.

In the future, if Win-10 offers to install a new driver version, simply hide it to prevent Win-10 from installing it.

Hope that helps.

Edit: Added step 0, just to be clear

[ijabbott]

It's a shame it uses the Prolific USB serial converter. In my experience, those are the worst type of USB serial converter.

[Massimo Gnerucci]

(07-02-2020 04:28 PM)ijabbott Wrote:  It's a shame it uses the Prolific USB serial converter. In my experience, those are the worst type of USB serial converter.

I disagree, unless they are not original Prolific but clones.

[Sylvain Cote]

I have installed Windows 10 Pro in a Parallels VM on my MacBook Pro 2019.
After doing a lot of drivers installation/deinstallation/etc, done countless reboot and thanks to Robert instructions, I was able to install a working driver.
I have just successfully programmed a USB-41 module.
Now I have to remove all the Prolific drivers and restart from scratch in order to come up with the exact procedure.
I will start with Robert procedure and add or modify steps I as go along, then I will translate it in French.
Sylvain

[Diego Diaz]

Thank you, this are the steps I mailed him:

1- connect your programmer to a USB port.

2- run the device manager, and check in properties if it has got the correct driver (ver. 3.3.11.152 from 12/03/2010) If the driver is ok then there shouldn't be any problem. Just note the assigned COM port number, and select it in the microbrn.exe "Port" menu.

3- If it is not, uninstall the device and mark the "remove the software" tag.

4- Disconnect the USB programmer, and run the Prolific Driver installer (v1210).

5- Restart your PC and connect the USB programmer again.

6- Check again in the Device manager which COM port number has been assigned as in step nr. 2- above. and run microbrn.exe.

I don't use any 3rd party USB scan app. but I think the result should have to be the same.

He has replied that the dirver still shows the yellow exclamation mark in the device manager listing... I'm running out of ideas... :-(

In case this is becoming too specific for the "General forum" feel free to contact me by e-mail.

Thanks again and best wishes.

Diego.

[Sylvain Cote]

The following procedure is for the driver installation only, read ClonixConfig.pdf for additional information.

1. download the latest Clonix software at: www.clonix41.org/Projects/Updates/Clonix_CD_090315.zip
2. unzip the file: Clonix_CD_090315.zip
3. plug your Clonix/NoV programmer to your computer (Windows will automatically install the latest Prolific driver: 3.8.31.0 [2019-07-30])
4. go to the Windows 7 driver sub-folder of your clonix folder => [CLONIX_FOLDER]\USB_Drivers\Win7\
5. unzip the file: PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1210.zip
6. run the file: PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1210.exe (this will install an older Prolific driver: 3.3.11.152 [2010-03-12])
   
   1. press the YES button to allow the program to run
   2. press the Next button to continue the installation
   3. press the Finish button to close the installation program
      
7. In Type here to search space
   
   1. type: device manager
   2. You should see Device Manager in the above list
   3. click on it.
      
8. in Device Manager
   
   1. click on Port (COM & LPT)
   2. double-click on PL2303HXA PHASED OUT DRIVER SINCE 2012. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER to show driver properties dialog box
   3. in PL2303HXA PHASED OUT DRIVER SINCE 2012. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER driver dialog box
      
      1. click on the Driver tab
      2. click on Update Driver button
      3. click on Browse my computer for drivers
      4. click on Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer
      5. select Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port Version 3.3.11.152 [2010-03-12] model
      6. click on Next button to activate the selected driver
      7. click on Close button to close the driver dialog box
         
   4. click on Close button to close the driver driver properties dialog box
   5. close the Device Manager dialog box
      
9. reboot Windows 10
10. In Type here to search space
    
    1. type: device manager
    2. You should see Device Manager in the above list
    3. click on it.
       
11. in Device Manager
    
    1. click on Port (COM & LPT)
    2. write down the COM port number assigned to the Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port driver(COM?)
       you will need that information later on when you run MicroBurn software for the first time
    3. close the Device Manager dialog box
       

Diego, is this what you were looking for ?
If the above is ok, then I will post the French version tomorrow.

Sylvain

[Diego Diaz]

Hi Sylvain,

As usual, your attention to detail is outstanding.

The issue is not really "urgent" but I sincerely appreciate your prompt reply.

Please post (or send me) the French version whenever you can.

Best wishes and keep safe.

Diego.

[Diego Diaz]

Hi Sylvain.

The user managed to install the working driver after reading your English guide.
(Which clearly means that main problem was my lack of details/language skills...)

Still I think that the French version may be of help to some other users.

No rush whatsoever.

Thanks again and have a nice weekend. ;-)

Diego.

[Sylvain Cote]

Hello Diego,
This is it!
Sylvain

Cette procédure couvre seulement l'installation du pilote de Prolific, pour de plus amples informations veuillez consulter le manuel ClonixConfig.pdf inclus dans le fichier de distribution.

1. Téléchargez le fichier de distribution du logiciel ClonixConfig.
   -> Disponible à l'adresse suivante: www.clonix41.org/Projects/Updates/Clonix_CD_090315.zip
2. Décompressez le fichier: Clonix_CD_090315.zip
3. Branchez le programmeur de module Clonix à votre ordinateur.
   -> Windows 10 devrait installer automatiquement la dernière version du pilote de la composante USB-Série utilisé par le programmeur. (Prolific 3.8.31.0 [2019-07-30])
4. Déplacez-vous dans le répertoire suivant: [REPERTOIRE_DE_CLONIX]\USB_Drivers\Win7\
5. Décompressez le fichier: PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1210.zip
6. Démarrez le logiciel d'installation du pilote Prolific : PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1210.exe (Prolific 3.3.11.152 [2010-03-12])
   
   1. Appuyez sur le bouton Oui pour autoriser l'exécution du logiciel.
   2. Appuyez sur le bouton Next pour démarrer l'installation du pilote.
   3. Appuyez sur le bouton Finish pour quitter le logiciel.
      
7. Dans l'espace: Taper ici pour effectuer une recherche
   
   1. Écrire le texte suivant: Gestionnaire de périphériques
   2. Vous devriez voir apparaître une liste au-dessus de votre curseur.
   3. Cliquez sur l'option Gestionnaire de périphériques
      
8. Gestionnaire de périphériques
   
   1. Double-cliquez sur la ligne Ports (COM et LPT) afin de faire apparaître la liste des ports actifs.
   2. Double-cliquez sur la ligne PL2303HXA PHASED OUT DRIVER SINCE 2012. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER afin d'obtenir la fenêtre des propriétés du pilote.
   3. Propriétés de: PL2303HXA PHASED OUT DRIVER SINCE 2012. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER
      
      1. Cliquez sur l'onglet Pilote
      2. Cliquez sur le bouton Mettre à jour le pilote
      3. Cliquez sur le bouton Parcourir mon ordinateur pour rechercher des pilotes
      4. Cliquez sur le bouton Choisir parmi une liste de pilotes sur mon ordinateur
      5. Sélectionnez la ligne: Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port Version 3.3.11.152 [2010-03-12]
      6. Cliquez sur le bouton Suivant pour activer le pilote.
      7. Cliquez sur le bouton Fermer pour quitter la boîte de mise à jour.
         
   4. Cliquez sur le bouton Fermer pour quitter la boîte des propriétés du pilote.
   5. Fermez la boîte de dialogue du Gestionnaire de périphériques.
      
9. Redémarrer Windows 10
10. Dans l'espace: Taper ici pour effectuer une recherche
    
    1. Écrire le texte suivant: Gestionnaire de périphériques
    2. Vous devriez voir apparaître une liste au-dessus de votre curseur.
    3. Cliquez sur l'option Gestionnaire de périphériques
       
11. Gestionnaire de périphériques
    
    1. Double-cliquez sur la ligne Ports (COM et LPT) afin de faire apparaître la liste des ports actifs.
    2. Écrire sur un bout de papier le numéro du port série qui a été attribué par Windows au pilote: Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port driver(COM?)
       Ce numéro sera utilisé ultérieurement lors de la configuration du logiciel MicroBurn.
    3. Fermez la boîte de dialogue du Gestionnaire de périphériques.
       

[JMBaillard]

Hi Sylvain.

Thank you for this advice.
It completely solved the problem I had with Clonix.

I also have a problem with my HP50G & conn4x with Windows10(64bits):

First, I could not install HPcaalculatorUSBsetup
But I found on the web this method:

Step 1 – Download the Connectivity Kit
Download Link: http://www.hpcalc.org/hp49/pc/link/conn4x_english.exe
Step 2 – Install the Connectivity Kit
- Install the software downloaded in Step 1
Step 3 – Download the USB Drivers
- Download Link http://www.hpcalc.org/hp49/pc/link/hpcal...bsetup.exe
Step 4 – Install the USB Drivers
- In Windows XP / Vista / 7 simply run the EXE file downloaded in Step 3 to install
- On Windows 8/8.1/10, the USB Drivers will not install until Driver Signature Enforcement has been disabled. To do so:
1. Click the Start menu and select Settings.
2. Click Update and Security.
3. Click on Recovery.
4. Click Restart now under Advanced Startup.
5. Click Troubleshoot.
6. Click Advanced options.
7. Click Startup Settings.
8. Click on Restart.
9. The PC restarts, on the options screen pick 7) Disable driver signature enforcement.
10. Run the hpcalculatorusbsetup.exe file downloaded in Step 3 to install the USB drivers. NOTE: You will get a warning that Windows can’t verify the publisher of the software, you must choose “Install this driver software anyway”
Step 5 – Open the Connectivity Kit and Connect

Now, I can use conn4x to connect my HP48GX but it doesn't work perfectly,
more precisely:

When I click to connect the calculator ( with Xmodem server )

1-A few seconds later, it's disconnected
2-I reclick, it's disconnected again but with a message:
"Connection error
please check your connections"
3-Then I click on OK and the HP48 is automatically reconnected
and HOME (HP48) is displayed with all the folders too.

(Connect using has 2 possibilities: Auto & COM3 )
So, it finally works well but after 3 surprising steps !

>>> Contrariwise, with my HP50G, always the following results:

When I click to connect the calculator:

"Connection error
please check your connections"

If I click on OK, same message
I click again on OK, same message
I click again on OK, nothing !

( connect using has just 1 possibility: Auto
with WindowsXP, there was: USB calculator )

I also tried this ( found on the web ):

1-Open Device Manager.
2-Click on Action in the menu bar and select Add legacy hardware > Next.
3-Select Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced) and click Next.
4-Scroll down, then select Ports (COM & LPT) and click Next.
5-Select the Manufacturer accordingly and click Finish.

It added a COM PORT but this did not change anything for the HP50G.
( perhaps I didn't choose the right manufacturer ? )

Best regards,
Jean-Marc.

[Sylvain Cote]

Hello Jean-Marc,
As I said earlier, I am no Windows 10 expert by any means.
I can sure look into it to try to help you.
If somebody else already knows the answer, please post it here.
My next few days are fully booked so it will take some time before I do.
Sylvain

[JMBaillard]

Hello Sylvain,
thank you for your response.
Solving this problem is not urgent.
Good luck,
Jean-Marc.