USB to Serial adapter

[Lobo]

Are you speaking about the old RS232 ports they quit putting on computers about 8 years ago?

Sure thing, those ports are widely used in industrial and other niche applications. Being able to screw them tight to their sockets is a godsend alone.
We use them to program cash registers and their interfaces e.g. and not a day goes by that I long for a native built-in port, just like 8 years ago.

Did you read this :

• Windows 8/8.1/10 are NOT supported in PL-2303HXA and PL-2303X EOL chip versions.

You're right on the money. The adapters I mentioned come with the right one.
Also be careful since many cheap adapters out there use counterfeit chips, always stay with the original Prolific part.

 

[SufaceZ]

This may be an old post, but I've found there is a universal problem with the Profilic chipset drivers.

I was able to use a different USB>Serial adapter with my Surface 3 by rolling back the driver to version 3.2.0.0 with limited success. I get 2 - 3 hours of usage on console ports in a datacenter environment before a BSOD with the source of the problem usually having to do with IRQ requests/failures. These never happened before I started using this adapter and it would seem there is a consensus on the problems with this chipset. While I haven't dug into the registry or any .sys files, I still know for sure the problem is the adapter and even more to the point the associated chipset/driver.

However, there is good documentation that shows there is almost flawless functionality with the FTDI chipset and associated drivers. I'll be purchasing this adapter and letting this thread know about it's stability one month after arrival.

Wouldn't want my lovely tablet PC to crap out on me a few months after purchase, regardless of warranty. That goes for all of yours as well.

 

[Lobo]

Very interesting, thanks for letting us know! I've run into the occasional hiccup but attributed that to the world of generel Windows quirks. On the other hand, I don't use the device for hours on end.

 

[SufaceZ]

If anyone's still interested in this thread, I have good news...

On my Surface 3, I've had extended and successful use with the USB - Serial adapter I mentioned before. I regularly need to call upon my Surface to handle a consistent serial connection to a networking device over a long period of time for logging or troubleshooting. However, I haven't had a single BSOD (or any related issue) since I started using the FTDI chipset-based USB - Serial adapter.

On the adapter I mentioned before, I really can't suggest it enough. For all the nerds out there like me: it even displays the serial signal in *real time* on the LEDs. So even if you can't talk to the device on the other side, you can easily troubleshoot why if you have the adapter manual.

If you're looking for an reasonably priced, stable, feature-rich USB - Serial adapter for your Surface device, >this< is the one to get.

Since the included driver set for this adapter is on a mini-CD (and the Surface class doesn't come with CD-drives) I had to use another computer that had a CD-drive connected and copy the data to cloud storage so I could install on my Surface. Feel free to use this approach or copy the contents of the mini-CD to a USB drive and copy over to the Surface device directly.

Enjoy!