Using the Microchip MCP2200 for USB Serial Communication
Once you plug the USB cable into the computer, you should see an unknown device in the device manager.
You'll need to install the driver so that Windows knows what to do with your device. Copy the mcp2200.inf file (provided by Microchip) to your WINDOWS\system32 folder. Note that you can update this file if you want to customize the driver. For instance, you can change the "MFGNAME" to be your own name. In this example, I used "The Clark Website" as the manufacturer and "The Clark Website Serial Port" as the description. Double-click the device and click "Reinstall Driver..." on the next screen. Select "No, not this time" on the next screen, and click Next. Then select "Install from a list or specific location" and click next. Make sure the first option ("Search for the best driver in these locations") is selected, and make sure that "C:\WINDOWS\system32" is entered in the textbox. This should locate the .inf file you saved in the system32 folder. Click next. This completes the setup, and you will now see a new port under Ports (COM & LPT).
This is by far the easiest way I've found to make your devices USB friendly, and a cheap alternative to costlier "full service" chips.
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Check out my PIC 18F4550 USB tutorial, ADNS-2610 optical mouse sensor circuit, and Electronic Drum projects.
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Any questions or comments - contact me at pwclark1977@hotmail.com