Hi,

I know there are several people here that work with Arduino
microcontrollers. Just a heads up to a potential headache.

===
Windows Update drivers bricking USB serial chips beloved of hardware
hackers The move to combat counterfeit chips leaves hobbyists stuck in
the middle.

by Peter Bright - Oct 23, 2014 12:40 am UTC

Hardware hackers building interactive gadgets based on the Arduino
microcontrollers are finding that a recent driver update that Microsoft
deployed over Windows Update has bricked some of their hardware,
leaving it inaccessible to most software both on Windows and Linux.
This came to us via hardware hacking site Hack A Day...
===

See:

http://arstechnica.com/information-t...dware-hackers/

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
Remove no.spam for email

Thanks for the heads up.
We have a small new arduino group meeting at a makerspace in Menominee Wi and I will sure pass this on to them.
A couple of us have just bought some UNO clones that use the CH340G USB converter chip. I wonder if that's one of the "knock offs" they are talking about or if that chip is just a new design.
Both my friend and I had some small issues with getting the new UNO's talking, but no major problems. I use Windows and had only really minor issues, but my friend is a MAC guy and had more issues.
The one thing I have noticed is that additional Arduino's (the ones with the CH340G chip) don't get assigned new, unique COM ports like the 16U2's, etc. did.


Pete Stanaitis
--------------

[" Update: Microsoft has given us a statement:

Yesterday FTDI removed two driver versions from Windows Update. Our
engineering team is engaging with FTDI to prevent these problems with
their future driver updates via Windows Update. "]

wrote in message
...
Thanks for the heads up.
We have a small new arduino group meeting at a makerspace in
Menominee Wi and I will sure pass this on to them.
A couple of us have just bought some UNO clones that use the CH340G
USB converter chip. I wonder if that's one of the "knock offs" they
are talking about or if that chip is just a new design.
Both my friend and I had some small issues with getting the new
UNO's talking, but no major problems. I use Windows and had only
really minor issues, but my friend is a MAC guy and had more issues.
The one thing I have noticed is that additional Arduino's (the ones
with the CH340G chip) don't get assigned new, unique COM ports like
the 16U2's, etc. did.


Pete Stanaitis
--------------

You can check the VID (Vendor ID) in Device Properties in the Device
Manager. For an FTDI chip or copy it's 0403.

-jsw

On Thu, 23 Oct 2014 15:16:30 -0400, Leon Fisk
wrote:

Hi,

I know there are several people here that work with Arduino
microcontrollers. Just a heads up to a potential headache.

===
Windows Update drivers bricking USB serial chips beloved of hardware
hackers The move to combat counterfeit chips leaves hobbyists stuck in
the middle.

by Peter Bright - Oct 23, 2014 12:40 am UTC

Hardware hackers building interactive gadgets based on the Arduino
microcontrollers are finding that a recent driver update that Microsoft
deployed over Windows Update has bricked some of their hardware,
leaving it inaccessible to most software both on Windows and Linux.
This came to us via hardware hacking site Hack A Day...
===

See:

http://arstechnica.com/information-t...dware-hackers/


"Update: Microsoft has given us a statement:

Yesterday FTDI removed two driver versions from Windows Update.
Our engineering team is engaging with FTDI to prevent these problems
with their future driver updates via Windows Update."


Some really ****ed off people out there right about now...

Gunner

"At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child,
miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied,
demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless.
Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats."
PJ O'Rourke