Problem:

My driver CD for the USB-Serial converter has gone AWOL, so I had to look for the appropriate file. My adapter is a generic “no-name” (PL-2303 based) as can be seen in the photos:

It’s a Prolific chip, so this site should help. I remember not having any problems with the default driver on my desktop (Windows XP). However, this time I had to use the adapter with my netbook (also Windows XP), and it didn’t work with the device manager stating:

This device cannot start. (Code 10)

Solution:

According to this thread, there’s another version of the driver available. I’m not sure if the one mentioned there is the same as PL2303_Prolific_GPS_1013, though it looks similar. But I’ve tried the GPS version from Prolific, and it did work. My desktop had no problems with the standard version though, so it’s a bit of trial and error method.

Download:

As Prolific website seems to be having some throughput problems, I’ve rehosted the drivers here:

• Standard driver (PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v10518.zip)
• “GPS version” (PL2303_Prolific_GPS_1013_20090319.zip)

MD5 hashes:

37d2b5eb181a6b32bcb92eb72a7fa0d3 PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v10518.zip
f78d2751b54d6517bfcc796445e50c5f PL2303_Prolific_GPS_1013_20090319.zip