I purchased this unit so that I could use my GPS with my new laptop (which did not come with a serial port). When the unit came, it was obvious that the drivers that came with it were not up-to-date. I went to the Tripp-Lite website and after a considerable amount of searching (they have simplified the navigation since this time) I finally found what was listed as an XP compatible driver. I installed it but a few weeks later when I used it (for more than a few minutes), it would blue-screen my computer about every 5-10 minutes. I uninstalled and reinstalled the driver but had no luck. Now the light on the unit will not come on no matter what I do. Looking at the web site, I noticed that the driver they list for XP is the same one listed for W2K. There is absolutely no install information or any kind of read me file available with the "XP" driver. The documentation that came with the unit is horrible. Worst of all, it is now past the 30 day limit and I cannot return the piece of junk. Avoid this device like the plague!!! Tripp Lite U209-000-R USB to Serial DB9M Adapter, USB A Male to DB9 Male
I work in a development group that relies heavily on USB-to-serial converters for customers that do not have serial ports on their laptops. We have found over the last few years that driver quality is critical. The driver provided by Tripp-Lite for the U209-000-R is, at least at the time of this review, very unstable and will quite likely blue-screen your XP based machine.
That is too bad because this unit is based upon one of the best converter chips around, the Prolific PL-2303. FWIW, we use various other re-branded versions of this same device without problem with a driver provided by Prolific. Unfortunately, Tripp-Lite has had the OEM program a Tripp-Lite device ID into their version of this device that causes it to reject the Prolific driver unless you jump through a few hoops.
I have found that you can get the Prolific driver installed if you run Prolific's installer first, then point the hardware wizard at Windows\system32\driver later when it asks for the Tripp-Lite CD. But in general it is just not worth it and we now buy other brands that use the Prolific PL-2303 and its generic driver instead. One example is the Airlink101.
PLEASE NOTE: The Prolific driver installer I have that works well is dated 8/03/2005. I do not know if the current Prolific driver also has the same problem as the one provided by Tripp-Lite.
This device has caused me a lot of gnashing of teeth and anguish. Sadly the driver for XP is very unstable. After much use I discovered that the driver on the Trip Lite site for the Tripp Lite U209-000-R which is dated 7-16-2003 v2.0.0.18 will work for a period of time, in my case about 2 weeks in a data collection application. My observations showed memory usage slowly growing over this time until the BSOD. The blue screen shows a STOP message with the error occurring in ser2pl.sys. In a Windows 2000 system, I did not see this problem with the Windows 2000 driver which is dated 11/07/07 v2.0.0.21. Beware!
This thing is junk. Most new laptops do not come with a serial port, which is necessary to configure networking equipment. Well I bought this to solve the problem, but it only added to it. I get a Blue Screen in Vista, or XP about 10 minutes of configuring. I though this would be a nice solution but it is not. I am going to buy the IBM one I use to have at my old job. What a piece of junk.
For a product that seems to have been abandoned by its maker I would give this a one thumb up, one thumb down. I was handed one at work since none of our new laptops have serial ports and after finding the XP driver online it does seem to do it's job. Of course, while installing the driver XP will tell you in no uncertain terms to stop what you are doing. That alone may be enough to stop a novice in their tracks. However, installing the driver from the mini-disk or website has not had any bad effects on my Gateway AMD or Dell.
So I give it a middle of the road review. Works, but in my opinion could be better. It is a really nice looking rugged product and since I use it with my laptop in outdoor conditions that is a plus.
I tried two Windows 2000 machines and a windows ME machine but I could not get the drivers properly loaded an any case even after downloading the latest driver and disabeling the available serial ports. A new and better driver is needed to make this device usable.
this is the best... i use a lapton to a ISDN (serial only) conection... i use windows XP Pro sistem... well you only need to download the XP drivers... and read the online instructions to conect a modem to the lapton and you are online in minutes... be sure read the online instruction because if you don't do that you can't conect your modem.. well is a great product and is not expensive... - Computer Cables - Adapters - Rs232 - Connectivity'
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