Prolific PL-2303 driver Device Cannot Start Windows Vista 64bit and Windows 7

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 @ 12:10 AM
posted by Paul

I’ve had this problem a couple times and the solution seems to be slightly different each time.  The problem presents itself as a Device in Device Manager showing “”The Device Cannot Start (Code 10)” after you’ve installed the Prolific PL-2303 Drivers from the Prolific website. Which are available here: http://www.prolific.com.tw/eng/downloads.asp?ID=31

The solution is to use a similar driver set floating around on the internet here: http://www.usglobalsat.com/download/546/win_drivers.zip

Unzip the file and install the executable within. That fix solved the problem for me instantly. To make sure that the new driver take priority over the other one in Windows 7 right click on the device and go to Unistall and check “Delete the driver software for this device”. I found this solution on the microsoft social forums here.

36 Responses to “Prolific PL-2303 driver Device Cannot Start Windows Vista 64bit and Windows 7”

  1. Adam says:

    great solution it is working in Windows 7 64-bit thanks

  2. XuFLeS says:

    Perfect solution, thanks very much W7 Running

  3. [...] Prolific PL-2303 driver Device Cannot Start Windows Vista 64bit … [...]

  4. Joe says:

    Worked like a charm (on x64). Thanks.

  5. Kevin says:

    I was pointed here claiming this fix was for Win7 x64, but I can vouch for the fact that it also helps in Win7 x86. We’ve set up several USB-Serial adapters in windows 7 32-bit with no issues, but a particular brand kept going Code 10.

    So this fix also helps this problem in 32-bit Win7.

  6. Hammad Naeem says:

    Thanks Bro…..It works for me…..Thank you very much…

  7. Adelson says:

    Thank you! You solved my problem!

    It works fine and instantly!

  8. Howard Johnson says:

    This driver which I got from the Prolific site worked for me: PL2303_Prolific_GPS_1013_20090319. Supposedly it fixes a problem with a GPS device, but I am using it successfully for a USB to Serial adapter.

  9. Patrick Eradus says:

    thank you!

    this worked for me with my dealextreme order USB2.0 to serial converter.
    I use windows 7 64bits, connected to serial 1-wire hobbyboards hub.

  10. fmarius says:

    thanks! worked for me to . win7 32 bits

  11. D4T says:

    Wow, literally tried everything and this was the only driver that worked in Win 7 32bit). Many thanks!

  12. Mike says:

    Thanks a lot! It works fine with my PL2303 based usb-to-serial adapter (Matsuyama CF215). I’m using Win7 x64 and the most recent Prolific’s drivers didn’t works.

  13. Hamdi says:

    Thank you very much paul,

    I need this driver to run my Atmel AVR programmer…
    keep post any solution brother… ^_^

  14. Ricepig says:

    It works for me!
    Thank you very much!
    I’m using Win7 x64 and the most rent drivers(1210) did not work.

  15. Mike142sl says:

    BIG Thanks. That all in one version has worked for me and my Win 7 64 bit laptop.
    It took a long time to find this and it’s a huge relief. Well done for finding it and posting the solution here.

  16. Fredrik says:

    I was going insane. You saved me. Thanx!!!!!!!!

  17. Piyush Laad says:

    Thank you very much bro.. its working..

  18. Jason T says:

    I too was getting the same error, this fix worked for me

    Win7 64bit Pro

    Cheers
    Jason

  19. Oleksiy Petrov says:

    Win7 64bit Ent
    Not resolved
    Error 01

  20. Milad Salehi says:

    So thanks.it was a very big help.

  21. Vik says:

    Thank you so much !
    I was so tiredddd of looking for this driver

  22. David says:

    This link below is no longer valid. Anybody have the new link?

    http://www.usglobalsat.com/download/546/win_drivers.zip

  23. Saran says:

    Hi guys,

    The link provided, http://www.usglobalsat.com/download/546/win_drivers.zip is not working. Can anyone tell me some other link ???

    Thanks alot

  24. Binzelli says:

    Solved for me: Win7 with Sitecom CN-104 V2 (older PL-2303 based cable)

    Seems like there are a lot of people experiencing problems with USB to Serial cables in Win7 or Vista. Searched all over the internet and found tons of driver (ser2pl(64).sys) versions ranging from 3.2.0.0 to 3.3.11.152, but despite all the efforts none worked for me and looking at all the posts here, there still are quite some people who can’t get it to work.

    But luckily I found a solution that works for me and I hope it helps others too !

    On the website of ICIDU.com (who amongst others sell USB to serial cables), I found 32 bit Vista and Win7 drivers. The version of the ser2pl(64).sys is 3.0.1.0, which seems to me the first/oldest version I have found so far. And guess what: IT WORKS !

    I first uninstalled ánd deleted the old drivers and then updated the drivers (Update driver > Browse my computer for driver software > Browse) with the ones I found here:

    http://www.icidu.com/productdownloads/C-707607/drivers/C-707607%20Driver%2098%20-%20XP%20-%20Vista%20-%207%20-%20Linux%20-%20Mac%2032%20bits.zip

    After a few seconds I got a “This device is working properly” and it works like a charm !

    Hope this solves some of your problems too !!

  25. OnHEL says:

    Used this driver for my Windows 7 64 Bit, only one that worked for me, all others just gave me Code 10. Happily telnetting right now :o )

    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IXEYXPJ6

  26. Ikhwan says:

    It really works, great !!!!!!! Thank you very much !!!!

  27. thecompyoda says:

    I’ve been trying to get into a phone server for HOURS and this USB to Serial is what I needed. After all the searching for correct drivers for win7 x64..FINALLY Binzelli’s suggestion worked!!

    Use the drivers located here:
    http://www.icidu.com/productdownloads/C-707607/drivers/C-707607%20Driver%2098%20-%20XP%20-%20Vista%20-%207%20-%20Linux%20-%20Mac%2032%20bits.zip

    AMAZING!

  28. plopoi says:

    Hello all,

    and … Thx to you M. Binzelli this driver works very fine for me on W7-64 .

    Thx thx thx !

  29. Sherif says:

    Dears,

    It is working now Win7 64b.

    Many thanks to OnHEL this driver is working fine.

  30. Yohan says:

    Binzelli and OnHel..

    THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!!IT WORKED!!!AMAZING!!!

    Prolific really need to change their site!when you get code 10 error, they say its an error in the cable!

  31. Martin says:

    The icidu.com link worked for me on Win7 Enterprise 32-bit, no more Code 10! The Prolific site appears to be down right now (code 500) but it’s a waste of space anyway. Cheers for the link!

  32. Peter says:

    Binzelli,

    Thanks a bunch, its on the eve of my project presentation day and almost formatted my computer. You saved me alot of inconviniences. Open source rocks!

  33. Diego says:

    Working!!!
    With the Isidu driver
    Windows 7 Enterprice 64 Bit

  34. Jeff says:

    Link is dead and 404′ing.

  35. DFireman says:

    Thanks!
    Installed perfectly on on Win7 32bits.

  36. Shige says:

    BInzelli:

    At last I could installed the correct driver by your suggestion.
    The error message I encounterd was [Can't copy Inf file. Faled to install] which is different from the others here, but your method worked !
    Thanks you and ICIDU.com.


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