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Windows 2000/Vista/XP
When the multiplexer is connected to a USB port for the first time, Windows will detect new hardware
and prompts you for a driver. Insert the supplied CD into the drive and follow the instructions on your
screen. If you have an Internet connection, you can let Windows search the Internet for updated drivers.
Otherwise, when asked to automatically search for drivers, answer no and choose the option to tell
Windows where to find the driver. The driver can be found on the supplied CD, in de folder “\USB
Driver\Windows”
The installation on Windows is a two-step process. First, the driver for the multiplexer will be installed.
Next, Windows will detect a USB Serial device and will install a second driver. On Windows XP systems,
there can be a delay of up to 10 seconds between the installation of both drivers, which sometimes leads
to the wrong conclusion that the installation is complete after the first driver is installed. On Windows
Vista and Windows 2000 systems, there is only very little delay.
When the installation is complete, a new virtual COM port will be created.
If necessary, the number of this COM port can be changed in the Windows Device Manager. Click on the
‘+’ sign next to the entry marked as “Ports (COM & LPT)”. This will expand the entry to list all available
COM ports on your computer. The port for the multiplexer is listed as “MiniPlex Serial Port (COMx)” where
“COMx” is the name of the newly created serial port.
To change this port number, double click on the “MiniPlex Serial Port (COMx)” entry to open the property
page for this port. Next, select the “Port Settings” tab and click on the “Advanced…” button. In the
appearing window the assigned port number can be changed. Do not change any other setting in this
window.
It is possible to select a port number that is already present on the computer, like COM1. The original
COM1 port will then be disabled as long as the multiplexer is connected to the computer. This feature
allows the port number to be set in a low range from COM1 to COM4, to accommodate software that only
allows COM1 to COM4 to be selected.
More than one multiplexer can be connected at the same time. Every new unit will create a new virtual
COM port. Once created, the COM port will always be assigned to the same multiplexer regardless of the
USB port being used.
Windows allows a maximum of 256 COM ports. However not all software may be able to select COM ports
numbered above COM9.
When installing updated drivers, uninstall the original drivers first with the “Add/Remove Programs” icon
in the Control Panel or use the “Update
Driver”
button
on the Driver page of the “MiniPlex
Serial
Port”
property-page.
Mac OS X
The OS X driver is available as a disk image file (.dmg) and can be found on the supplied CD in the “USB
Driver” folder. Run the installer by double clicking on the icon. Follow the instructions on the screen.
When the installation is complete, plug in the USB cable of the MiniPlex. The MiniPlex will show up in the
ports list of your navigation software as MiniPlex-xxxxxxxx where the xx’s represent the serial number of
the MiniPlex.
