Applies to: Docklight (all versions), Article ID: dl_prb009
Docklight has been successfully tested with a variety of different USB adapters, PC cards and PCI boards, and we have received only very isolated related problem reports over the years.
Symptoms like a sudden PC reboot while accessing the COM port usually stem from the serial device driver layer. In most cases the problem can be resolved by updating the serial device driver. Some additional notes concerning USB devices:
1) Many USB-to-Serial converters do not support the flow control setting “RS485 Transceiver Control” properly. If you require this setting, we recommend using an on-board COM device, or a PCI card.
2) Many USB-to-serial adapters actually rely on a chipset from the FTDI family (see link below), where Windows manages the driver update fully automatic. The device name for a FTDI-based product typically reads “USB High Speed Serial Converter” or simply “USB Serial Converter”. See also our Docklight Tap Application Note for details on FTDI driver versions and updates.
Docklight Application Note: Docklight Tap / FTDI driver installation
Docklight Troubleshooting – Experiencing stability problems in Docklight Monitoring mode