[Logix] USB connection has stopped working, not sure why

defcon.klaxon

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Feb 2015
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Hi guys,

I'm trying to connect to a CompactLogix PLC via USB; I've done this countless times before. However, now when I connect the USB cable and try to connect via Who Online, the USB connection never comes up.

I did some hunting around and found that in Device Manager, the "Rockwell Automation USB CIP Device" has the yellow/black exclamation point on it. The error code says:

"This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (code 31)".

Not sure what is causing this; I haven't made any changes to my laptop and I've used the USB connection countless times before.

I checked RSLinx Classic and the AB VBP-1 driver is running; if I try to update the driver via Windows it just searches ad nauseum and never gets anything. Searching for the driver itself just takes me to third party, likely malware sites.

Any ideas on how I can restore this functionality?
 
Update: I was able to find a link to download RSLogix from Rockwell, and a reinstall fixed it. Why, I have no idea. If anyone would like to see the way to find this download, I can describe it. It's a bit obfuscated.
 
Next time, when you see the driver issue you described (that is called a "driver bang" by the way), right click on it and delete/uninstall.

Then unplug the USB cable once it is uninstalled. Plug the cable back in and Windows should detect it as new hardware and load the Windows driver.

OG
 
Next time, when you see the driver issue you described (that is called a "driver bang" by the way), right click on it and delete/uninstall.

Then unplug the USB cable once it is uninstalled. Plug the cable back in and Windows should detect it as new hardware and load the Windows driver.

OG

I did actually try this, but it didn't seem to fix the problem.
 
Update: I was able to find a link to download RSLogix from Rockwell, and a reinstall fixed it. Why, I have no idea. If anyone would like to see the way to find this download, I can describe it. It's a bit obfuscated.

Did you by chance plug it in to a different USB port on your laptop than you normally do? IE, side port versus a rear port?
 
So here's an update on this situation. Eventually the USB connection stopped working altogether; Windows said it couldn't find the drivers. I just got a subscription to TechConnect so I called AB and asked them what to do; the tech rep said that the issue was likely due to me using a third party USB cable and not a Rockwell USB cable, and that I would need to get drivers for the USB cable I was using (Belkin cable, for reference).

Um...I simply don't believe that's the issue and cannot possibly fathom how a USB cable would need drivers. Additionally, the device that doesn't have the driver is the PLC (under Device Manager, the "unspecified" device is a 1769-L24-whatever PLC), not anything USB related. Am I insane here? Could that really be an issue? Does a Rockwell USB cable have something special about it? Have any of you guys heard of such a thing before?
 
You aren't going nuts, you are just having USB driver issues on your PC.

I'm sure that the Rockwell rep was thinking you were using a USB/Serial converter on an older CompactLogix. Or, it's possible that she doesn't know what she is talking about. As somebody who has brain farts on a regular basis, I would go with the first condition.

Ordinary USB cables have no active electronic components.
 
You aren't going nuts, you are just having USB driver issues on your PC.

I'm sure that the Rockwell rep was thinking you were using a USB/Serial converter on an older CompactLogix.

Ah ok, that could have been it.

Or, it's possible that she doesn't know what she is talking about. As somebody who has brain farts on a regular basis, I would go with the first condition.

Haha, that could have been it too.

Ordinary USB cables have no active electronic components.

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking; if there isn't any active electronics, then there's nothing that a driver could possibly be used for. I will call back and mention that I'm not using a USB to serial device, that was probably the confusion.
 

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