Installing Rockwell Software on Windows 11 ARM

[jstolaruk]

I have run into one partial roadblock: serial ports. I've got a USB-serial adaptor with the prolific chip in it which has never let me down before - but it doesn't have an ARM driver available. Windows ARM can simulate x86/x64 applications, but not x86/x64 drivers. So unless and until prolific releases a new driver, I'm stuck when it comes to serial ports. Not ideal.

According to this thread on the parallels forum, it's a common problem, but as AyrtonE says in post #29, there are two USB-serial chips that have ARM drivers available - a chinese CH340G and the Silicon Labs CP210x. The only problem is, I have no idea how to find a USB to serial adaptor that has one of those chips in it. Anyone got any ideas?

There are some CH340G products on Amazon including a USB development kit, it looks like a popular choice for Arduino projects.

 

[ASF]

I regret not keeping a copy of the fix files since Microsoft has removed the files from their side. Does anyone know where I can get a copy of them now?

I kept a copy in fear of exactly that

I can't upload it here because it's 35MB and the upload limit is only 2-3MB here. I wonder if @Phil Melore would be interested in setting up an uploads hub for resources like this, that we could link to in forum posts?

 

[ASF]

There are some CH340G products on Amazon including a USB development kit, it looks like a popular choice for Arduino projects.

Yeah, that's what I found - all raw PCB format looking to be built into a larger project. I need something I can throw in my bag and pull out in the middle of a production environment, and I'd prefer that I didn't have to build it myself first!

 

[BinderNut]

I have run into one partial roadblock: serial ports. I've got a USB-serial adaptor with the prolific chip in it which has never let me down before - but it doesn't have an ARM driver available. Windows ARM can simulate x86/x64 applications, but not x86/x64 drivers. So unless and until prolific releases a new driver, I'm stuck when it comes to serial ports. Not ideal.

According to this thread on the parallels forum, it's a common problem, but as AyrtonE says in post #29, there are two USB-serial chips that have ARM drivers available - a chinese CH340G and the Silicon Labs CP210x. The only problem is, I have no idea how to find a USB to serial adaptor that has one of those chips in it. Anyone got any ideas?

Have you tried any FTDI chipset USB/serial adapters?
I don't know about the ARM support but they have been rock-solid on Win10 PCs and Win11 VM on PC for me.
I gave up on the old Prolific chipsets when they started getting fussy about Win10 installs.

 

[ASF]

FTDI is working on ARM drivers but they are not there yet, unfortunately. Prolific has worked on Windows 10/Windows Server 2019 for me with zero issues, up until now.

 

[BruceI]

I had a quick search on Ebay and found a couple of options for the CH340


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/381374426348?hash=item58cbafecec:g:hFUAAOSweW5VF1dW


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3342569...PCCN636z5RkwgJLUju8Z|ampid:PL_CLK|clp:2047675

 

[ASF]

Thanks Bruce, and with pricing like that I can afford to throw it away if it doesn't work!

 

[BruceI]

Hey there ASF :-D


How did you go with the converter?


I have been using MBP15" with Fusion for years and really like it as my work machine. Very interestd in transitioning to M1 too, so I'd like to hear any follow up comments on how you are going with Win11 on M1 if you have anything to share?


cheers Bruce

 

[seanf]

Here is some more information about running Rockwell applications on an M1 MacBook Pro.

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showpost.php?p=911235&postcount=12

 

[ASF]

Hey there ASF :-D


How did you go with the converter?


I have been using MBP15" with Fusion for years and really like it as my work machine. Very interestd in transitioning to M1 too, so I'd like to hear any follow up comments on how you are going with Win11 on M1 if you have anything to share?


cheers Bruce

I ended up buying one of these, and downloading the drivers from the FTDI website, which appear to have become available since my last post. The drivers installed successfully and the device shows up as a COM port in Device Manager. I haven't yet tested it on an actual serial device but I have no reason to think it won't work having gotten this far - I'll update next time I come across something with a serial port. Notes on the install: I had to download and install the specific ARM drivers manually from the the FTDI website - Windows Update and Device Manager did not find them. For some reason I had to install the drivers twice - across multiple VM's, installing once appeared to be successful, but the device didn't show up in Device Manager. After re-running the installer, it appeared to work correctly. This might just be a bug with the (obviously very new) release of the ARM drivers, that will be resolved by the time most of the people reading this in the future read it.

Other than that - I am extraordinarily happy with the new laptop. I've been using it exclusively for over a month now (handed off my old laptop to a new graduate engineer last month). It's phenomenally fast - my Rockwell VM (which has a ton of RA software installed) boots in 7-8 seconds. I have two external monitors connected, and can run 3-4 VM's simultaneously with zero noticeable performance issues. At one point I had three VM's running, one of them installing software, one of them downloading large files, and one of them running autocad, and you'd think I was only running a web browser. I'm yet to hear the fan start up. I can run it all day on a single charge, and it charges from empty to 100% in a couple of hours with the supplied charger (even faster ones are available). I was working away for a week about a month back, and it was only on Friday afternoon that I had to plug it for the second time that week. My usage that week was a little more sporadic than constant, but there were several hours worth of zoom meetings in there, all on battery power. Sure there are one or two headaches with compatibility still, but that's what you get on the bleeding edge. It'll change in time. And so far there have been no real show stoppers.

After my experience, my company will likely be purchasing several more of these over the next few years to start replacing our ageing intel-based Macbook Pro's.

 

[p8p8]

I am thinking of buying a MAC book pro, or Air, but my worry is the PLC, AutoCAD and Solidworks like software wouldn't run properly.

Why does not Apple work with VMware or VirtualBox to get it done. Apple can hire a team for this, they would still make money. I don't understand why wouldn't do it.

 

[kay_gsr13]

Duranthas, did acquire the .net file that you were looking for? .Net v1 and 1.1 can be accessed on my GD.

DotNet

 

[jbhammett]

Have you seen any problems since parallels update to Version 18.0.2 (53077)?

I had RSLogix 5000 v10-20 working and FTView Studio v11 working great and then an update was pushed and seemed to break everything.

 

[ASF]

I'm still running v17, so I can't comment - and based on your post I might hold off upgrading for a while...

 

[jjesnson]

Have you had any issues connecting via USB to PLCS? I have installed all the drivers I can find (none of them say they're for ARM). The device is recognized by the MAC as a Rockwell product but the VM says unknown device.