Quick Guide

Users of RomEditor4 cables with a serial number prior to #0171 need to download, install and run a utility to fix a USB problem with these cables.  If you are getting a "blue screen of death", please skip to the bottom of this page and follow those instructions.

1. Unplug all non-vital USB devices, apart from the RomEditor4 cable.
2. Download the driver fix setup file here.
3. Run the setup file.
4. Run the driver fix utility (Start menu, 'Programs', 'Hondata', 'FTDI USB Driver Fix').
5. In the utility press the 'Start' button.  The process takes a few seconds.
   
6. Repeat #5 for any other RomEditor4 cables.
7. Uninstall the driver fix utility (Start menu, 'Programs', 'Hondata', 'Uninstall FTDI Driver Fix').

Background

The KPro, S300 and RomEditor4 cable all use an USB interface chip  manufactured by FTDI. With our software Hondata distributes USB drivers made by FTDI. The current version of these drivers is V2.00.00, dated in 2006.

We wish to update the FTDI USB driver version we distribute with our software, in order to use newer drivers which support 64 bit operating systems.  Since the USB drivers are shared between the three applications (KPro, S300, RomEditor4), updating the USB drivers for one application updates the drivers used by the other applications.  Also, FTDI chips are fairly common, so installing the USB drivers for another USB device may update the drivers without the user being aware of this.

The problem is that there was a bug in the 2.00.00 version of the FTDI drivers which means that if the drivers are updated, certain conditions will cause the new version of the FTDI driver to crash.  Since this is a kernel mode driver, a crash means that the PC stops with a 'blue screen of death'.  The exact message will include 'Stop 0x000008E in usbport.sys'.

It is possible to re-write the RomEditor4 USB configuration to prevent this driver crash - this is what the USB fix utility does.

Stop 0x000008E in usbport.sys (Blue Screen of Death)

If you get a 'blue screen of death' with this message, then you have successfully disregarded instructions so far, and your USB drivers have been updated without the fix being run.  If you are getting a 'blue screen of death' with a different message than above, it is not from the FTDI USB drivers. Blame something else.

The V2.04.06 (or later) FTDI drivers must be uninstalled and replaced with older version FTDI drivers so that the driver fix can be run.

1. Unplug all non-vital USB devices.
2. Download the driver fix setup file here.
3. Run the setup file.
4. Run the FTDI driver clean utility (Start menu, 'Programs', 'Hondata', 'FTDI Driver Clean').  Select 'Clean System'.
   
5. Plug in the RomEditor4 cable.  When prompted for USB drivers, select C:\Program Files\RomEditor4USBFix. 
6. Run the driver fix utility (Start menu, 'Programs', 'Hondata', 'FTDI USB Driver Fix').
7. Repeat #6 for any other RomEditor4 cables.
8. Uninstall the driver fix utility (Start menu, 'Programs', 'Hondata', 'Uninstall FTDI Driver Fix').
   
9. Download and re-install RomEditor4.
10. Open the device manager. 
    
11. Rick click on 'Hondata USB/Serial', and select 'Update Driver...'.  If prompted, select the RomEditor4 installation directory for the drivers.