Ian,This may be a very stupid response to your problem....Did you, by any chance, updated your firmware on the device....?I am asking because I did a month or two ago and I had the same issues. After a few mails with paulo I tried to reinstall that firmware again and after the second attempt the device worked again.Oh, and by the way, If you did upgrade tour firmware..., you didn't forget to remove the jumper at the back of the device did you?It happened to me the first time I did an upgrade.Happy XmasLuc BrusselmansBelgium

Ian,This may be a very stupid response to your problem....Did you, by any chance, updated your firmware on the device....?I am asking because I did a month or two ago and I had the same issues. After a few mails with paulo I tried to reinstall that firmware again and after the second attempt the device worked again.Oh, and by the way, If you did upgrade tour firmware..., you didn't forget to remove the jumper at the back of the device did you?It happened to me the first time I did an upgrade.Happy XmasLuc BrusselmansBelgium

Thanks Luc - Merry Christmas also to you from Australia.No I did not do a firmware upgrade as it is version 109 now (latest). Just checked the pins and they have no jumper caps attached, Iain

Ian,Solving the problem is a no go as it seems.Maybe we should try to work from another angle.I would remove everything from CP-flight from your computer.And with everything I mean drivers, software and hardware, (download the free version of advanced system care = version 5) and run a registry scan.That will probably reveal quite some errors so let system care take care of those.Reboot and start from scratch.First install the connection software BUT do not install in the default location if possible. Then install the drivers and after that you should reboot again.Only then connect the hardware.Seems like a lot of work but like you know for sure that you didn't skip steps.Also make sure you are not running programs that shut down services. Sometimes the service to recognise HID devices is shut down without you knowing. Happened to me...good luckLuc BrusselmansBelgium

Ian,Solving the problem is a no go as it seems.Maybe we should try to work from another angle.I would remove everything from CP-flight from your computer.And with everything I mean drivers, software and hardware, (download the free version of advanced system care = version 5) and run a registry scan.That will probably reveal quite some errors so let system care take care of those.Reboot and start from scratch.First install the connection software BUT do not install in the default location if possible. Then install the drivers and after that you should reboot again.Only then connect the hardware.Seems like a lot of work but like you know for sure that you didn't skip steps.Also make sure you are not running programs that shut down services. Sometimes the service to recognise HID devices is shut down without you knowing. Happened to me...good luckLuc BrusselmansBelgium

Hi LucI have a question - how do you install drivers to a Windows 7 64 bit PC? I'm almost certain this is where the problem is.This is what I am doing:

1. I go into device manager
2. I select Ports (COM & LPT), then go to Communications Port (COM1)
3. I right click and select update drivers
4. I then manually select the folder that CPFlight drivers are installed ensuring sub folder box is checked
5. WIN 7 then states that it already has the best drivers! Nothing is installed from the CO Flight driver folder.

How did you manually install your drivers?Thanks, Iain

Good morning IAn,Just got out of bed after a late night with the famlily so It might be possible that I am not fully awake yet... :Whistle:anyway,If you have installed your hardware before, it is highly unlikely that you have to reinstall your drivers again. We're talking about windows 7 and that has quite a lot of drivers build in. So it is possible that you 1) already installed your drivers in the past and that you don't need to install them again or 2) your windows 7 installation has them from the start and doesn't need to change anything.Driver installation is a bit messy in windows. Not because it is difficult but because devellopers have a tendency to do whatever seems to work on their system without thinking about the people who are going to use them on their own system.Normally, when you plug in a new device, windows will start installing that device by looking for the 'default' drivers inside windows. If those are present, you will see the small icon at the righthand side in the taskbar (the one with the green dot going in circles). When it's done your drivers are installed and the device should be working.If there are no drivers available in windows (or you guess that they are outdated and you want to install new drivers) you go the way you do. (OR, if the develloper thought about that, he created an executable which does the trick for you).When working with drivers, I have found that a program to look up drivers (and download them when neccessary) is quite handy. I am using driver navigator for this and so far that always has come through. Beware because most of them are payware but you can try one of them to locate drivers that are out of date.So, if your drivers are up to date, there should be no reason to install new drivers.By the way, I can assume that, when you plug in the hardware, it lights up normal, doesn't it?Did you notice that in the help pages of the website, the software is installed inside Flight Simulator and not in the programs folder?It's a guess but it seems that the software finds flight simulator alright but not the other way around.It's worth a try.And now I am off to go and prepare myself.I have some reading to wade through 'cause I got one mighty present from my wife yesterday.1 hour in the new full motion Level-D simulator in Lelystad (The Netherlands). It has (yet) to get certification but as long as it has not, it's affordable to us mortals. And since it's a 737-800 NGX simulator.... I love my wife for many things but after 23 years she still can surprise me. I am a happily married man.Luc BrusselmansBelgium

It is not necessary to instal into FSX's folder. Mine is in the same drive, but not in the FSX folder.If your version really is a USB and you have downloaded the correct drivers from CPFlight the installation should be automatic.The only manual job you have to do is select the right Com port when you first open FSCom. Don't do anything to the entry in Device manager.A complete uninstall of CPFlight's software, and start again is the best advice I can think of. My friend is looking at the problem but won't be able to do anything until tomorrow.

It is not necessary to instal into FSX's folder. Mine is in the same drive, but not in the FSX folder.If your version really is a USB and you have downloaded the correct drivers from CPFlight the installation should be automatic.The only manual job you have to do is select the right Com port when you first open FSCom. Don't do anything to the entry in Device manager.A complete uninstall of CPFlight's software, and start again is the best advice I can think of. My friend is looking at the problem but won't be able to do anything until tomorrow.

HI Frank:Well I tried it both ways (in FSX folder and out of folder) and got the same result. I installed on another PC and also got the same result (the FS9 version of the software does not require flight simulator according to Palo). However, it did recognize the MCP on one occasion (you can turn on/off the back lighting), but then when I tried to replicate the software outcome, it failed....I've done several re-installs, but I always get similar results after removing and installing usb cables and power leads in various orders.I agree with you Frank - it should work out of the box after setting the com port - period!In device manager my CPFlight com port is (COM3), but as soon as I do a re-boot, I have to set it up again by removing and inserting the usb cable and power pack cord. The COM port doesn't stay in device manager but seems to be deleted after turning off the PC (all cables left in place)Here is a picture (taken with my i-phone) that shows the COM port set up correctly, but no MCP being recognized in the test software.http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/7726/8021runtimeerror.jpgAfter spending close to 20 hours on this I'm totally lost.Thank you very much for you help :)

I didn't realise you are using a serial adaptor. That will never work.You should

add a Serial Interface blanking plate type and connect it to motherboard on-board serial-out

Or

install a Serial Interface card – either PCI or PCI-E depending on the slot type of the motherboard

I didn't realise you are using a serial adaptor. That will never work.You should

add a Serial Interface blanking plate type and connect it to motherboard on-board serial-out

Or

install a Serial Interface card – either PCI or PCI-E depending on the slot type of the motherboard

Hi Frank - "Neither did I"I thought the CPF USB model was just that - USB plug & play.<<removed as requested>>I sort of know what it is (converts USB to serial), but if purchasing one and installing it will solve the issue then that's easy.I just did a search and found what I think you are referring to. The model I have does not have R232 cable - it is only USB. http://www.principalcomputers.com.au/index.php?q=item&id=3646I will contact my computer shop when they open and make inquiries - I'm not that knowledgeable on computers :sad:This is a link to the computers I am using http://www.flaps2app....com/computers/Iain

Edited December 28, 201114 yr by momtchil
User requested some content to be removed from his post

If the lead from your CPF has a usb plug on it then it is 'USB plug & play'.So the question now is - why is the com port it uses calling itself 'CPflight serial adaptor (Com3)'?I hope my friend will be able to throw some light on this, when Christmas is over. Also, your PC supplier should be asked to answer that.

If the lead from your CPF has a usb plug on it then it is 'USB plug & play'.So the question now is - why is the com port it uses calling itself 'CPflight serial adaptor (Com3)'?I hope my friend will be able to throw some light on this, when Christmas is over. Also, your PC supplier should be asked to answer that.

Hi FrankJust to clarify. Yes the lead from the MCP has a USB plug (only) and a power lead to a power pack.I believe the way the CPF software is connecting, or is trying to connect, has been the issue all along. I'll check with the computer supplier when they are open. In the meantime, I'll sit tight and not order a serial interface, Thanks Iain

Frank,If you go over to the cpflight website and you dig through all the info you will find that the USB-connection at the back of the device leads, in fact, to a usb-serial adaptor INSIDE the device (a chip). This means the device itself is serial but can be connected through USBThis makes sense in the way that it bypasses quite a lot of problems for many of us who don't have a serial port installed anymore in our rig.(I installed one myself for the PFC throttle quadrant).The reason why the device uses that port (and thus the name) is that our pc's use an identification-system based on (among other means) the chip inside the device which broadcast its name to the pc when connection is made.It is a name, nothing more.So it is completely unneccessary to add a serial connection to your PC when there is a usb connection comming out of the device.It should be plug & play out of the box then.Luc BrusselmansBelgium

I've been looking at the drivers again. Could it be that you do not need the USB driver? Have you tried using only InstFSX_327?If not - uninstal all trace of CPFight drivers and folder with contents, and start again with that only.Hi LucOur nearly sober thoughts were on the same lines. Does what I've just suggested make sense?

Frank,I guess it is the only way forward.Removing everything from cp flight, including the cleaning of the registry, and then start from scratch.Drivers are only needed when no drivers are found when you first connect the device.If not sure, unpack the drivers to a location of your choice and plug the device into the computer.When there are no drivers present, you will get the message and then you can refer to the drivers you hve unpacked.There is nothing more to it from my point of view.And then you only need the software.I must admit that I have stuggled with the same device too when first connecting to FSX.Luc BrusselmansBelgium

Thanks Frank and Luc. Late here so will try tomorrow, Iain