AN220

USB D R I V E R C U S T O M I Z A T I O N
Relevant Devices
This application note applies to the following devices:
CP2101, CP2102, CP2103, C8051F320, C8051F321

Note: A customized installation does not contain certified

1. Introduction drivers for Windows XP/2003. Certification must be
performed by Microsoft for the new driver installation.
The information in this document and the associated
An uncertified installation will not cause any other prob-
software download is intended for use by developers
lems other than the warning message displayed by
creating USB products based on the CP210x USB to Windows XP/2003 when installing uncertified drivers.
UART Bridge Controller device family or the C8051F32x
and C8051F34x USB Microcontroller device family. A To run the Custom USB Driver Installation Wizard, open
Virtual COM Port Driver is available for the CP210x CustomUSBDriverWizard.exe included in the
family and is included with the purchase of a CP210x AN220SW.zip download. Figure 1 shows the first
Evaluation Kit. Additionally, drivers can be created using screen of the Custom USB Driver Installation Wizard.
the USBXpress™ development kit for the CP210x, Choose the type of driver installation desired. For
detailed instructions on creating a custom driver
C8051F32x, and C8051F34x device families. This
installation, see “4. Creating a Custom Driver”. This
document describes the steps necessary to customize
description goes through the process of customizing a
the Windows® device driver installation using the
CP210x driver. The process for creating a
Custom USB Driver Installation Wizard.
USBXpress™ driver is the same as this description,
2. Customizing Driver Installations only select "USBXpress Driver" on the starting screen of
The driver installation is customizable by modifying the wizard.
certain sections of the hardware installation files (.inf).
The strings contained in the .inf files will affect what is
displayed in the "Found New Hardware Wizard" dialogs,
Device Manager, and the Registry. The changes to the
VID and PID in the driver installation should match the
VID and PID contained in the EEPROM/FLASH of your
product. See "AN144: CP210x Device Customization
Guide" for more information on changing the VID and
PID for your product.
Note: Any changes to the Windows installation .inf files will
require new Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL)
tests.
3. Using the Custom USB Driver
Installation Wizard
The Custom USB Driver Installation Wizard generates a
custom driver installation for distribution to end-users.
This customized installation consists of modified .inf Figure 1. Driver Installation Selection
files, optional installation support files, and driver files
for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003.
The optional installation executable provided can be
used to copy driver files and register a device on a PC
before or after the device has been connected. It will
also add an entry in the add/remove programs listing.
When the device is connected to the PC for the first
time, the drivers will be installed with little interaction
from the user.

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4. Creating a Custom Driver 4.2. VID, PID, String and File Name Cus-
This section describes how to create a custom driver. To tomization
begin, choose the type of installation to customize - The first step in the customization utility (shown in
"Virtual COM Port Driver Installation" or "USBXpress Figure 3) is to specify your preferred strings and
Installation". (Differences between the two installations filenames. Each field is described in further detail below.
are noted, but a sample CP210x customization is
4.2.1. Company Name (Long Name for .inf File
shown in the figures) Now determine if an installation
Entries)
executable should be genereated (see section 4.4 and
4.6 for more information on the generated installer) and The company name appears int .inf file entries and has
click Next. a maximum length of 255 characters.
4.2.2. Company Abbreviation (Short Name for .inf
4.1. Driver Certification Warning File Entries)
The first screen is the warning explaining that the The abbreviaton appears .inf file entries and has a
generated driver installation will not be certified. (See maximum length of 31 characters.
Figure 2.) Click Next to begin customizing your driver
4.2.3. Prefix for .inf File Names / Name for .inf File
installation.
This field allows for specification of a unique name for
all .inf files. The maximum length of this string is four
characters. The generated files for a VCP Driver will be
named xxxxbus.inf, xxxxvxd.inf, xxxxw2k.inf, and
xxxxwdm.inf. The generated file for a USBXPress driver
will be xxxxxxxx.inf.
4.2.4. VID
Allows specification of a new vendor ID (VID).
4.2.5. PID
Allows specification of a new vendor ID (PID).

Figure 2. Driver Certification Warning

Figure 3. VID, PID, String and File Name

Customization

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4.3. Device Manager String Customization 4.4. Installation String Options
The next step in the customization process is to specify The next step in the customization process is to specify
the device names that will appear in the Windows options for the driver installer. The driver installer will
Device Manager. This step is shown in Figure 4. An allow for a device to be installed before or after a device
example for Windows XP is shown in Figure 5. Each has been connected to the PC. If this is run before a
field is described in further detail below. device is plugged in, drivers will already be registered
4.3.1. USB Device Name for devices that belong to that installation. If a device is
already plugged in, the installer will rescan the bus for
This string will be displayed in Device Manager under
any devices for that installation. This section covers
the USB Tab.
adding the installer's strings and is shown in Figure 6.
4.3.2. COM Device Name (VCP Driver only)
4.4.1. Product Name
This string will be displayed in Device Manager under
This is the string that identifies the product installation in
the Ports Tab and in the Add/Remove Programs listing.
the Add/Remove Programs listing. The string shows up
This option is only available for VCP Driver installations.
as "<Product Name String> (Driver Removal)" for easy
identification.
4.4.2. Name for Installation File
This is will be the name of the installation executable
and shows up as "<InstallName>.exe".

Figure 4. Device Manager String Customization

Figure 6. Installation Strings

Figure 5. Windows XP Device Manager Example

If an installer is not being generated, then skip to section
4.7.

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4.5. Installation Options
Specific options for the GUI should now be specified.
4.5.1. Display GUI window during Install:
Check this option when using the generated Installer as
a stand-alone application. The Installer will display
several GUI windows during the installation process.
Uncheck this option to run the Installer in Quiet Mode.
When running in Quiet Mode, no GUI will be displayed.
This is useful when using another application to launch
this Installer.
4.5.2. Copy Files to Target Directory during Install:
Check this option if a copy of the drivers will be needed
on the hard drive. This is useful when installing the
drivers from a CD. Uncheck this option if copies of the
driver files are not needed on the hard drive.
4.5.3. Target Directory: Figure 7. Installation Options
Selects the hard drive location that will contain a copy of
4.6. Generation Directory
the driver files. The default location is C:\Program
Files\Silabs\MCU\CP210x for the VCP Driver and The next step in the customization utility is to specify
C:\ProgramFiles\Silabs\MCU\USBXpress for the where this custom driver’s installation files will be
USBXpress driver. If the "Display GUI window during generated. The default directory for a VCP driver is
Installation" option is selected, this path can be changed C:\Silabs\MCU\CustomCP210xDriverInstall and the
during installation by clicking the Browse button. default for a USBXpress Driver is
However, if the "Display GUI window during C:\Silabs\MCU\CustomUSBXpressDriverInstall.
Installation" option is not selected then the default However, a different directory can be selected or
directory is always used unless a directory is specified created. This step is shown in Figure 8.
through the command line. This option is ignored if the Note: This is not an actual installation of the drivers. This is
"Copy Files to Directory during Setup" option is not simply a directory to output all installation files needed
selected. for the installation. These files can be added to a CD or
OEM installation for distribution to the end-user.
Note: The Target Directory must be different for each
product released.
4.5.4. Display GUI window during Uninstall:
Check this option when using the generated Uninstaller
as a stand-alone application. The Uninstaller will display
several GUI windows during the uninstall process.
Uncheck this option if the Uninstaller will be launched by
another application. The Uninstaller will then run in
Quiet Mode. When running in Quiet Mode, no GUI will
be displayed.
4.5.5. Remove files from Target Directory during
Uninstall
Check this option if the files copied to the Target
directory should be removed upon uninstallation. This
option is ignored if the "Copy Files to Directory during
Setup" option is not selected.
Figure 8. Generation Directory

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4.7. Option Verification 5. Customizing Driver Installations,
The final step in the customization utility is to review all Macintosh OS9 and OSX
of the selected options. If anything needs to be If the VID or PID is changed from the default factory
changed, the Back button can be used to go back to settings, contact Silicon Laboratories to obtain drivers
previous pages to change items. Once all options have that incorporate the new values. Macintosh requires that
been verified, press Finish to create the customized the drivers be compiled with the values that will be used
driver files. This step is shown in Figure 9. by the production CP210x device.

Figure 9. Figure 9. Option Verification

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DOCUMENT CHANGE LIST
Revision 0.1 to Revision 0.2
„ Added CP2103 to Relevant Devices on page 1.
Revision 0.2 to Revision 0.3
„ Updated figures and customization description to
reflect version 3.4 and later of the Custom Driver
Wizard.
„ Removed USBXpress specific customization
description. Version 3.4 and later contains the same
process for customizing both VCP and USBXpress
driver installations.
„ Removed preinstaller explanations and added
descriptions on how the new Driver Installer is used.

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NOTES:

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CONTACT INFORMATION
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
400 West Cesar Chavez
Austin, TX 78701
Tel: 1+(512) 416-8500
Fax: 1+(512) 416-9669
Toll Free: 1+(877) 444-3032
Email: [email protected]
Internet: www.silabs.com

The information in this document is believed to be accurate in all respects at the time of publication but is subject to change without notice.
Silicon Laboratories assumes no responsibility for errors and omissions, and disclaims responsibility for any consequences resulting from
the use of information included herein. Additionally, Silicon Laboratories assumes no responsibility for the functioning of undescribed features
or parameters. Silicon Laboratories reserves the right to make changes without further notice. Silicon Laboratories makes no warranty, rep-
resentation or guarantee regarding the suitability of its products for any particular purpose, nor does Silicon Laboratories assume any liability
arising out of the application or use of any product or circuit, and specifically disclaims any and all liability, including without limitation conse-
quential or incidental damages. Silicon Laboratories products are not designed, intended, or authorized for use in applications intended to
support or sustain life, or for any other application in which the failure of the Silicon Laboratories product could create a situation where per-
sonal injury or death may occur. Should Buyer purchase or use Silicon Laboratories products for any such unintended or unauthorized ap-
plication, Buyer shall indemnify and hold Silicon Laboratories harmless against all claims and damages.

Silicon Laboratories, Silicon Labs, and USBXpress are trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Other products or brandnames mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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