Swap USB Drivers Between the MPLAB® 8 IDE and the MPLAB X IDE
Contents
Selecting the New Drivers
While it is possible to have both MPLAB 8 IDE and MPLAB X IDE installed on the same Windows® based system, they use different USB drivers to communicate with our tools. MPLAB X IDE uses Microsoft's generic WinUSB driver while MPLAB 8 IDE and earlier uses a set of proprietary drivers. As such, if you wish to use both versions of MPLAB on the same system (for example, to support legacy code in its original environment), you will have to switch USB drivers each time you move between MPLAB versions.
There are two methods you can use for switching drivers: a switcher utility program that is installed with MPLAB or manually using the Windows built-in driver maintenance process.
Swapping Drivers with the Switcher Utility
After installing MPLAB X IDE, the switcher utility can typically be found on the desktop or in the Start menu under Programs > Microchip > MPLAB X IDE > MPLAB Driver Switcher. You can also launch the program directly by double-clicking on the icon where it resides:
- 32-bit Windows: C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB X IDE\Switcher\32bit\MPDDSwich32.exe
- 64-bit Windows: C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB X IDE\Switcher\64bit\MPDDSwich64.exe
Select the tool whose driver you wish to switch under Tool Group and Action and the driver you wish to use under Group Driver Selection to be Applied. Do this for each tool you wish to switch. Then click on the Apply All button.
- MPLAB 8 IDE will switch the driver to the MPLAB 8 IDE driver no matter which one is currently being used.
- MPLAB X IDE will switch the driver to the MPLAB X IDE driver no matter which one is currently being used.
- No Change will leave in place whichever driver is currently being used. No change will be made.
If you installed MPLAB X IDE in a non-default location, you may need to click on the Advanced » button and specify the locations of the *.inf files.
Swapping Drivers Manually
Open the device manager and select the MicrochipTools category.
- Right-click on My Computer and select Properties from the pop-up menu OR run System from the control panel.
- Select the Hardware tab.
- Click on the Device Manager button.
- Expand the MicrochipTools category by clicking on the + on its left.
Right-click on the entry under MicrochipTools that represents the tool whose driver you wish to change and select Update Driver… from the pop-up menu.
If you are switching from MPLAB 8 IDE to MPLAB X IDE, you will see Microchip <tool name>.
If you are switching from MPLAB X IDE to MPLAB 8 IDE, you will see Microchip WinUSB Device (regardless of which USB tool you are using).
Can Windows connect to Windows Update to search for software?
- No, not this time.
Hardware Update Wizard 1
What do you want the wizard to do?
- Install from a list or a specific location (Advanced)
Hardware Update Wizard 2
Please choose your search and installation options.
Select the SECOND radio button.
- Don't search. I will choose the driver to install.
Hardware Update Wizard 3
Select the device driver you want to install for this hardware.
Select the driver you want from the list:
- From MPLAB 8 to MPLAB X: Microchip WinUSB Device
- From MPLAB X to MPLAB 8: Microchip 'MPLAB REAL ICE'
If the desired driver doesn't appear in the list, click on the Have Disk… button and select one of the following *.inf files:
- For switching from MPLAB 8 to MPLAB X:
C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB X IDE\Switcher\32Bit\winusb\x86\MCHPWinUSBDevice.inf - For switching from MPLAB X to MPLAB 8:
C:\Program Files\Microchip\MPLAB IDE\REAL ICE\Drivers\RealICEBulk.inf
Hardware Update Wizard 4
Once the desired driver is in the list, select it (if there are more than one) and click on the Next button.
The final window should now show the driver currently installed. Click the Finish button to complete the process.
