How to install windows drivers for the LaunchPad on Windows 8. This is the third of three steps. First you install Keil, and then you install TExaS. After these two steps are complete then you follow these directions to install drivers for the LaunchPad. There are a total of three drivers to install, which will be installed separately.

Problem: The kernel-mode code signing policy for 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and later versions of Windows specifies that a kernel-mode driver must be signed for the driver to load. Unfortunately the drivers from Texas Instruments for the LaunchPad are not signed.

Solution: The steps to install drivers that are not signed on Windows 8 is as follows.

0.Take a snapshot of the steps on your cellphone for reference, or use a second computer to see this web page. You will be restarting the machine on which you are installing drivers, so that machine will not be available to view the instructions.

1. Press "Windows keyboard button + I" button to open a slide window to the right of your screen. Select "PC settings" at the bottom of the slide window.
For Windows 8: From PC settings -> General-> Advanced Startup ->Restart now.

 

 

 

For Windows 8.1: From PC settings -> Update and recovery -> Recovery ->Advanced Startup.

http://www.eightforums.com/attachments/tutorials/24112d1372905902-startup-options-menu-boot-windows-8-windows_8.1_pc_settings-1.jpg

2. The system will restart and might take some minutes to show up the boot menu. Wait for it patiently.

 

3. After some time you will be prompted with a menu with following options.
...Continue
...Troubleshoot
...Turn off


 

4. Choose Troubleshoot. Then the following menu appears.
...Refresh your PC
...Reset your PC
...Advanced Options


 

5. Choose Advanced Options. Then the following menu appears
...System Restore System
...Image Recovery
...Automatic Repair
...Command Prompt Windows
...Startup settings

6. Choose Windows Startup Settings, then Click Restart.

7. Now the computer will restart and the boot menu appears. Choose Disable Driver signature Enforcement from the menu.
 

Now windows will start and you can do the installation of the driver that is not signed according to the normal procedure.

8) Find the folder named windows_drivers, which includes the drivers.  If you have installed TExaS then the drivers will be in: ../Keil/TExaSware/windows_drivers

9) Plug in the LaunchPad into a USB port. Pick the USB port you will most likely want to use. Plug the mini-USB into the socket labelled Debug. Make sure the LaunchPad power is on. There is a slider switch near the USB that should be in the Debug position. The green LED near the USB will illuminate when power is applied. Open the device manager program (click Start, and then in the Search for files and programs window type device manager) and you should see three In-Circuit Debug Interface devices that do not have drivers (yellow exclamation point)

10) For each of the three devices, first right-click on the device and then select Update Driver Software.

11) You will be given a choice to Search automatically or to Browse my computer. Click Browse my computer for driver software.

12) Browse your computer and find the location of the windows-drivers folder installed with TExaS. On this computer Keil was installed on D:, but on your computer search for Keil then TExaSware and then select the windows_drivers folder. Click Next.

13) You may get this warning. If so, click Install this driver anyway

14) You will get a success screen. Click Next.

 

Repeat steps 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 for the other two devices. After you have repeated the process a total of three times there should be no error flags. I.e., there should be no yellow exclamation points. However, if you do see one of the three Stellaris devices with a driver error, try right-clicking on the device with error and select update driver, and try the process again. Sometimes it doesn't install on the first try, but does install on the second try.

 

Note that the computer shown above has one COM port (COM4 is the Stellaris board). If you see more than one COM port, write down the number associated with the Stellaris Virtual Serial Port. This number will be used in the settings command of TExaSdisplay you will use for labs 5, 11, and 14.

 

Reference

1) http://www.ti.com/tool/stellaris_icdi_drivers
2) http://www.ti.com/lit/ml/spmu287c/spmu287c.pdf Stellaris Driver Installation Guide
3) http://dhakshinamoorthy.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/installing-an-unsigned-driver-in-windows-8-x64/