Intel NUC Software Studio "The serial port driver is not installed." (NUC12DCMi9)

Bill_Dempsey · ‎10-01-2022

I have an Intel NUC12DCMi9. Since the day I bought my NUC 12 Extreme i9 system early this year, the Intel NUC Software Studio has had a red exclamation point in the area for LED controls. In addition, the LED arrow doesn't function. Clicking the LEDs button does nothing. I can't get to the screen that allows LED configuration. Clicking on the red exclamation point results in this error dialog.

I clicked the link in the error dialog and downloaded the serial driver from the page for my NUC12i9 Extreme. When I ran it, it offered the option to repair the driver or remove it. I tried repair first. It made no difference, so I removed and reinstalled it next. It still made no difference. No matter what I've tried, the NUC Software Studio screen still shows the error dialog about the missing serial port driver.

I have run the Intel Driver & Support Assistant many times hoping it would install the serial port driver that is supposedly missing. It doesn't. It says my drivers are fully up to date.

I looked for the "serial port driver" in the Device Manager to see if it was flagged with an exclamation point. I didn't find that precise name, but I found the "Serial IO GPIO driver." The term "GPIO driver" sounds to me like it would be the driver for operating the LED lighting on the machine. It said it was working properly. Even though it said it was working properly, I updated the driver. There was no change, so I removed the driver and reinstalled it. Again, there was no change in the Software Studio error report.

I'd like to get this part of the Software Studio to work since I've been fiddling with it for many months. I am not sure what else to try. I'm not even sure I've been removing and reinstalling the correct driver file, since the description is a bit different.

I'll attach the SSU output to this post.

Does anyone know how to fix this issue?

Thanks!

-Bill

DeividA_Intel · ‎10-03-2022

Hello Bill_Dempsey,

Thank you for posting on the Intel® communities. I am sorry to know that you are having issues with your Intel® NUC 12 Extreme Kit - NUC12DCMi9.

In order to better assist you, please try the following:

1. Perform a BIOS recovery:

BIOS: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/721828/bios-update-edadl579.html
Steps (BIOS Recovery by the Power Button Menuhttps://downloadmirror.intel.com/743629/NUC-AptioV-UEFI-Firmware-BIOS-Update-Readme.pdf

2. As a test, try a clean install of the Intel graphics driver:

3. Try to uninstall the tool and make sure that all the folders related are deleted, then reinstall the tool:

Regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Bill_Dempsey · ‎10-05-2022

David,

Thank you for the information. I will try these steps as I get time over the next few days. I'll let you know if that solved it.

-Bill

DeividA_Intel · ‎10-06-2022

Hello Bill_Dempsey,

Thanks for your response. I understand that you may need more time to perform the steps provided, I will be waiting for the results.

Regards,

Deivid A.

Intel Customer Support Technician

Bill_Dempsey · ‎10-09-2022

Hi again,

I was able to perform all of the steps you outlined. (I appreciated the clarity of the instructions you provided.) Here are my notes on the results:

1. Perform a BIOS recovery:

BIOS: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/download/721828/bios-update-edadl579.html
Steps (BIOS Recovery by the Power Button Menuhttps://downloadmirror.intel.com/743629/NUC-AptioV-UEFI-Firmware-BIOS-Update-Readme.pdf

1. Results:

I downloaded the BIOS from the link you provided. No issues downloading.
I downloaded the BIOS file and placed it on a thumb drive that was plugged into one of the USB ports. Then, I used the Power Button Menu to perform a BIOS recovery, as instructed. The BIOS recovery finished successfully without any issues.

2. As a test, try a clean install of the Intel graphics driver:

2. Results:

I downloaded the graphics driver from the link you provided.
I followed the instructions at the link you provided. No error messages while removing the driver. I checked Device Manager after removing the old driver. After removal, the driver listed was the generic Windows driver.
The fresh driver was installed without any issues. Upon completion, the Device Manager displayed the Intel Driver. The driver indicated normal functioning.

3. Try to uninstall the tool and make sure that all the folders related are deleted, then reinstall the tool:

3. Results:

I uninstalled the application. It was successfully removed.
I searched the hard drive for any fragments left behind. None were found.
I downloaded a fresh copy of the Intel NUC Software Studio service from the link in the instructions.
After installing the service, it was listed as a running service in the services section of Task Manager.

Unfortunately, the error message persists.

What should I try next?

Thanks again for the help.

Best regards,

-Bill

Spidey · ‎10-09-2022

@Bill_Dempsey Enter BIOS settings by pressing F2 after pressing the power button. Press F9 to load optimized defaults. Press F10 to save these settings.

Open device manager, under view enable "show hidden devices".

Look under com ports for "Prolific USB to COM port adapter" (name may slightly vary, but there should be a Prolific USB to COM port adapter).

NSS communicates to the LED controller chip using the Prolific USB to COM port adapter. This should setup automatically using a built in Windows driver. Sometimes during a BIOS update, the Prolific USB to COM port adapter can disappear. Loading optimized defaults by pressing F9 in BIOS settings can reset it.

Bill_Dempsey · ‎10-09-2022

@Spidey wrote:

@Bill_Dempsey Enter BIOS settings by pressing F2 after pressing the power button. Press F9 to load optimized defaults. Press F10 to save these settings.

Open device manager, under view enable "show hidden devices".

Look under com ports for "Prolific USB to COM port adapter" (name may slightly vary, but there should be a Prolific USB to COM port adapter).

NSS communicates to the LED controller chip using the Prolific USB to COM port adapter. This should setup automatically using a built in Windows driver. Sometimes during a BIOS update, the Prolific USB to COM port adapter can disappear. Loading optimized defaults by pressing F9 in BIOS settings can reset it.

Thanks! I will try that now!

-Bill

Spidey · ‎10-09-2022

I had the same thing happen to me, meaning my Prolific USB to COM port adapter was not there. Pressing F9 to load optimized defaults, then F10 to save it. I booted back into windows and my Prolific USB to COM port adapter returned. I had upgraded my BIOS and for some reason it impacted the USB to COM port adapter.

Bill_Dempsey · ‎10-09-2022

@Spidey

I loaded the optimized defaults in the BIOS. Then, I checked my device manager. That driver doesn't show up. I had "show hidden" turned on. I tried several views and it wasn't there anywhere. So, I went to the Prolific website and downloaded the only driver they had available - v 4.01. I installed it with zero errors.

Sadly, it didn't fix the problem.

In other places, I saw people saying you need to install an older version. From my search, it seems there is no longer a download for an older version on the website. I'm going to keep looking for a trustworthy place to get the older driver.

Thanks for the help!

-Bill

Spidey · ‎10-09-2022

Try upgrading latest BIOS, then in BIOS settings pressing F9 to load optimized defaults, the F10 to save.
Run Windows Update to see if Windows automatically detects and installs the prolific USB to COM port adapter.
If the Prolific USB to COM port adapter is still missing, then please ask Intel Customer Service please to consider RMAing your platform. Without this onboard adapter working on chassis board, you can not interface with LED controller.

Bill_Dempsey · ‎12-15-2022

Sorry for the late response, but I haven't been able to work on this problem for the past two months. Life sometimes gets in the way of our well-intentioned plans.

I started working on it again today. I've actually updated the BIOS a couple of times prior to this while working on this problem originally. But I noticed a newer BIOS version available when I checked this morning. So today, I updated the BIOS to the absolute latest version. It shows up in the Intel Driver and Support Assistant as "0055" and it is check-marked as being up-to-date.

Speaking of the Intel DSA, I've always had major trouble updating my NUC 12 Extreme using that utility. When I tell it to update, it does something for a few seconds, then displays "Install Failed" for a few more seconds before restoring the "Install" button. When I check the Install History tab, it shows my many attempted DSA installations with a red triangle & exclamation point after each. Each of the failures lists the same error message. "Installation failed with error code 0x80000000 (-2147483648)" I've been downloading and installing all updates manually because the DSA doesn't work. Today, it listed Bluetooth and WiFi as available updates. Both failed. I downloaded each and installed them manually. Usually, the DSA marks them as up-to-date after I manually install the updates. Today it didn't. So, the DSA is no help at all, at this point.

Getting back to the problem in my original post, I still can't get the LED panel in the NUC Software Studio to appear. There is still a red exclamation point next to the arrow for opening the LED controls page. It won't open the LED controls page, it only pops up an error dialog.

Unfortunately, it's been so long now that I'm not sure whether Intel Customer Service could do anything to help. I have a couple more ideas to try just in case Windows is the cause of the problem, but I wanted to come on and post an update since it has been a couple of months since I last responded.

Thanks again to those trying to help me figure this out. Sorry again for the delayed response. I'll try to get back on to post an update in a day or two.

Best regards,

-Bill

n_scott_pearson · ‎12-16-2022

@Bill_Dempsey,

I believe that this mess is likely because there are packages that you need to install manually BEFORE ever installing iDSA. Remember that this is a maintenance tool, not a first-install tool. What I am saying is that you should ditch the tool until such time as you have installed all packages at least once (and yes, this includes the Serial IO Driver package). All of the packages can be accessed here: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/search.html?ws=idsa-default#q=NUC12DCMi9&sort=relevancy&f:@tabfilter=[Downloads].

Hope this helps,

...S

chojin · ‎08-07-2023

Hello,

To anyone stumbling upon this: after battling with this for a couple hours, I finally managed to find the motherboard pins that handle the RGB controls.

It is very easy to unseat them unvoluntarily while adding or removing components.

Just make sure that the black 4-pin cable is properly seated in the "F" position or the picture below. Mine was not.

After properly plugging it, the "LED" options magically appeared in "Software Studio".

Kind regards.

Intel NUC Software Studio "The serial port driver is not installed." (NUC12DCMi9)

BIOS and Drivers Issues