Mini Maestro 12-Channel USB and Windows 10 Pro

Support Servo controllers and servos
1

Hi there,

I have just bought a Mini Maestro 12-Channel USB servo controller (from www.pololu.com/file/0J266/maestro-windows-130422.zip on Windows 10 Pro. Initially, the controller was not automatically detected when I plugged it in and did not appear in the Device Manager.

However, I was able to get the devices (Pololu Mini Maestro 12-Channel USB Servo Controller, Pololu Mini Maestro 12-Channel USB Servo Controller Command Port (COM3) and Pololu Mini Maestro 12-Channel USB Servo Controller TTL Port (COM4)) to appear in Device Manager by adding them from Action menu --> Add legacy hardware and manually selecting the drivers from C:\Program Files (x86)\Pololu\Maestro\drivers\maestro.inf.

They now appear in Device Manager but with an exclamation mark on each device. The device status reports:

This device cannot start. (Code 10)
The specified request is not a valid operation for the target device.

I am unable to connect to the controller from the Maestro Control Center.

I see on another post (Maestro 6 channel and windows 10 issue @ Maestro 6 channel and windows 10 issue) in the forum that you have not tested the Maestro on Windows 10 yet, but it is something you would like to do soon. Do you have any update on when this will be or if there is a way I can get the devices working correctly?

Thanks,
Jonathan.

2

Hello, Jonathan.

The “Add Legacy Hardware” option is only for older devices that do not support Plug and Play and I do not expect it to help.

I recommend removing the three Maestro entries in the Device Manager that you added using the “Add Legacy Hardware” option. To do this, you should right-click each entry, select “Uninstall”, and then click “OK”. Do not check the box asking you if you want to delete the driver software for the device.

Next, please plug the Maestro into your computer via USB. Do you see any entries for the Maestro in the Device Manager? Be sure to check the “Pololu USB Devices”, “Ports (COM & LPT)”, and “Other devices” categories. What are the three LEDs on the Maestro doing? Does anything change if you try a different USB cable or a different USB port?

- Amanda

3

Many thanks for that Amanda. I have deleted the devices from the Device Manager okay. To start with I only had the one USB cable but I have now acquired another. With the new cable I now get a green and orange LED flashing on the controller and I can also see the controller in the Maestro Control Center. Looks like I had a dodgy USB which has now been consigned to USB heaven :slight_smile: