How to get serial over usb

Linux or Mac OS

Recent OSs include FTDI driver by default so getting a serial connection is as easy as:

• Connect the miniUSB cable.
• If everything is installed, two new devices should appear under /dev: /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1.
• Launch a serial connection against /dev/ttyUSB1 with:

screen /dev/ttyUSB1 115200

• If everything is right (assuming SD card is not connected) you should see some "C"s printed in the screen:

CCCCC

(you can also use minicom instead of screen).

Windows 7

Install the drivers

• BONE_D64.exe (64 bits)
• BONE_DRV.exe (32 bits)

Finding the Erle’s virtual serial port

• Start > Devices and Printers
• Look for BeagleBone/XDS 100v2
• Double-click or right-click it
• Click the Hardware tab.
• Under “Device Functions” is a list ports with the type of port in the next column.
• One of them is labeled “USB Serial Port (COMn)”. In my case it’s ”USB Serial Port (COM5)”

Obtaining and running a terminal program

For this purpose we're using PuTTY. PuTTY is a single .EXE file. There’s no installer. I created a directory called C:\Program Files (x86)\putty.

I downloaded putty.exe and copied into that directory. Then right-clicked putty.exe and chose “Pin to Start Menu” to make it easy.

Configure the terminal program to use SSH over the (virtual) serial port:

• Launch PuTTY. It’s a simple program and its main window is titled “PuTTY Configuration”
• Make sure Serial is checked. A serial port configuration dialog appears.
• Under “Serial line” enter the number of the COM port you discovered previously, COM5 in this case.
• Enter 115200 in the “Speed” field
• Click the Open button.
• Now reset the robot (pressing the reset button) and you should see:
  • (if no proper microSD card was introduced) "CCCC.."
  • (if a proper microSD card was introduced) the kernel booting.