My Windows Drivers for BBB won't install

[woody stanford]

I had a problem with my core drivers for the host not installing (so you can teather the BBB to a desktop via USB to miniUSB on the BBB). It just came up with red X's every time.

There are a lot of "fixes" out there that are pretty flakey so I thought I'd post the most linear path I found.

Windows now comes in 32-bit and true 64-bit versions. I'll save you the time and aggravation on this that find out first if your OS is 32 or 64 bit. Download the appropriate flavor of the BBB drivers from here (official site): http://beagleboard.org/static/beaglebone/latest/README.htm

The problem if its not installing at all is that Windows REQUIRES driver signing by default.

Hit <win> X and select "Command Prompt (admin)"

and type the following:

bcdedit /set testsigning on

Now its critical to understand what this does; it PERMANENTLY sets the default on your box to prompt you if its OK to use an unsigned driver. Since it prompts every time, I believe it secure. A lot of other procedures take a lot of time and frankly don't work on my Win 64 machine (burned up hours on it :( The Beagleboard core drivers are unsigned so make sure you get them from a trustable web site.

[woody stanford]

I thought I'd also put this in too. Once you know how, the process to get your tethered BBB running is slick and fast even for the beginner.

Don't read this if you are running the BBB with an HDMI monitor and keyboard. However if you are old waterfall guy like me and like your UN*X host with terminal access, keep reading. Connect a standard USB to miniUSB cable with the miniusb to the small connector on the underside of the board; it provides power as well.

BBB's IP is always 192.168.7.2 (serious, even with DHCP). Download PUTTY and pop in this IP address (make sure it is set to SSH) and connect. And you are live. Remember that UN*X is multitasking, so you can open up multiple PUTTY windows at the same time (same IP address and set up, but save each under a different name). This is helpful for reading man pages and the like while working on something else.

BBB has the Angstrom Debian-distribution of UN*X on it preloaded (I had a question about this when I saw the microSD slot didn't come with a card) complete with a nice selection of bins on it (like gcc, python and even man pages). It is locked, cocked and ready to rock.

[Michael Wood]

Certain versions of windows prevent turning on test signing (this way) with Secure Boot / UEFI, which has to be turned off first.

A faster way is to disable driver signature enforcement for one boot cycle. 

On Saturday, January 28, 2017 at 6:23:00 PM UTC-7, woody stanford wrote:

[Robert Nelson]

On Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 3:34 PM, Michael Wood <woodjm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Certain versions of windows prevent turning on test signing (this way) with
> Secure Boot / UEFI, which has to be turned off first.
>
> A faster way is to disable driver signature enforcement for one boot cycle.

Or just use a newer image, where we figured out how to use Window's
built-in driver..

Regards,

--
Robert Nelson
https://rcn-ee.com/