USB Driver - EVAL-ADAU170XEBZ

The EVAL-ADAU170xEBZ's on-board USB interface uses an FTDI USB Interface IC. FTDI did not create Windows 7 drivers for that device, so we unfortunately cannot support it in SigmaStudio. Unfortunately, that's out of our control. The EvalBoard170x communication interface is still included in SigmaStudio for legacy purposes; if it was not included, then you would be unable to open older projects containing that cell. You can still develop in SigmaStudio using the FTDI driver on XP and Vista.

If you have updated your computer to Windows 7, then an EVAL-ADUSB2EBZ (commonly known as USBi) would be the appropriate replacement interface. It is compatible with Windows 7 because Cypress keeps the driver up to date. The USBi can plug in to the "External SPI/I2C" header on your board, which is located next to the USB connector. It is available for purchase directly from the analog.com website.

Ideally, we would like to guarantee forward-compatibility when customers purchase our hardware, but it's impossible to do that since factors outside of our control (like driver development by third parties) can render portions of the hardware nonfunctional when the user upgrades their OS.

This is why we have moved away from an on-board communications interface design in favor of a modular design with a simple header connection. This means that the user can simply update the communications board if required, without needing to replace the entire evaluation kit.

I may be able to get a XP computer - this board was procured by a previous engineer and I cannot find any documentation for it. Is there a manual for the EVAL170XEBZ I can download?

The old USB interface was discontinued in 2008, so the documentation on the website doesn't contain information on it. However, I found this archived version of a 2007 datasheet. The USB driver setup is explained on page 7.

The new user guide is available here. Yes, the part number has changed to EVAL-ADAU1401EBZ, but that board is used to evaluate the ADAU1401, ADAU1401A, ADAU1701, and ADAU1702. So, the information in either of those datasheets should be valid for you.

There were some minor hardware modifications done in the past, so depending on the age of your board, there might be a slight mismatch in the component reference numbers.