SAMD21 Mini/Dev Breakout Hookup Guide

Contributors: jimblom

Drivers (If You Need Them)

Windows Driver Installation

Windows 10

After plugging the board in, Windows will try to search the Internet for drivers. They should automatically install for Windows 10 without any issues.

Manual Installation

However, if you run into issues, you may need to install the drivers manually. Click the button below to download the drivers from the GitHub Repo.

Then follow the steps below to install the drivers:

1. After downloading, extract the ZIP folder and copy down the location of the sparkfun.inf and sparkfun.cat files. This will be located in your downloads folder under .../Arduino_Boards/sparkfun/samd/drivers/.
2. Open your Device Manager
   • In Windows 10, simply search for "Device Manager" and select the Windows app
   • (Start > Run > "devmgmt.msc", should work on almost any version of the OS.)

3. In the Device Manager, expand the "Other devices" tree -- you should see an entry for "Unknown Device", Right-click and select Update Driver Software...

   Screenshot: Navigating the Device Manager

   

4. Select Browse my computer for driver software. On the next screen

   Screenshot: Browse your computer for the driver

   

5. Paste the directory location of your sparkfun.inf and sparkfun.cat files into the search location. Then hit "Next".

   Screenshot: Setting the driver location

   

6. Click "Install" when the next pop-up questions if you want to install the driver.
7. The driver installation may take a moment, when it's done you should be greeted with a "successfully updated your driver software" message!

Windows 7

If you are using a Windows 7 OS, you will need to install the SAMD drivers using the SAMD Windows 7 Installer. Head over to the GitHub repo to install the executable.

Scroll down the page to the assets in the Latest release and click on the '.exe to download. The version number may be different depending on the release. The image below shows sparkfun_drivers_1.0.5.3.exe .

After downloading, click on the executable and follow the prompts to install. The steps to install are the same even though the following images show drivers for v1.0.5.1.

You will receive a warning from Windows. Click yes to continue.

Another window will pop up. Read through the license and click "I Agree".

When ready, hit the Install button.

Another window will pop up. Click on "Install this driver software anyway" to continue.

Your Windows 7 will begin installing the driver. This should take a few seconds. When the drivers have installed, hit the "Close" button to exit out of the installer.

Mac and Linux

Mac and Linux users shouldn't need to download any drivers. The device should show up as a serial port as soon as it's plugged in to your computer.