Here’s a detailed review of the Nuvoton Communications Port Driver for Windows 7 , focusing on its purpose, installation, performance, known issues, and compatibility.
1. What Is the Nuvoton Communications Port Driver? The Nuvoton Communications Port (COM) Driver is a system driver for motherboard super I/O chips manufactured by Nuvoton Technology (formerly Winbond). It enables Windows 7 to communicate with the UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) serial ports integrated into Nuvoton chips (e.g., NCT6779, NCT6791, NCT6102, etc.). These serial ports are typically used for:
Legacy serial devices (modems, barcode scanners, industrial equipment) Debugging ports for system development Internal motherboard headers (COM1/COM2)
Without this driver, Windows 7 may fail to detect or correctly use physical COM ports provided by the Nuvoton chip, or may assign them incorrect resources. Nuvoton Communications Port Driver Windows 7
2. Compatibility with Windows 7 | Aspect | Details | |--------|---------| | Official support | Yes — Nuvoton provided drivers for Windows 7 (32-bit & 64-bit). | | Motherboard brands | ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, ASRock (common on consumer and industrial boards with Nuvoton SIO). | | Driver versions | Typically v1.x.x or v7.x.x (e.g., 7.004, 1.5.1). | | WHQL certified | Many versions are WHQL for Windows 7. | Important : Windows 7 reached end-of-life in 2020. Nuvoton no longer updates these drivers, but existing versions remain functional.
3. Installation Process Typical methods:
Motherboard CD/DVD – Included driver folder (usually under \Chipset\NuvotonCOM or \SerialIO ). Motherboard support page – Download from ASUS, Gigabyte, etc. Windows Update – Rarely provides it; manual install recommended. Device Manager – If the COM port shows as an unknown device, you can manually point to the .inf file. Here’s a detailed review of the Nuvoton Communications
Steps (manual):
Download the correct driver (32/64-bit). Extract to a folder. Open Device Manager → look for “PCI Serial Port” or “Unknown device” under “Other devices”. Right-click → Update driver → Browse my computer → point to the extracted folder. Restart PC.
Note : On some boards, you must enable the COM port in BIOS first (often under Advanced → Super IO Configuration ). The Nuvoton Communications Port (COM) Driver is a
4. Performance and Stability (Windows 7) ✅ Positive points :
Lightweight – Minimal CPU/RAM usage (<1% CPU, few MB memory). Low latency – Good for real-time serial communication (e.g., microcontroller flashing, GPS receivers). No conflicts – If installed correctly, does not interfere with other COM ports (including USB-to-serial adapters). Plug and play – Works with legacy applications like HyperTerminal, Putty, LabVIEW.