Saturday, April 6, 2013

How to get a serial Wacom tablet to work in Windows 8 x64


This may not be the shortest way to install it, but here's how I finally got it working. My setup:
  • Windows 8, x64
  • Wacom Intuos GD-0608-R serial tablet
  • Trendnet TU-S9 usb-com adapter (based on Prolific PL2303HXD)
  1. Uninstall any Wacom drivers you had before, unplug your tablet and reboot
  2. Download and install usb-com adapter drivers, set port to COM2
  3. Download pro610-6_int.exe drivers from Wacom
  4. Essentially it's an archive, unpack it (I used 7zip for example)
  5. This post recommends to set compatibility mode to Windows 2000. Unfortunately in Windows 8 that option was removed. You can get it back using Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit. Download and install it.
  6. Launch Compatibility Administrator (32 bit) and follow this instruction. Create an Application fix. Point to setup.exe you've unpacked on step 4. Set compatibility to Win 2000. Faced with "select matching files" page of the wizard click "Auto-Generate" and "Select All".
  7. Once the fix is created, hit "Run" button in toolbar and proceed with install.
  8. Reboot your machine and connect your tablet.
  9. 6xx Drivers have hard time recognizing serial tablets. Point them in right direction by editing c:\Users\*your username*\AppData\Roaming\WTablet\Wacom_Tablet.dat. It'd look like this:
  10. PrefsFileVersion 4
    DriverOn1Off0 1
    DriverLanguage 0
    LeftHandedMouse 0
    FunkyButtonMode 0
    PTKDisplayBrightness 2
    NoStartWarnings 0
    HowManyTablets 1
    TabletType 0
    TabletModel 201
    CommPort COM2
    TabletOn1Off0 1
    TabletPhysicallyOn 1
    TabletFlags 0
    HowManyTransducers 0
    
    "TabletModel 201" corresponds to Intuos GD-0608-R. If you don't know yours, try to install old pro493-3_int drivers and look for "tablet.dat" file in system32 dir of Windows. You may need to adjust registry as described here for the drivers to find the tablet.
  11. Finally, restart "TabletServiceWacom" service to pick up new settings.

    Probably you may get away with Win XP compatibility mode to skip steps 6-7, but it didn't work for me for some reason.

35 comments:

SONB said...

Thank you for this tutorial. I followed every step and it works.. kind of. The pen works but there is now pressure and tilt sensitivity in tested paint programs (Fresh Paint, Bamboo, Sketchbook Pro).
I additionally installed the driver in Vista compatibility mode (like I used to do in Windows 7, which worked perfectly), and the pressure and tilt worked again but there was no right click when I pressed the pen button.
Do you experience the same issues in paint programs like me? Or is there something on my side? I'm using a GD-0912-R and have a COM port (not a USB adapter).

oldmoozy said...

I don't remember having problems with pressure or buttons. If pen worked, everything worked for me.

AFAIR, drivers have a tool where you can remap buttons etc. Check settings there. It also have a tool where you can check tilt/pressure.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for this fix.

On my clean install of 8.1 x64, with tablet attached to a serial port card, after applying your fix, using the basic Win2000 compatability mode, the driver found the tablet without needing to be prompted.

Since the Wacom control panel entry doesn't run under 8.1 for me ("Resource file could be found or loaded."), initially I had tried copying over .dat settings from my previous XP install, but that failed due to a different Wacom driver there even though that driver was writing .dat files which were supposedly also version 4.
With the wrong .dat, the tablet simply didn't work at all, but installing the pro610-6 driver on XP and copying the .dat files it created fixed that.

I made various setups under XP with different button assignments, pressures, etc, and named the resulting .dat files accordingly, so now I can reconfigure it if I need to, by hacking the file.

Now it works fine, with pressure/tilt, etc in Photoshop CS5 (32-bit), and pressure settings and button assignments the way I want them.
PS CS5 64-bit just sees it as a mouse - no pressure/tilt, and with the eraser treated like the tip, but I'm perfectly happy with it working in 32bit.

I have had no issues with it not working after a reboot.

Thanks again - you saved me from spending money I don't really have replacing a tablet which is working fine.

oldmoozy said...

Kristján, not sure what can cause it. Getting Wacom drivers to work is black magic and require hours of experimenting.

Try to restart Wacom's service, if it helps a workaround would be to create a batch file on desktop that will restart the service. Just run it before using the tablet.

Unknown said...

Hello,
Just came across with GD-0912-R model and I have tried to install it based on these instructions. Could someone tell the tabletmodel for my device in the dat file?

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
oldmoozy said...

Sorry can't help you with tabletmodel. Try googling, I've seen some people posted their .dat files.

Otherwise try to install old pro493-3_int it will detect your tablet and generate .dat file with tabletmodel number. You may need an older winXP machine for that.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for this,
I have an original Intuous (Intuos1) GD-0608-U usb tablet. None of the latest drivers were working for me with this tablet on Windows8 x64.

I mostly followed the steps.
-Uninstalled wacom drivers
-Rebooted.
-Unpacked pro610-6 drivers
-Ran program Compatability Troubleshooter and put setup.exe into Win XP mode.
Installed, restarted, plugged in tablet...
And it just worked.

Thankyou.

Unknown said...

Just wanted to say I was able to use this procedure and Simeon Taylor's adjustments to get my GD-1212-U usb tablet working on Windows 8 Pro 64-bit. I really didn't want to buy a new tablet just because I upgraded my OS.

wouter van esch said...

I got the tablet to work, including the configuration utility, but now the pressure sensitivity and tilt do not work in Photoshop CC. I have the same tablet as you do (GD-0608-R)

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for this. I have an old, but perfectly good, GD-12-12-R from around the year 2000. After some minor foibles (I typed "PnPTables with the registry key, which I probably didn't even need to do), I got the pen working! I haven't tried it with any sophisticated pen programs yet that would use the tilt/sensitivity features, but it works with Windows 8 features (i.e.: Touch Keyboard's writing feature) just fine.

I wanted to mention I have a hypothesis concerning the "TabletModel" numbers. According to the Intuos Serial Tablets Quick Start Guide that I still have, five sizes of the GD-xxxx-R models were originally available. If your GD-0608-R was "201", I took a lucky guess and said my GD-12-12-R was a "203". So maybe it is as follows:

GD-0405-R=200
GD-0608-R=201
GD-0912-R=202
GD-1212-R=203
GD-1218-R=204


Thank you, again! The big 12 x 12 size is great for digitizing bigger things, like maps. The newest Intuos pads just are not anywhere close to the same size.

Unknown said...

Hi there, does anyone have by chance the correct tablet model id for a XD-1212-R (Intuos 2 serial, 12x12")?

I have problems running it without, thanks.

Mikalai Tserakh said...

Thank you!
But It's works when I use Photoshop CS6 only:
http://on.be.net/17VlyGp

Unknown said...

I had the same problem as Kristjan with the pressure sensitivity missing, and the following steps fixed it:

1. Install driver with Vista compatibility mode and Administrator privileges. This fixed the Tablet Preferences program, but a different error appeared - "Driver Not Found"

2. Fix Wacom_Tablet.dat

3. Install driver again, using Win 2000 compatibility from compatibility toolkit.

4. Driver works and configuration works, with both tilt and pressure. Success!

Unknown said...

OK, guys, I have a real problem getting this to work. I found out the ID of my serial A4+ tablet (which is 213, may it he helpful for anyone).

- removed all drivers.
- prepared the reg entry for COM2
- installed the driver using the 2000 / admin settings
- rebooted
- fixed the tablet.dat
- rebooted again and plugged in the tablet
- nothing happens. The control panel says "There is no driver installed" or "No supported tablet".

Is there anything wrong with this order? When should the tablet be plugged in? I'm beginning to lose faith... Thanks for any help!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much !
The answer of "Simeon Taylor" worked perfect for me and my Intuos GD-0912-U.
But i downloaded the latest driver for it (https://www.tablet4u.co.uk/drivers.html) which is compatible for Windows 7, typing my tablet ref which is written at the back (i didn't figure it out at first)

Compatibility of the driver i downloaded on my Windows 8.1 64-bit:
Driver 6.1.2-5 for Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit), Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit) and XP (32 and 64 bit)

Then i ran the file (which was an exe, not an archive), using Troubleshouting.
For this, i followed the explanations provided by Microsoft for Windows 7 (and which work well on Win8).
-> http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/open-the-program-compatibility-troubleshooter

Thanks again guys! it was hard to find the solution! :)

Unknown said...

Thanks gathering all this.
Intuos GD-0912-R here + prolific PL2303 (used driver PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1_11_0) + win 7/8/ubuntu/virtual machines.

It was *not* working on windows 7, whatsoever I tryed.
Was working on virtual machines, ubuntu and windows 8.
So I installed windows 8 and it's working like a charm.

FYI:
- I didn't have to reboot the computer in between the different steps,
- checkChipVersion of the PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller indicates "open com port failed" but it's working fine anyway.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

However, the pressure sensitivity is not working in 64bits apps :( (though it works fine on 32bits apps !)
Anybody faced this problem?

PsyckoSama said...

Russian, I just want to say thanks.

Following your steps I got it working on Windows 10. I also might have found a slightly cheaper way to connect it to a modern computer that removes a possible degree of failure.. Most modern computers lack a com port, but have a legacy header on the motherboard that can be used to give it one. I bought myself an adapter that allowed me to connect directly to the motherboard.

Though I am having the problem that I can't actually edit the tablet properties for some reason. Any idea how to fix that?

Alexdezh said...

Are you guys saying that Wacom1 has a pen tilt option?
I'm asking because I've found a few cheap old Wacoms on the internet
and trying to choose between Intuos1 and Intuos2.

oldmoozy said...

@Alexdezh afair, Wacom 1 had tilt, at least last time when I used with Win 8

Alexdezh said...

@7fttallrussian, thanks for the answer and the useful article!
I'll go with Intuos1 then. It's in better condition than Intuos2.

Nofo said...

Hello! I've got pressure sensitivity in most programs with my trusty old tab but not Photoshop (tried 32 and 64 bit installs... Neither did the trick.) Any ideas on what to do?

Anonymous said...

@7fttallrussian, thanks (again) for the instructions.
Just got a new Win10Pro PC and went to my saved link of your instructions I'd used before, and found to my horror the old blog wasn't there any more, and then took a surprising time to find this page.

My trusty GD-0405-R is now working well again.

oldmoozy said...

@dave_w yeah, had to rename it, sorry about that. Good thing people find it useful after 4 years!
Intuos is unkillable :-)

trickyhh said...

@7fttallrussian ;
Thank you very much, works perfect for me with digitus usb to serial adaptor, on Windows 10 32 and 64 bit with
GD-0912-R and a Big GD-1218-R
; Great Digitizers, Great Work

Rasclll said...

@trickyhh

Amazing that you got this to work on Win 10!

I'm also trying to get the GD-0912-R to work on Win 10 64bit using a Digitus serial to pci board. No luck. I do see the GD-0912-R in Device Manager so that's a start.
However, Microsoft dropped support of the Application Compatibility Toolkit on later versions of Win10 so there's no Windows 2000 option in Compatibility Mode. Also, I can't find the pro610-6_int.exe driver anywhere. The latest version I have is pro605-7_int.exe, which worked fine on Win7 with Vista compatibility mode (but doesn't in Win10).

Could you please elaborate on how you got this to work on Win10?
I would really appreciate it, since I'm not ready say goodbye to my faithful tool!
TIA

trickyhh said...

sorry, did not see your post till now, took me a lot of time to get it working... a lot of trial and error... so i really dont know the exact steps but unluckily (maybe luck for you:)) i did the whole job on an quite slow notebook which is unusable for illustrator, photoshop etc. ... thats why i was looking here again to try it with my desktop... will post the exact steps when i´ve figured it out... might take a week or 2, till then please excuse my bad english

M1CK said...

I'm grateful for this post.

Following these instructions, I've been able to get my XD-1218-R to work on Windows 10 Pro 64 Bit. And that's something.

But I have no Wacom configuration tool, and pressure sensitivity and tilt are missing in 64-bit apps. Pressure sensitivity seems to work on Photoshop CS3 (32Bit).
Any ideas on how to fix these issues?

M1CK said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
M1CK said...

Follow up:

I reinstalled (without uninstalling the previous attempt) the pro610-6_int driver, this time I set "Troubleshoot Compatibility" to Windows XP SP3, and now I have pressure sensitivity and tilt even in 64 Bit apps (I tested in Corel Painter 2020 and Clip Studio Paint). I also have now the 'Wacom Table Properties' which was missing.

Unknown said...

I've been having so much trouble getting my tablet to work on Windows 10 and it turns out the ONLY thing I was missing was the Windows 2000 compatibility mode! I'm so glad I found these instructions that pointed me to the Windows ADK for compatibility troubleshooting as that was absolutely necessary to get this going!

Jean Jacques Cousteau said...

Hi. Please, add to your very useful post
Wacom serial tablets like gd-0608-r still works at windows 10 x64 1904. I use it right now.
But the three conditions must be met:
1. You must use compatibility magnagaer 32 bit from ADK VERSION 1903 ONLY.
Link for download
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2086042
2. You must use wacom drivers 6.0.1-6. Search for "WacomTablet_610-6.exe" file in google. Another will not works.
3. In compatibility manager you must select compatibility with Windows XP (sp3). In will works with Windows 2000 too, but with Windows 2000 install you will not have a control panel applet to setup tablet.

ps. I spent 2 evenings to solve this mystical secret. Bill still SUXXXX

C said...

@Jean
I wish you tutorial would be just a bit more detailed.

The mentioned driver version 6.0.1-6 can be downloaded from Wacom:
https://cdn.wacom.com/U/drivers/IBMPC/pro/WacomTablet_610-6.exe