Wacom XP ADB USB recognition not working HELP !!!

January 17, 2006 5:00 PM

Help -- for Wacom Intuos GD users on windows IE - XP users: I bought an used Wacom tablet on e-bay and an ADB to USB. I hooked it up by slapping the wacom male to the ADB to USB and shot that into the USB 2.0 hub. The Wacom reacts with a green indicator light although the pen won't work. I've installed the download software and can not get the Wacom pen / device to work. Any idea's??? Many, many thanks...
posted by orlin to Technology (8 answers total)

You will need a USB driver that expects to see an ADB Wacom tablet through an adapter. I doubt any such driver exists.
posted by kindall at 5:10 PM on January 17, 2006

The ADB to USB adapters are pretty much only to convert mice and keyboards to standard USB HID devices. I doubt that it'd work, even on a Macintosh.
posted by zsazsa at 5:21 PM on January 17, 2006

Apparently the ADB-USB cable doesn't help windows users... according to this thread.

It seems that the answer is to buy an ADB - Serial cable and use that to connect to your PC.
posted by provolot at 6:22 PM on January 17, 2006

I'll buy into what provolot's linked thread says, but as an aside, my (native USB) Intuos2 pulls more juice then a non-powered USB hub can provide and needs to be plugged in direct, or to a powered hub.
posted by cosmonaught at 8:57 PM on January 17, 2006

Best answer: My understanding is that ADB Wacom tablets will not work on Windows, with the exception of some mouse functionality. I.e. no pressure-sensitivity, or angles, etc.

ADB includes a data format for which there is no windows driver.

ADB is a Mac only standard and there is no way to use an ADB tablet on a PC. Therefore any emulator software would at most support serial devices due to the compatibility between RS-232 (PC) and RS-423 (Mac). But such configurations have never been tested by Wacom. We also cannot give any statement regarding any adaptors' compatibility to any Mac OS emulator software. Conclusion: for PC a serial or USB tablet is mandatory required.

posted by mumeishi at 10:01 PM on January 17, 2006

Response by poster: I'm bummed !! I'd like to thank you all...
posted by orlin at 7:57 AM on January 18, 2006

Response by poster: Is there a Wacom type tablet that does work with an IBM? I know this maybe a stupid question although I would really like to use a Wacom type devise with photoshop. Again -- many thanks...
posted by orlin at 8:00 AM on January 18, 2006

Wacom has USB, Bluetooth, and serial tablets that work fine with PCs. I have several and use them as follows:

UD1212 Serial - nice big tablet, needs serial port - I use it on the PC but have moved to the following

6x8 Graphire Bluetooth - wireless, decent size, not an Intuos but gets the job done - I use it on the PC (w/ linksys usb-bluetooth gizmo) and with a laptop (straight bluetooth)

6x8 ADB Intuos - nice, ADB only - I use it with my PowerMac 9500 (i.e. not much anymore)

You know, it's a crying shame that perfectly good peripherals go to waste. In my case, I've got a wonderful and hugely expensive serial tablet that is becoming more of a pain to use (it will no doubt be retired for good soon), and an ADB tablet that is useless on the PC and outdated on the Mac. It was a very bitter pill when I learned my ADB tablet was worthless. Surely someone has written a driver or built a dongle or engineered some marvel that would keep me going. It just can't be junk! It can't! Oh, yes it is.
posted by mumeishi at 10:45 AM on January 18, 2006