How do I manually uninstall the CP210x VCP driver?
Answer
The CP210x VCP driver should be uninstalled through the Windows Control Panel to avoid registry corruption.
However, in some cases you may want to manually uninstall the CP210x VCP driver to ensure a complete removal and repair a corrupt installation. To do so:
Uninstall the driver using Device Manager a) Ensure that your VCP device is connected to the system, so that it appears in Device Manager. b) Select the VCP device, right click, and select "Uninstall". c) Check "Delete the driver software for this device." checkbox if available; this will remove the driver from the Windows Driver Store. d) Click OK.
Unplug the VCP device from your system a) Decline or Cancel any subsequent attempts by Windows to reinstall drivers for the VCP device b) Now that you've uninstalled the VCP device via Device Manager, physically disconnect it
Uninstall the driver using Control Panel (Add/Remove Programs or Programs and Features) a) Uninstall any driver entries such as "Silicon Laboratories CP210x USB to UART Bridge (Driver Removal).
Remove INF files a) Browse to the folder: C:\WINDOWS\inf. b) Look through each OEMxx.inf file, and if it references a CP210x remove it and its corresponding PNF file. The default INF files will have slabbus.inf, slabw2k.inf (4.40) or silabser.inf (5.x, 6.x) in the comments at the top of the file. Customized INF's will have xxxxbus and xxxxw2k.inf at the top depending on the name given.
Remove driver files a) Browse to the folder: C:WINDOWS\system32\drivers. b) Remove the files: slabbus.sys, slabcm.sys, slabcmnt.sys, slabser.sys, slabwh.sys (4.40) or silabser.sys, silabenm.sys (5.x, 6.x).
Remove Registry keys: a) Go to Start->Run... and type "regedit". b) Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ (32-bit OS) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ (64-bit OS). The default uninstall key is SLABCOMM&10C4&EA60. Any custom drivers will be of the form SLABCOMM&&. Delete these entries to get rid of the "Add/Remove Programs" entry. c) Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Silicon Laboratories, Inc.\Silicon Laboratories Driver Installations\VCP CP210x Cardinal\ (32-bit) or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Silicon Laboratories, Inc.\Silicon Laboratories Driver Installations\VCP CP210x Cardinal\ (64-bit). The default installation status key is SLABCOMM&10c4&ea60. Any custom drivers will be of the form SLABCOMM&&. Delete these entries to get rid of the proprietary driver installation records. d) Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\. Delete the slabbus and slabser keys (4.40) or the silabser and silabenm keys (6.x/5.x). These are the services for the driver. Deleting these does not stop the driver service - you must reboot immediately after this, otherwise the services are not unloaded.
Manually Uninstall the CP210x VCP Driver