FDTI D2XX usable without admin rights?

Question

Is it possible to run an Application that uses FTDIs D2XX-Drivers to access a FTDI-chip with normal User privileges?

Background: I want to build an USB-gadget that runs on Windows 7 (Enterprise) PCs for everybody.

Answer 1

It depends.

Usually, you don't need admin privileges for the D2XX drivers to access USB Devices on a standard Windows 7.

However it's possible to deny access to USB Devices using Group Policies. If your system has such a policy there is nothing you can do but contact your system admin.

On Linux, you might need admin privileges to remove incompatible drivers that are automatically mounted by the OS or obtain access to USB device nodes. By default you need to be root to access /proc/bus/usb.