Karen. Nice to see you back. This chip is general used with a microcontroller. There is not high current or voltage associated with programming the chip. If it will not work thiw the USB to RS232 converter it is because the converter is not converting or is doing a poor job of handling the control signals DTR, RTS, and DSR. Not uncommon.
Dallas also makes a series of 1 wire chips that may be easier to use. Maybe if you can share the application we can better help you. How did the previous project work out ?