Configure Cy4 Dev Kit EPCS via USB-blaster?

According to the reference manual, all programming option should work:

- AS through J16 and external USB Blaster

- JTAG indirect through J6 and external USB Blaster

- JTAG indirect through embedded USB Blaster

But I don't have the DevKit and can't check it.

There's a bug in Cyclone IV GX Dev Kit's MAX II program which prevents ECPS programming.

I tried to program the EPCS using the JTAG indirect method (JIC) through embedded USB Blaster, but the programming failed. We filed a Service Request to Altera and they found that some of programming signals of Cyclone IV GX are not release to tri-state by MAX II thus preventing the EPCS programming.

Altera's Service Engineer created an unofficial MAX II program, which puts those lines to tri-state mode. However, with this modification the board can be booted only from EPCS (i.e. the boot selection switches have no effect).

I created that service request in September 2011, but I haven't noticed that Altera had yet fixed this bug in kit's software.

You might want to file your own Service Request to Altera. You can reference our SR 10830479: "Error when programming EPCS with jic-file in Cyclone IV GX FPGA Development Kit".

Or you could modify the MAX II program (available in kit's sources) yourself and figure out the modification yourself (if I remember correctly all the lines common between Cyclone4/EPCS/MAXII and NCONFIG and CONF_DONE should be tristated, and MSEL pins set fixed to EPCS suitable configuration).

Oh yes, I just remembered that Altera actually produced a workaround for this! Search Altera web site for article rd10032011_932. It requires manual button press during programming. However, if I remember correctly that fix also required that some buttons are pressed during boot (but that is not mentioned in that article) ...

Regards,

Jari