MAX 10 FPGA Programming Failure via JTAG – nSTATUS & CONFIG_DONE as No Connect

Title: MAX 10 FPGA Programming Failure via JTAG – nSTATUS & CONFIG_DONE as No Connect

Hello Community,

I am unable to program my Intel MAX 10 (10M08SAU169C8G) via JTAG using USB Blaster on Quartus Prime 24.1 (Windows 11).

HARDWARE CONFIGURATION:

• nCONFIG → Pulled HIGH to VCCIO 

• nSTATUS → No Connect 

• CONFIG_DONE → No Connect 

• CONFIG_SEL → No Connect 

WHAT I TRIED:

• Unchecked "Enable nCONFIG, nSTATUS, and CONF_DONE pins" in Device Pin Options

• Unchecked "Enable CONFIG_SEL pin" and "Auto-restart after error"

• Recompiled and reprogrammed

• USB Blaster recognized ✅

• MAX 10 detected in JTAG chain ✅

• Correct .SOF file selected ✅

Despite all this, programming still fails.

QUESTIONS:

1. Are NC config pins the root cause even in JTAG mode?

2. Is there a Quartus workaround without a PCB re-spin?

3. Recommended pull-up values for nSTATUS and CONFIG_DONE?

Any help is appreciated. Happy to share schematics or screenshots.

Thank you!