Problems getting started in Quartus 2 and Altera FPGA board

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This is my first post. I'm trying to get acquainted with Quartus 2 and my Altera FPGA board but I'm having problems starting.

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Welcome to the group and to FPGAs! Sorry you're having trouble ...

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Firstly when I'm in Quartus I can't seem to find my device. I'm using a cyclone 3 EP3C16F484C6N and I do not see "cyclone 3" listed in the "family" pull down menu under the family & device settings nor do I see the EP3C16F484C6N listed in available devices.

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Altera (and Xilinx and Lattice) discontinue device support in their "latest version" of tools. When you download Quartus, you need to select the version based on the device you are interested in. The DE board is one of the University Program boards, and they have a good tool overview on their page;

http://www.altera.com/education/univ/software/unv-software.html

"Quartus II software v13.0 SP1 supports all Altera University Program FPGA boards"

So basically you need to download 13.0sp1

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Secondly, I don't know whether this is a big issue or not, but I can't seem to get my DE0_controlPanel to work

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This issue occurs because the Terasic Control Panel application is probably looking for a specific version of Quartus. You can probably read the documentation for your board to determine what version they recommend. Try and see if the panel works once you have downloaded 13.0sp1. Because the control panel is closed-source, you won't actually learn much from it. Once you get the software installed, decide on a project, and then come back to the forum for advice when you get stuck.

Cheers,

Dave

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Welcome to the group and to FPGAs! Sorry you're having trouble ...

Altera (and Xilinx and Lattice) discontinue device support in their "latest version" of tools. When you download Quartus, you need to select the version based on the device you are interested in. The DE board is one of the University Program boards, and they have a good tool overview on their page;

http://www.altera.com/education/univ/software/unv-software.html

"Quartus II software v13.0 SP1 supports all Altera University Program FPGA boards"

So basically you need to download 13.0sp1

This issue occurs because the Terasic Control Panel application is probably looking for a specific version of Quartus. You can probably read the documentation for your board to determine what version they recommend. Try and see if the panel works once you have downloaded 13.0sp1. Because the control panel is closed-source, you won't actually learn much from it. Once you get the software installed, decide on a project, and then come back to the forum for advice when you get stuck.

Cheers,

Dave

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Hey Dave,

Thanks for the help, on a Sunday of all times. Yeah, I've noticed that too after some sleuthing. I will try 13.1, unless you advise against it. My professor wrote that we should install the latest one (14.1) but I guess that's a mistake on his part. I will come back if I require assistance.

Thanks again

I also had a problem with the Terasic control panel application not starting. It depends on the drivers for the USB blaster being installed. You also need to reboot your PC after doing the installation.

If the Quartus programmer application is able to see the USB blaster, then I don't know what's wrong. :confused:

Thank you for the replies.

I have version 13.1 of Quartus installed now. However when I open the DE0 control panel I still get the error:

"Load DLL (TERASIC_JTAG_DRIVE.dll) fail"

and

"fail to connect your development board"

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I have version 13.1 of Quartus installed now.

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Ok, that should work with the Cyclone III.

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However when I open the DE0 control panel I still get the error:

"Load DLL (TERASIC_JTAG_DRIVE.dll) fail"

and

"fail to connect your development board"

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As I commented, the panel only works with a single-specific version of Quartus - the version Terasic used to develop the panel. You should try contacting them directly to ask for their advice.

Sorry, this group is run by users of Altera devices, not by Altera or Terasic, so we cannot help with the control panel problem.

Personally I would recommend not even bothering, as it does not provide you anything to learn from.

Cheers,

Dave