Hi All ALTERA Experts,I have a problem setting up a new PLL due to the GUI looking like the mess you can see in my attached screenshot. I am using Quartus Standard edition Version 25.1 I am on a windows 10 machine and all of the other IP GUIs seem to work fine, its just this PLL IP GUI that seems to get messed up.I am using a MAX10 FPGA.Both my PC and Graphics card are working fine. Can anybody suggest why this occurs ?Thanks, Barry

Hi Barry, good question. May be a side effect of updated GUI library or something similar. Doubt that every software function including all Megawizard dialogs undergoes a regression test.

Hi Richard, First thank you for confirming the issue. I'm glad it has been noted, but I don't think it's isolated to release 25.1. Perhaps it's bad luck, but I have not been able to get reliable operation with it for a Max 10M08SAE in Quartus 17.1, 23.1 or 25.1. I've tried two different systems... 1x AMD, 1x Intel, both running Windows 11 with 4k monitors. The behavior changes between releases, but every instance involves a scrambling of the screen due to GUI sizing and overlayed text. Unlike 25.1, 23.1 was marginally readable.I did read about issues with high-resolution displays which lead me to testing the compatibility settings and hi-res override modes. This leads me to the reason I believe the issue has been there awhile... the graphics compatibility settings changes the Megafunction behavior. In some modes it refused to open, while in others it would open and crash. The only setting that allowed it to open was no setting. There isn't a great reason why changing this should cause such a dramatic shift in behavior.I would appreciate it if Altera could post an app note on how to instantiate a basic PLL without the Megafunction... a bare minimum implementation (1 clock in, 1 clock out). I don't mind configuring a slew of parameters, I just want something that works and I can modify without worrying about the software version I have installed or having to jump between versions.Thanks!

Hi,VHDL example, inclock 16 MHz, outclock 50 MHzlibrary ieee; use ieee.std_logic_1164.all; entity plltest_min is port ( inclk0 : in std_logic := '0'; c0 : out std_logic ); END plltest_min; architecture inst of plltest_min is component altpll generic ( bandwidth_type : string; clk0_divide_by : natural; clk0_duty_cycle : natural; clk0_multiply_by : natural; clk0_phase_shift : string; inclk0_input_frequency : natural; operation_mode : string; pll_type : string; compensate_clock : string := "CLK0"; self_reset_on_loss_lock : string ); port ( inclk : in std_logic_vector (0 downto 0) := (others => '0'); areset : in std_logic := '0'; clk : out std_logic_vector (0 downto 0); locked : out std_logic ); end component; begin mypll : altpll generic map ( bandwidth_type => "AUTO", clk0_divide_by => 16, clk0_duty_cycle => 50, clk0_multiply_by => 50, clk0_phase_shift => "0", inclk0_input_frequency => 62500, -- 16 MHz operation_mode => "NORMAL", pll_type => "AUTO", self_reset_on_loss_lock => "ON" ) port map ( inclk(0) => inclk0, clk(0) => c0 ); end inst;Verilog examplemodule vpll_min ( inclk0, c0); input inclk0; output c0; wire [4:0] clk; assign c0 = clk[0]; altpll altpll_component ( .areset (1'b0), .inclk ({1'b0, inclk0}), .locked (), .clk (clk)); defparam altpll_component.bandwidth_type = "AUTO", altpll_component.clk0_divide_by = 16, altpll_component.clk0_duty_cycle = 50, altpll_component.clk0_multiply_by = 50, altpll_component.compensate_clock = "CLK0", altpll_component.inclk0_input_frequency = 62500, altpll_component.operation_mode = "NORMAL", altpll_component.pll_type = "AUTO", altpll_component.self_reset_on_loss_lock = "OFF", altpll_component.width_clock = 5; endmoduleRegardsFrank

Weird. If you move the parameter editor window around, does it change or does it just keep looking like that? Have you tried a lower resolution for your monitor? The Megawizard is really old and maybe doesn't like a 4K display resolution.

Hi sstrell, i tried many Graphics card configurations, down to very low res, but nothing works i still see the same messed up GUI for that ALT_PLL IP. All other IP GUIs i have seen so far are fine, its just that one messes up. Strange! I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling QUARTUS Standard edition 25.1 but still i see that messed up GUI for ALT_PLL. Have you got any other suggestions ? Its a bit inconvenient NOT being able to configure a clock PLL!Thanks, Barry

ALT PLL GUI MESSDED UP ON INVOCATION

13 Replies

FvM
Super Contributor
18 days ago
Hi Barry, good question. May be a side effect of updated GUI library or something similar. Doubt that every software function including all Megawizard dialogs undergoes a regression test.
FvM
Super Contributor
18 days ago
Hi,

I can confirm that the corrupted display occurs with altpll (Cyclone IV and 10 LP), not altera_pll (Cyclone V) Megawizard in recent Quartus 25.1 std. Previous 24.1 std is o.k.

You can basically use any Quartus version with full MAX10 support, e.g. starting with 19.1.

Regards
Frank
- drbarryh
  Occasional Contributor
  18 days ago
  Hi Frank, Thanks for the information. I am trying Quartus Standard 24.1 next ! But i wonder "How did that horribly messed up ALT PLL IP get through ALTERA Quality control" ? Something went amiss there i guess :)
RichardT_altera
Super Contributor
18 days ago
I’m seeing the same issue, and I’ll report it to the tool specialists for further investigation. This problem seems to affect the ALTPLL IP across different devices (MAX 10 and Cyclone IV).

Workaround:
Please use an earlier version of Quartus to instantiate the IP, then upgrade the design to Quartus 25.1 Standard Edition on Windows OS.
Alternatively, the IP instantiation GUI works correctly on Linux OS using Quartus v25.1std(tested with SUSE).

For reference, I’ve tested this using Quartus 23.1 Standard Edition on Windows 11, and it works as expected.

Regards,
Richard Tan
- bkantor
  New Contributor
  14 days ago
  Hi Richard,
  First thank you for confirming the issue. I'm glad it has been noted, but I don't think it's isolated to release 25.1. Perhaps it's bad luck, but I have not been able to get reliable operation with it for a Max 10M08SAE in Quartus 17.1, 23.1 or 25.1. I've tried two different systems... 1x AMD, 1x Intel, both running Windows 11 with 4k monitors. The behavior changes between releases, but every instance involves a scrambling of the screen due to GUI sizing and overlayed text. Unlike 25.1, 23.1 was marginally readable.
  I did read about issues with high-resolution displays which lead me to testing the compatibility settings and hi-res override modes. This leads me to the reason I believe the issue has been there awhile... the graphics compatibility settings changes the Megafunction behavior. In some modes it refused to open, while in others it would open and crash. The only setting that allowed it to open was no setting. There isn't a great reason why changing this should cause such a dramatic shift in behavior.
  I would appreciate it if Altera could post an app note on how to instantiate a basic PLL without the Megafunction... a bare minimum implementation (1 clock in, 1 clock out). I don't mind configuring a slew of parameters, I just want something that works and I can modify without worrying about the software version I have installed or having to jump between versions.
  Thanks!
  - drbarryh
    Occasional Contributor
    12 days ago
    Good question ! Thanks for asking. I was going to ask that as my next question.
- drbarryh
  Occasional Contributor
  18 days ago
  Hi Richard, thanks very much for trying this out and presenting me with a solution! I will install Quartus 24.1 standard edition and see if i can generate the ALT PLL IP in that version. As you say i could then add that IP to my 25.1 project and try to upgrade it. OR would it be better option to use 24.1 Standard edition. Do you think that might be more stable for MAX10 devices ?
  I have had a lot of trouble trying to install QUARTUS standard edition 25.1 on UBUNTU 24.04 LTS. In fact its just fails miserably and i am not able to run Quartus at all even after the installer says it has installed Quartus 25.1 successfully! It hadn't.... that is another of my active threads how to resolve that problem. Maybe again i will try 24.1 and that might be OK? What a pain though .... the docs say UBUNTU 24.04 LTS is a supported OS....but not for me so far !!
  Thanks,
  Barry
sstrell
Super Contributor
21 days ago
Weird. If you move the parameter editor window around, does it change or does it just keep looking like that? Have you tried a lower resolution for your monitor? The Megawizard is really old and maybe doesn't like a 4K display resolution.
- drbarryh
  Occasional Contributor
  19 days ago
  Hi sstrell, i tried many Graphics card configurations, down to very low res, but nothing works i still see the same messed up GUI for that ALT_PLL IP. All other IP GUIs i have seen so far are fine, its just that one messes up. Strange! I even tried uninstalling and reinstalling QUARTUS Standard edition 25.1 but still i see that messed up GUI for ALT_PLL.
  Have you got any other suggestions ? Its a bit inconvenient NOT being able to configure a clock PLL!
  Thanks, Barry