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zjyoof's avatar
zjyoof
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1 month ago

Recommended Quartus Prime Standard Edition for Nios V Development on MAX 10 FPGA (10M25DAF4817G)

Hi all,
I am developing on a MAX 10 FPGA (specifically, the 10M25DAF4817G) using the Nios V processor. I need advice on the recommended Quartus Prime Standard Edition version for this workflow.Here is my situation and question:

My Target FPGA:​ Intel MAX 10 (10M25DAF4817G).

Reference Design:​ I started with the official: (Introduction • MAX® 10 FPGA - Helloworld on Nios® V/m Processor Design Example • Altera Documentation and Resources Center)

. The documentation for this example states it is validated with Quartus Prime Standard Edition 23.1​.

My Experience:

In Quartus Prime 23.1, I downloaded this example, made my modifications, and successfully got the design to work on my board.However, when I tried to migrate my project to Quartus Prime 25.1​ and followed the same process (specifically, during the "Downloading the Software ELF File" step as per the 3. Hello World on MAX 10 FPGA 10M50 Evaluation Kit • AN 985: Nios V Processor Tutorial • Altera Documentation and Resources Center), I encountered some issues.

[Quartus/Nios V] Nios V processor debug failure: "Could not halt the target: timeout occurred" with Quartus 25.1 generated SOF

Given that the official design example is validated for 23.1, but a newer tool version (25.1) is available:

What is the current community recommendation for the Quartus Prime Standard Edition version for stable Nios V development on MAX 10 FPGAs?Should I stick with 23.1​ as the known stable version for my device family?Is 25.1​ (or another version) now fully supported and recommended? If so, are there any known migration steps or workarounds for the ELF download issue?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

5 Replies

  • tehjingy_Altera's avatar
    tehjingy_Altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor

    hi zjyoof 

     

    For the error you are facing it points to the NiosV is not being brough up.

    Could you check with the command "jtagconfg -n". You would see the NiosV under the list of device.

     

    If you do not see the NiosV there are some steps to check:

    -The System connection in the Platform Designer? Are the Instruction and data of the Nios connected properly?

    -Check if the reset of the NiosV is connected properly. Check if it is constantly being held in reset.

    • zjyoof's avatar
      zjyoof
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor

      Hi,
      Thank you for the detailed guidance. I ran the command as suggested and have attached a screenshot of the output for your reference. Could you please take a look and advise on the next steps based on what you see? I appreciate your help.

       

      • tehjingy_Altera's avatar
        tehjingy_Altera
        Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor

        Hi 

         

        From the screenshot you shared we could see the NiosV is being brought up.

        You could not start downloading you application file (.elf) to the device using the command "niosv-download <path to elf>"

        Once completed you could see the Nios V logs that are output to the jtag uart using the the command "juart-terminal"
        You could refer to the ED on running the HelloWorld in the link :

        https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/design-example/815406/max-10-fpga-helloworld-on-nios-v-m-processor-design-example.html

         

         

        For BSP setting I would suggest you to take a look at the boot method guide in the link:

        https://docs.altera.com/r/docs/726952/25.3/nios-v-embedded-processor-design-handbook/introduction-to-nios-v-processor-booting-methods