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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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8 years ago

"Unknown Device" (DE0-nano) No USB connection

Hello everyone,

I am using the DE0-nano development board from terasIC. It uses the Cyclone V with a dual-core ARM Cortex –A9 processor. For programming I use Quartus Prime 16.1.2 Lite Edition.

I successfully was using the the usb JTAG-chain to program the FPGA. However, since my last programming the JTAG-Chain is not working anymore. Windows 7 does not recognize my development board no more.

Changing the usb-wire, usb-port of the PC, PC itself does not help. I also tried to reinstall the usb-driver on my computer. Unfortunately this is not possible since the Windows Device Manager does not get the Device ID. So the device is just “unknown” for Windows.

The uploaded FPGA configuration is successfully loaded into the FPGA. The corresponding LED10 (CONF_DONE) is illuminated. So both, the HPS and the FPGA is running correctly.

The development-board of my coworker is recognized by my computer. Thus, the problem comes from the development-board itself. Apparently it just does not provide the Device ID anymore.

Did anyone encounter such problems before and do you have suggestions how to fix the problem?

Kind regards

Benny

5 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    I've not encountered such issue before, but perhaps you should contact Terasic (if your warranty is still valid) and discuss about potential RMA. Sounds like the built-in USB Blaster II chip (the one that interfaces with the programmer) may have issues. However, you can still use the HPS to program your FPGA - perhaps this could be still helpful in case you need to change different FPGA configuration files in the meantime.

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    Hello sunshine,

    Thanks for your advice. However i really need to get the JTAG-chain running again, since I want to use the debug-function.

    Do you know where I can find a reference design/example on how to configure the FPGA via the HPS?

    Best regards

    Benny
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Hello sunshine,

    Thanks for your advice. However i really need to get the JTAG-chain running again, since I want to use the debug-function.

    Do you know where I can find a reference design/example on how to configure the FPGA via the HPS?

    Best regards

    Benny

    --- Quote End ---

    The easiest way to do this is:

    1. Get the SDCard Image for Atlas SoC here (it is the same board as De0-Nano-SoC): https://rocketboards.org/foswiki/documentation/atlassocsdcardimage

    2. Burn the image on an SDCard, then insert the card to your PC. You will find an rbf file in the FAT partition. This is the FPGA configuration image. Replace this rbf file with the one that you generate from Quartus.

    3. Insert the SDCard on your board. Configure MSEL so that it is set to FPPx16. Power up the board

    4. Connect UART, you should see from the boot up message that the FPGA has been configured with the rbf that you generated.

    Caution - I assume you do not need any interaction between the HPS-FPGA. This may break since the original rbf and yours could be different in terms of the settings, etc.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    8 years ago

    Hello again,

    The issue described above occurred again with my new DE0-nano-Board: I was programming several times the FPGA via the USB-JTAG-chain successfully and without fault. However since my last successful programming of the FPGA, the device is not recognized the Windows Device Manager.

    I was using and programming the SoC-nano for several weeks with an old computer (using a USB 2-port) without any problems. The fault of the USB-connection never occurred to me. However since I am using my new Notebook equipped with USB 3, the USB-JTAG-chain connection broke twice in two weeks. Apparently the USB-Microcontroller on the board is busted since this component installs the USB-Device to my computer-which now does not happen anymore. I checked the voltages on my DE0-nano board. They all have the expected values. Also when I power up the board no voltage-overshoots occur. So the only way to destroy my USB-Microcontroller is via the differential data-input (D+ & D-) of the USB-interface.

    From the physical Mini-USB-B port the only connection to the USB-Controller is the differential usb-data-signal. This differential signal is limited with a voltage protection device in parallel. As well the protection device and the USB-Controller are now broken.

    Since changing the programming-device from my Computer (USB 2) to a new Notebook (docking station with USB 3) is the only thing I changed since my USB-connection to the Board is corrupted, I suspect the new USB 3-port is the source of fault.

    So this is what I think happened: When programming the FPGA via the USB 3 port of my docking station voltage overshoots of the differential signal occured. After some programming the protection device is burst. So with the next voltage overshoot the USB-Controller broke as well.

    I checked the voltage level of the USB3 Port. Its value of 5,07V is normal.

    Does anyone programme his DE0-nano board via an USB3 port and is also encountering issues with the Mini USB-B port?