Forum Discussion
Occasional ContributorAltera USB Blaster problems, findings and sources.
Hello Aqid,
I have checked out the links you provided. They were helpful up to a point in that the problem is a bit more defined now: expired certificates. It is likely that if I install Quartus 21 with the patch that the driver will work. I've noted that version 21 no longer has MultiSim, at least not by that name, so I stuck to 20.1.1.
I do have more useful information though. And that is that I had installed Quartus 13.1 once more, to be exact, version 13.1.0.162.
I then proceeded to install the USB Blaster, which installed successfully. And so I can now confirm that the USB Blaster driver with the aforementioned version works.
However, since the installation problems for the newer Quartus versions pertain to expired certificates, I went to see what the certificate information was for the driver supplied with Quartus 13. The information said the certificate was supplied by VeriSign to Delaware Altera. And not just that, also the dates: Valid from 6/28/2011 to 8/24/2012. So this looks like an expired certification also. And yet it works.
You will find 2 attachments: The certificate properties screenshot for this driver and a zipfile containing this driver.
Since I can get around with this driver and still use Quartus 20.1.1.720 with MultiSim, this is what I'll keep using for now.
Hope this helps with future driver releases.
Regular ContributorAll I can say is that this a a technical support forum for Intel/Altera FPGA/CPLD devices and related software.
Conspiracy theories belong on Reddit or 4chan I believe.
LOL.
BTW I have never had an Altera USB Blaster driver issue on either WinXP, Win7 or now Win10.
CycloneII, CycloneIV, CycloneV, Max7K, MaxII parts on boards.
Never had an issue.
PS: I hope your home office is a faraday cage and you have no internet connectivity to the outside world.
I think this would solve all your problems.
Arno-NL@ak6dn I would like to thank you for adding a valuable data point to the dataset about what works (or not) on what OS, further proving my view on the software side of things.
Furthermore, three things: What do you not understand about "first hand experience"? And the other is a simple statement: Criminals Conspire, Period. I believe I should not be asking reddit about Quartus and Altera related product issues.
As for my home appartment? These are post-war modern concrete buildings with metal grids in the side, bottom and top walls. So yes we already live in faraday cages (to low frequencies) at courtesy of TPTB.
@Farabi Thank yo ufor your answer. I have been using Windows 10 since 2015 and windows 7 back in 2009. On windows 7 I used Quartus 7 and its sub versions; from 2015 and on Quartus 18 and up and its subversions. On some of these combinations the driver installed just fine and at other times, like recently with Quartus 20.1.1.720 on a new fresh up-to-date Windows 10 install no longer.
My opening post contains the actual analysis surrounding this hit-and-miss working of a mundane driver installation that under all common sensible circumstances should work any time, any day on any supported combination.
As far as the locking up fitter in my LPDDR2 project goes, I'll make a separate post for that.
Arno.
