How do I install the progammer only?

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I have raised this elsewhere, but I think it should be in it's own thread :)

I know this should be simple but it is driving me slowly mad. I have been using Quartus web package for a couple of years preparing to switch our designs from CPLD to FPGA. We are committed to Altera now, we have working designs and are about to roll product out to our manufaturing plant.

Until now all the protoypes have been programmed here at R+D from my development PC using the USB blaster. No problems with that arrangement.

Clearly I don't want to have to install the whole Quartus 10 package at the factory. Worse still our service engineers are not going to want to download 2 GB of stuff they don't need onto their laptops.

So: Let's try to download and use the Quartus 10 free chip programmer on a XP Sp3 machine that has no previous Altera history. Yes it has downloaded. Yes it starts.

Now it gives me 3 options

a - 30 day demo where you can't actually program a chip (eh??)

b - Connect to the web for a licence (Its supposed to be free, but never mind let's try this option. No, it claims it can't connect to the web)

c - Enter location of your license file.

So it stops right there. If I do run the demo version and ask it for the "Help - About" tab it crashes.

I cleaned up and downloaded it twice. I tried installing it with Sophos switched off. I have tried raising SR but the Altera help bot has spotted I am a newbie and is raising all sorts of problems....

Surely someone else has fallen over this problem??

:mad:

Pete...

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Hi,

did you download the SW of the programmer separately ?

Should be ~ 150 MByte

Kind regards

GPK

Yes, I tried two different methods, the download was 100Mb+ (rather than 2GB) and the install went smoothly. In both cases it gets stuck at this license stage. I tried uninstalling, I tried a windows restore and then downloaded it again. I tried disabling Sophos in case that was part of the problem.

I even tried the command line installer (and boy is that hard work) but I couldn't get it to accept the --programmer command. I am currently downloading the full web package just to prove to myself I can make something work on this other machine. Clearly the full package download isn't the right solution.

I suspect there is a bug somewhere. I guess I could try the programmer only download on another XP machine in cas eit is the PC for some reason, but this is all soaking up a lot of time for what should be a simple job..

Pete

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Yes, I tried two different methods, the download was 100Mb+ (rather than 2GB) and the install went smoothly. In both cases it gets stuck at this license stage. I tried uninstalling, I tried a windows restore and then downloaded it again. I tried disabling Sophos in case that was part of the problem.

I even tried the command line installer (and boy is that hard work) but I couldn't get it to accept the --programmer command. I am currently downloading the full web package just to prove to myself I can make something work on this other machine. Clearly the full package download isn't the right solution.

I suspect there is a bug somewhere. I guess I could try the programmer only download on another XP machine in cas eit is the PC for some reason, but this is all soaking up a lot of time for what should be a simple job..

Pete

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Hi Pete,

you should try the version 9.1, beause it looks like they have changed the installation in version 10.0. Or is there a certain reason for using Quartus 10.0 ?

BTW: I got the same behaviour , that is a bug in the SW.

Kind regards

GPK

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Hi Pete,

maybe you should try the version 9.1, beause it looks like they have changed the installation in version 10.0. Or is there a certain reason for using Quartus 10.0 ?

Kind regards

GPK

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Hi there..

No reason at all for using 10, just that is what's currently available on the Altera web site... In fact I develop on 9.1 and I am quite happy with it.

Is there a way to lay hands on v9.1 programmer only code??

Pete

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Hi there..

No reason at all for using 10, just that is what's currently available on the Altera web site... In fact I develop on 9.1 and I am quite happy with it.

Is there a way to lay hands on v9.1 programmer only code??

Pete

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Hi Pete,

have a look to the Altera ftp site: ftp://ftp.altera.com/outgoing/release/

The connection will be slow, but for the programmer it should be ok.

Kind regards

GPK

Thanks for that, as you say a bit slow but it's on it's way. I will report back...:)

Pete

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Hi Pete,

have a look to the Altera ftp site: ftp://ftp.altera.com/outgoing/release/

The connection will be slow, but for the programmer it should be ok.

Kind regards

GPK

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Excellent!

That is a fix! I downloaded the v9.1 programmer - it installed under XP perfectly and it does exactly what it says on the can. None of the problems I had with the V10 version.

Many thanks.. :)

Pete

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the 10.0 programmer has a bug which makes it require a license. there's a patch available if you file a service request

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here's the patch :)

http://www.altera.com/support/kdb/solutions/rd07132010_779.html