Forum Discussion

ElShang's avatar
ElShang
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
1 month ago

Quartus Prime 25.1 installation issue

Hello to the community.

I had some problems while installing Quartus Prime. Though in the end I finally succeeded, maybe someone will point out what I've done wrong.

Here are the steps:

  1. I started installation by executing the setup.bat command file.
  2. Left the configuration all default as well as the installation directory.
  3. The software successfully unpacked the files and started installing the help component.
  4. After a while it reported that it was done by the "Installation Completed" message and full progress bar.
  5. I waited for a while and then forced this window to close. It displayed some error message and quit. 
  6. No further progress was observed after some time, so I killed that process too.

After that I played a little with installation directories, turning on and off the antivirus, but nothing helped. In the end I came up with the following solution:

  1. Again, execute the setup.bat.
  2. Disable help installation.
  3. Wait until come other component reports it's done and do not responding.
  4. Kill that process and see some error window.
  5. Wait until installation is done.
  6. Install the help.

I'm attaching a few screenshots depicting this behavior for the Ashling RiscFree component below.

Though in the end I did obtain the software, it is still quite annoying and time-consuming. Maybe there is some tweak to make it smooth? 

I'm using Windows 10 version 10.0.19045.6466.

Thanks in advance.

4 Replies

  • RichardT_altera's avatar
    RichardT_altera
    Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
    1 month ago

    From your description, it looks like you are installing Quartus Prime using the .tar installation method (setup.bat).
    To better understand the behavior you’re seeing, could you please share:
    -Your system RAM size
    -Available disk space
    -Approximately how long you wait when the installer shows “Not Responding” before manually terminating it?

    Your installation flow is correct: run setup.bat, select the components to install, and allow the process to continue until the installation finishes. Upon successful completion, a GUI window should appear asking whether you would like to create a desktop shortcut.

    In your case, however, the installation becomes unresponsive and appears to hang.

    I have tested this on my side and was able to install the Ashling RiscFree software successfully.


    In some cases, the .tar-based installer can take a longer time to unpack and complete, depending on system performance and storage speed. Even when the UI appears unresponsive, background installation processes may still be running.

    In general, I would recommend using the Quartus installer instead. This installer allows you to select only the components you need and auto install. 
    Important: Please note that there is a known SSL certificate issue affecting the installer. You will need to follow the steps in the KDB article below if you encounter download or installation failures:
    https://community.altera.com/kb/knowledge-base/test-download-failed-with-certificate-error-ssl-certificate-problem-unable-to-ge/351512


    Below are standard troubleshooting steps I usually suggest, which may help identify or resolve the issue:

    1. Before you download and install the software, please check that your machine system met the minimum Hardware and Software Requirements. Ensure that your Operating System is supported. 
    Altera Documentation and Resources Center
    FPGA Operating System (OS) Support

    2. Check that the disk space is sufficient for the installation of the Altera FPGA software.  

    3. If you are running antivirus software, try to temporarily disable the antivirus software during the Quartus Prime software download and installation process.

    4. Install the software with Administrator privileges.  

    5. If installing via .tar, please re‑download the installation package and verify that it is not corrupted (for example, by checking checksums).
    From past experience, copying the .tar file to or from a network drive may corrupt the archive:
    https://community.altera.com/discussions/quartus-prime/quartus-prime-pro-20-1-install-hangs/275314
    6. Try to download and auto install using the new Quartus installer.

    7. Check your OS history update, e.g. to check if the issue happen after some specific Window update.  

    Regards,
    Richard Tan
     

  • ElShang's avatar
    ElShang
    Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
    1 month ago

    Thanks for reply.

    Here are answers to your questions:

    • Your system RAM size — 16GB;
    • Available disk space — total size ~230 GB, after Quartus installation still 120GB free;
    • Approximately how long you wait when the installer shows “Not Responding” before manually terminating it — around 5 minutes, give or take.

     

    >>In some cases, the .tar-based installer can take a longer time to unpack and complete, depending on system performance and storage speed. Even when the UI appears unresponsive, background installation processes may still be running.

    Well, that might be true, of course. I checked for the background activity using the Task Manager, and there was nothing there consuming even a few percent of the CPU.

    >>In general, I would recommend using the Quartus installer instead. This installer allows you to select only the components you need and auto install. 

    Gave it a try also. And immediately met the issue you mentioned below. :-D Quite discouraging!

    ==========

    Also, one more "symptom" I forgot to mention. Every time setup became unresponsive and forcefully terminated, I, of course, had to delete all the garbage before attempting once again. Window's "Add or remove programs" did not mention any Altera or Quartus-related stuff there, so I did the following:

    1. Went directly to the installation directory.
    2. Found an "uninstall" directory, and there was only the help uninstaller .
    3. Executed it, and it completed fine.
    4. Next I tried to manually delete the installation directory, and it failed, reporting that there is a process currently using it.
    5. To fulfill this step I had to reboot the PC completely.

    Maybe it may be a hint, I don't know.

    =========

    >>Below are standard troubleshooting steps I usually suggest, which may help identify or resolve the issue

    Ok, I will take your recommendations into account in the future.

    • RichardT_altera's avatar
      RichardT_altera
      Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
      25 days ago

      Hi ElShang,

      Thanks for the detailed update and for sharing your system info — that really helps.
      Based on what you’ve described, your setup (16 GB RAM, plenty of disk space, supported Windows 10 version) looks perfectly fine, so this doesn’t appear to be a system limitation issue.

      The installer UI can look frozen even though things may still be happening in the background. 
      If the installer gets force‑closed while it’s in this state, Windows may keep file handles open, which would explain why:
      -The install directory couldn’t be deleted
      -A full reboot was needed to clean things up

      I believe you handled the cleanup the right way. When an install doesn’t finish cleanly, it’s expected that nothing shows up in “Add or Remove Programs.” The directory lock strongly suggests something was still running behind the scenes when the installer was terminated.

      For future installs I’d still recommend using the Quartus online installer when possible. It generally gives better progress feedback and avoids a lot of this hanging behavior. You hit the SSL issue right away (unfortunate timing!), but once that’s addressed using the KDB steps, the online installer should be much smoother overall.

      Thanks again for sticking with it and for sharing such a clear write‑up. If you run into any issues now that Quartus is installed and running, feel free to let us know.

      Regards,
      Richard Tan
       

  • ElShang's avatar
    ElShang
    Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
    24 days ago

    Thanks for the feedback. Wish you luck in further product improvements.