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lkarp1's avatar
lkarp1
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
27 days ago

USB Blaster II Problem

Hello, I’m having a persistent issue with my USB-Blaster II programmer. No matter what I try, the programmer is detected only as a USB-Blaster variant, without the TCK speed option, and it does not...
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ChrisR_Altera's avatar
ChrisR_Altera
Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
26 days ago

From your update, does that mean it is now working as expected (no workarounds needed)?

  • lkarp1's avatar
    lkarp1
    Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
    22 days ago

    For a moment, it worked - I was able to unplug and plug it back in successfully. But now the same problem has returned.

    Starting and stopping jtagserver is only a workaround, but I can live with it for now.

    • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
      FakhrulA_altera
      Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
      15 days ago

      Hi lkarp1,
       
      Thank you for the update.

      Based on similar reports, this behavior can happen when the USB-Blaster II is plugged in while jtagserver.exe is already running. In that case, the cable may appear as "USB-Blaster variant" and the TCK frequency field is not available. A known workaround is to stop jtagserver.exe first, then plug in the cable, and open Programmer again. [1](https://community.altera.com/discussions/quartus-prime/usb-blasterii-mounts-as-usb-blaster-variant/337405)[2](https://www.intel.com/programmable/technical-pdfs/683039.pdf)

      Please also check the following:
      1. In Device Manager, confirm the driver is installed from:
      <Quartus installation>\drivers\usb-blaster-ii
      2. Set the Altera JTAG Server service to Manual, or reinstall the JTAG server from the Quartus version you are using with:
      jtagserver --uninstall
      jtagserver --install

      3. Try using the standalone Quartus Programmer or the latest available programmer package for your flow, so the driver and jtagserver versions match. (https://community.altera.com/discussions/quartus-prime/usb-blasterii-mounts-as-usb-blaster-variant/337405)(https://community.altera.com/discussions/boards-and-dev-kits/instructions-for-driver-installation-usb-blaster-iii-step-1-/89496)

      Since the cable works on other machines, this points more to a host-side driver or service issue on this PC rather than a hardware issue with the programmer itself. (https://community.altera.com/discussions/quartus-prime/usb-blasterii-mounts-as-usb-blaster-variant/337405)

      If the issue still persists, please share:
      - Quartus edition and version
      - Windows version
      - Output of jtagconfig when the cable shows as "USB-Blaster variant"

      Regards,
      Fakhrul

    • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
      FakhrulA_altera
      Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
      11 days ago

      As we haven't received a response to our previous notification, this thread will be transitioned to community support. We hope all your concerns have been addressed. If you have any new questions, please feel free to open a new thread to receive support from Altera experts. Otherwise, community users will continue to assist you here. Thank you.