Forum Discussion
Intermittent DE10-Standard error starting GDB server with quartus_hps
Hi
What is the Jtag clock frequency that you are using?
Could you try reducing the JtagClock frequency ? Try 16Mhz or 6Mhz.
You could use the command below to change the frequency:
jtagconfig --setparam <cable_index> JtagClock <frequency>
Hello,
Thanks for the reply. It looks like the JtagClockfrequency is set to 24 Mhz by default.
However, when running quartus_hps one of the output lines is "Successfully change hardware frequency to 16Mhz":
quartus_hps --cable="$FPGADEV" -o GDBSERVER --gdbport0=3212 --preloader=/opt/intelFPGA_lite/18.1/University_Program/Monitor_Program/arm_tools/u-boot-spl.de10-standard.srec --preloaderaddr=0xffff14f0
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Info: Processing started: Mon Aug 17 11:30:35 2026
Info: Command: quartus_hps --cable="DE-SoC [1-4]" -o GDBSERVER --gdbport0=3212 --preloader=/opt/intelFPGA_lite/18.1/University_Program/Monitor_Program/arm_tools/u-boot-spl.de10-standard.srec --preloaderaddr=0xffff14f0
Current hardware is: DE-SoC [1-4]
Successfully change hardware frequency to 16Mhz
Found HPS at device 1
Double check JTAG chain
HPS Device IDCODE: 0x4BA00477
AHB Port is located at port 0
APB Port is located at port 1
Double check device identification ...
>>CPU0 halted at 0x2fa4.
>>Resetting HPS.
>>Downloading preloader.......
>>Program loaded. PC set to program entry (0xFFFF0000)
>>Setting vector base address register to: 0xffff0000
>>Running preloader..After the above command is run 'jtagconfig --getparam "DE-SoC [1-4]" JtagClock' then shows the JtagClock is set to 16Mhz until the board is power cycled.
I tested our boards again today, and 2 showed the issue again. I tried power cycling these boards, manually setting the JtagClock with 'jtagconfig --setparam <cable_index> JtagClock <frequency>' to 16Mhz and 6Mhz before running quartus_hps, however the same issue kept persisting. No matter how many times I powered the 2 boards off and on they kept hanging at 'Downloading preloader...' and 'Running preloader...'
I then noticed after powering off the boards I could feel they were quite hot in the general area of the EPM570GF chip. Instead of power cycling the board quickly and trying the test again, I waited 1-2 minutes for the board to cool down. I then tested again and the quartus_hps command ran without issue and the GDB server started successfully.
I will test all the boards over the next few days and see if it's only these few boards which have this problem, or if it shows up intermittently across all devices. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks again.