Why does Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera® FPGAs detect Core 0 only in a Nios® V processor multicore system?
Description Due to a problem in the Ashling* RiscFree* IDE for Altera software version 25.2.1 (version dated 9 th May 2025), the Ashling* RiscFree* IDE might fail to detect other Nios ® V processor cores (except Core 0) for Nios ® V processor multicore designs. This is because there is a bug in the Ashling* GDBServer software. Error message: [GDB server output] Error: The device configuration selected has only 1 core (Core 0). Core 1 is not available. Resolution To workaround this issue, please switch from Ashling* GDBServer to Open On-Chip Debugger (OpenOCD) when debugging a Nios ® V multicore processor system. Add the “–o" argument when running niosv-download. niosv-download app.elf -o <options> The problem has been fixed starting with Quartus® Prime Pro Edition software version 25.3.Why are some simulation library files missing when compiling for Questasim*?
Description Due to a problem in Simulation Library Compiler in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software 23.1 and later, you may see some Quartus® Simulation Library source files not included for compilation for Siemens* Questasim* Tool selection. This problem persists on both EDA Simulation Library Compiler GUI and command line versions. This problem only exists in Quartus® Prime Standard Edition and does not affect Quartus® Prime Pro Edition versions. Resolution To work around this problem, follow these steps: 1. Edit file: <QUARTUS INSTALLATION DIRECTORY>/quartus/common/tcl/internal/simlib_comp.tcl 2. Replace: set gl(primary_tool,questasim) questasim With: set gl(primary_tool,questasim) modelsim This problem is scheduled to be fixed in a future release of the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software.Why does the outclk of the ALTCLKCTRL IP remain enabled when using the ENA input in External Path mode?
Description Due to a problem in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 22.1 or earlier, you might see that the output clock of the ALTCLKCTRL IP remains enabled regardless of whether the ENA input is asserted or de‑asserted when using the “External path” mode. This problem occurs because the ENA input port is not used in “External path” mode even if the “Create ‘ena’ port to enable or disable the clock network driven by this buffer” option is selected. Beginning with the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 23.1, the software will generate an error message indicating that the “Create ‘ena’ port” option is unavailable when the “External path” type is selected. Resolution To work around this problem using the ALTCLKCTRL IP with the “External path” mode: Disable the “Create ‘ena’ port to enable or disable the clock network driven by this buffer” option in the Parameter Editor. If you require clock gating, implement the gating logic external to ALTCLKCTRL (for example, gate the source clock or use an alternate supported clock‑control scheme) rather than relying on the ALTCLKCTRL ENA port in “External path” mode.Why does niosv-download return “Invalid reset option” when executing reset from debug module?
Description Due to a problem in the Ashling RiscFree IDE for Altera® software, the niosv-download returns “Invalid reset option” when executing reset from debug module for designs targeting Nios ® V processor. The affected versions are: Software version 25.2.1 (version dated 9 th May 2025, paired with Quartus® Prime Pro software version 25.1.1 and Quartus® Prime Standard software version 25.1) Software version 25.3.1 (version dated 1 st Aug 2025, paired with Quartus® Prime Pro software version 25.3.1) Software version 25.4.1 (version dated 31 st Oct 2025, paired with Quartus® Prime Pro software version 26.1) The problem is caused by Ashling GDBServer failing to execute software reset (swreset), and niosv-download is using Ashling GDBServer to communicate with the processor. Thus, this failure prompts the “Invalid reset option” message when executing “niosv-download –r". Resolution To work around this problem, use the argument “-o” to change from Ashling GDBserver to OpenOCD. $ niosv-download –r -o This problem is fixed beginning with the Ashling RiscFree IDE for Altera® Quartus® software version 26.1.1-C, which is paired with Quartus® Prime Pro software version 26.1.1. Related Articles NIOS V/m dbg_reset_out signal (Q25.1 Std, MAX10) | Altera Community - 352387Why does Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software v24.1 hang and fail to close after using the Programmer?
Description Due to a problem in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 24.1 and later, the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software might become unresponsive and fail to close after running the Quartus® Prime Programmer on Windows* 10 environments. The typical sequence that triggers the hang is: Launch the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software. Launch the Quartus® Prime Programmer from within the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software and complete programming. Close the Quartus® Prime Programmer. Attempt to close the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software. Result: Windows shows “Not Responding” and the application must be forcibly terminated. Resolution To work around this problem in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 24.1, download and install the patch below: This problem is scheduled to be fixed in a future release of the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software.Why does my Quartus® Prime Installation fail with certificate error: SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate (curlcode 60)?
Description Due to a problem in the Quartus® Prime Installer Software, you might see the error message shown below when you click Download & Install. This happens because the certificate bundled with the Quartus® Prime Installer Software is no longer accepted by the Altera® Content Delivery Network (CDN). As a result, secure downloads initiated during the installation process cannot be verified using the outdated certificate. The issue impacts the Installer for the following versions of Quartus software: Operating System Quartus Prime Pro Installer Version(s) Quartus Std/Lite Installer Version(s) Microsoft Windows* 23.3 to 25.3.1 23.1std to 25.1std Linux* 23.3 to 23.4 23.1std The KDB workaround provided below applies to the following versions of Quartus software: Quartus Prime Pro Installer Version(s) Quartus Std/Lite Installer Version(s) KDB workaround applies to 24.3 to 25.3.1 24.1std to 25.1std Note that for all other affected versions not covered by the KDB, you cannot use the installer workaround and must download Quartus software package files individually without using the installer. Separate packages can be found in the Individual Files tab of the Quartus Software Download pages. Resolution To work around this problem, follow these steps: 1. Download and unzip the cacert.zip, which contains the cacert.pem certificate file. 2. Specify the new certificate using one of the following methods: i) Command Line Interface (CLI): Open a command prompt or terminal and run the installer with the--cacert option, pointing to the new certificate file. Windows*: qinst_<version>.exe -sp"--cacert <full path to cacert.pem>" Linux*: qinst_<version>.run -- --cacert <full path to cacert.pem> ii) Graphical User Interface (GUI): - Open the Quartus® Prime Installer, navigate to Settings, locate the CA Certificate Path, and specify the full path to the cacert.pem certificate file. - Then, click Apply > OK. This problem is scheduled to be resolved in a future release of the Quartus® Prime Installer Software.Why I can't open Early Power Estimators (EPE) tool in the latest version of Microsoft* Excel?
Description Due to the legacy design of the Early Power Estimator (EPE) worksheets, which include VBA macros, ActiveX components, and embedded DLL files, errors may occur when opening the Excel file on newer Windows platforms or when using Microsoft* Office 365, in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. When the spreadsheet is opened, several actions occur in the background. Excel extracts the embedded DLLc files to the user's %TEMP% directory. A script then decompresses the DLLc files into standard DLL files. The script subsequently loads and executes the DLL files, which is used by the Excel macros. Why the issue occurs: To extract and execute the required DLL files, the Excel macros rely on a set of commands provided by Microsoft .NET and Microsoft Visual C++ runtime libraries, depending on the specific version of the Excel worksheet. In newer versions of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office 365, these runtime components are no longer bundled together by default, and some legacy functions used by older scripts have been deprecated or replaced with newer implementations. As a result, scripts designed for earlier environments may fail when attempting to call these functions. Note: In some systems, some of these are already installed automatically by other 3rd party software tools during installation. Additionally, the legacy script design does not support symbolic linking or modern handling of the user's %TEMP% directory, which can cause issues when extracting and accessing temporary files. Modern systems also enforce stricter security controls, including: ActiveX restrictions in newer versions of Microsoft Excel Trust Center policies that block code execution from untrusted locations Operating system security policies in Microsoft Windows that may prevent DLL execution from the %TEMP% directory if such restrictions are enabled As a result, if any of these conditions are triggered, users may encounter errors such as “Unable to find or load DLL files.” For example, errors may appear related to the zlib.dll file (the 32-bit or 64-bit version used depends on the installed Excel architecture). Resolution To workaround this issue PART A: Unblocking the Excel and Enable Macros/ActiveX 1. Unblock the Excel File • Right-click the EPE Excel file → Properties → Check Unblock under Security. • Click Apply → OK. 2. Enable Macros and ActiveX • Open Excel → File → Options → Trust Center → Trust Center Settings: Enable Macros. Enable ActiveX controls. Leave other settings as default (Safe Mode can remain enabled or disabled). 3. Check whether you can now open the EPE excel sheet. Else proceed to PART B. PART B: Installing the necessary Microsoft .NET and Visual C++ runtime libraries. Microsoft .NET installation Go to your Installed apps settings and find for .NET. It is recommended to have both .NET Runtime and ASP .NET installed in your system. If you already have a version installed on your machine then proceed to the next step( you only require 1 version each), otherwise refer to this location to download Download .NET 8.0 (Linux, macOS, and Windows) | .NET Example: Microsoft Visual C++ Installation As different EPE Excel sheet relies on specific Visual C++ version, you will need to install multiple versions of Visual C++ for both 32bit and 64bit. This is because even though Excel is running on 64bit, existing scripting might have dependency on 32bit functions as well. Recommendation to install C++ version for both 32 bit and 64 bit as below Latest Supported Visual C++ Redistributable Downloads Visual Studio 2017-2026 Visual Studio 2015 (in older Microsoft release, it might show as C++ V14 or 2015-2022 version) Visual Studio 2013 Visual Studio 2012 Example After installing both 32 bit and 64 bit, do restart the system and then try launching the EPE excel sheet again. In some rare occurrences, you might need to install Visual Studio C++ 2010 , Visual Studio C++ 2008 and Visual Studio C++ 2005. Do refer to PART C first as the issue might not be due to Visual C++ but symbolic link. PART C: Symbolic Link issue workaround (optional) If installing the .NET and Visual C++ runtime libraries still does not help in resolving the error opening EPE Excel, you should check whether your %TEMP% file folder is the same as what reported in the error when opening the EPE excel sheet. If the folder path are different between %TEMP% and the path reported by Excel sheet, it means that they are using symbolic link folder. In this case user should copy the .dll files generated out from the %TEMP% when they opened the excel sheet and copy it over to the Windows SySWoW folder (%windir%\SysWOW64). To access your %TEMP% folder , just type %TEMP% into your explorer and it will open your folder location (%TEMP% is set in windows environment variables) From the %TEMP% folder, there are multiple *epe* DLL files if you open different EPE excel sheets. Copy all of these .DLL files into your Windows SysWOW64 folder and try launching the EPE excel sheet again. Example, if using Cyclone® V EPE excel sheet, these are the 4 files required in red box in %TEMP% to be copied over NOTE 1: The SysWOW64 folder is selected because it is part of Windows’ default search locations when required DLL files cannot be found. Alternatively, you can add a custom directory to the Windows Environment Variables (PATH) so that Windows will also search that folder when looking for the DLL files. NOTE 2: Adding the %TEMP% folder into the system environment variables will not have any effect as latest Microsoft Windows have blocked the DLL searching mechanism to prevent search %TEMP% folder as part of the security to prevent remote execution from DLL. Additional Information If all fails, alternatively install Process Monitor from Microsoft to analyze the DLL failure/error 1. Download Process Monitor from this location Process Monitor - Sysinternals 2. Close all excel sheets that is open in Windows. 3. Launch the Process Monitor , then select Filter. Set to Process Name and EXCEL.exe and click Add. 4. After adding the filter, ensure that capturing is started 5. Then open any of the EPE excel file,and wait till you get the DLL (eg. epe_zlib_32bit.dll) error then press pause on the Process Monitor. 6. Then use Find and search for the dll error stated in the excel(eg. epe_zlib_32bit.dll) It will give you a list of things, but important is to check the details on createfile, open, close , query, those are the functions that are in the zlib dll file. Example Good case scenario where no error occurred. Fail case scenario where Windows unable to locate the DLL (due to symbolic link issue)Why does the text overlap in the ALTPLL IP Parameter Editor?
Description Due to a problem in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 25.1, you might see that the text overlaps in the ALTPLL IP Parameter Editor on the Windows* Operating System. This prevents the ALTPLL IP from being instantiated. This problem does not occur in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 24.1 and earlier. Resolution To work around this problem in the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 25.1, download and install the patch below: This problem is scheduled to be resolved in a future release of the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software.
Why do I get a fatal error when creating an ALTPLL IP?
Description Due to a problem in the Quartus® Standard Edition Software version 23.1, you might see a fatal error when creating an ALTPLL IP Using the MegaWizard Plug-In Manager. Resolution To work around this problem, download and install the patches below for the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software version 23.1 Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software v23.1 Patch 0.02std for Windows (.exe) Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software v23.1 Patch 0.02std for Linux (.run) Readme for Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software v23.1 Patch 0.02std (.txt) This problem is scheduled to be fixed in a future release of the Quartus® Prime Standard Edition Software.Error: altgx_internal: error copying "../ip/altera/ip_compiler_for_pci_express/lib/altpcie_serdes_3cgx_x1d_gen1_08p.v": no such file or directory
Description Due to a problem in the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software version 22.3, the Triple-Speed Ethernet Intel® FPGA IP simulation fail for Multiport Design Example in various simulators with the error message as shown below. VCS* simulator Error-[DECSPE] Decryption failed basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs.sv, 23 Error while decrypting source file Failed to load key needed to decrypt data_block. No key_block found for VCS. Please use vcs RSA public key and pragma expressions to identify the keyblock mentioned in vcs documentation while encrypting to be able to decrypt with vcs. "basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs.sv", 23 2. Xcelium* simulator xmvlog: *F,DECERR (./basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs_nc.sv,22|26): Error while decrypting : unable to load key :(invalid/blank keyOwner/KeyName (file ),may be wrong key is used for encryption/decryption ). xmelab(64): 21.09-s003: (c) Copyright 1995-2021 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. xmelab: *E,NOUNIT: Unable to find a unit named 'basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs_nc' in the libraries. xmsim(64): 21.09-s003: (c) Copyright 1995-2021 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. xmsim: *F,NOSNAP: Snapshot 'basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs_nc' does not exist in the libraries. 3. Questasim* simulator ** Error: (vlog-13069) ./basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs_msim.sv(23): syntax error in protected region. ** Error: ./basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs_msim.sv(23): (vlog-13205) Syntax error found in the scope following '<protected>'. Is there a missing '::'? End time: 16:35:05 on Oct 21,2022, Elapsed time: 0:00:00 Errors: 2, Warnings: 0 ** Error: /nfs/site/disks/psg_eda_3/mentor/modelsim_se/2022.2/linux64/linux_x86_64/vlog failed. Error in macro ./run_vsim_mac_pcs.do line 69 /nfs/site/disks/psg_eda_3/mentor/modelsim_se/2022.2/linux64/linux_x86_64/vlog failed. while executing "vlog +acc ./basic_avl_tb_top_mac_pcs_msim.sv" Resolution A patch is available to fix this problem for the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software version 22.3. Download and install patch 0.15 from the appropriate link below. Download patch 0.15 for Windows (Quartus-22.3-0.15-windows.exe) Download patch 0.15 for Linux (Quartus-22.3-0.15-linux.run) Download the Readme for patch 0.15 (Quartus-22.3-0.15-readme.txt) This problem is fixed in version 22.4 of the Intel® Quartus® Prime Pro Edition Software.
