C3 Problem - FIXED: OS issue
prof_braino
Posts: 4,313
I'm sure its something simple, but its early here. EDIT: It was something simple, but tedious to fix.
My new C3 works fine stand-alone( powered from wall-wart); the TV, VGA, keyboard, SD, diagnostics are run fine.
After disconnecting the power and connecting the USB, I get -
On the PC:
New hardware found - a problem occurred... you may have trouble
On the C3:
The Blue LED comes on
The TX RX green and orange LEDs flicker, then turn off
The TV display comes up, makes the three sounds, and the TV diagnostic comes up
The Red LED for VGA comes on after a second
On the Prop Tool:
Identify hardware only finds the built in COM1 and COM2
Normally, the Prop Tool would display an additional COM3 to COM6 for a USB prop connection.
NOTE: This is the same PC I use for all my prop stuff. Plugging in an UN-powered demo board on the same wire on the same USB port finds COM3; Plugging in a Powered demo board on the same wire on the same USB port finds COM3 and identifies the Prop chip.
What am I doing wrong (aside from starting work before I finish my coffee)?
UPDATE:
This was an old PC running W-XP SP2 not connected to the internet. Although this PC worked fine with other Prop equipment, it did not like the C3 at first. Reinstalling XP and allowing auto updates to SP3 fixed the issue on this and second PC in the lab. The hint was that the C3 worked fine on internet connected computers that undergo automatic updates.
My new C3 works fine stand-alone( powered from wall-wart); the TV, VGA, keyboard, SD, diagnostics are run fine.
After disconnecting the power and connecting the USB, I get -
On the PC:
New hardware found - a problem occurred... you may have trouble
On the C3:
The Blue LED comes on
The TX RX green and orange LEDs flicker, then turn off
The TV display comes up, makes the three sounds, and the TV diagnostic comes up
The Red LED for VGA comes on after a second
On the Prop Tool:
Identify hardware only finds the built in COM1 and COM2
Normally, the Prop Tool would display an additional COM3 to COM6 for a USB prop connection.
NOTE: This is the same PC I use for all my prop stuff. Plugging in an UN-powered demo board on the same wire on the same USB port finds COM3; Plugging in a Powered demo board on the same wire on the same USB port finds COM3 and identifies the Prop chip.
What am I doing wrong (aside from starting work before I finish my coffee)?
UPDATE:
This was an old PC running W-XP SP2 not connected to the internet. Although this PC worked fine with other Prop equipment, it did not like the C3 at first. Reinstalling XP and allowing auto updates to SP3 fixed the issue on this and second PC in the lab. The hint was that the C3 worked fine on internet connected computers that undergo automatic updates.
Comments
Thanks, Ken Gracey
Andre'
Turns out the C3 communicates via USB on the newer ACER Aspire Laptop and the GA-P35-DS3L Desktop machines, I can download spin to EEPROM.
It does NOT work on the ancient K7S5A Desktop. The K7S5A does however recognize and program using the prop demo board, professional development board, and via the prop plug.
The difference I've noticed is that while the other units appear consistently as the same virtual COM port regardless of which USB port is used,
the C3 appears a different virtual COM port (3, 4, 5, and 6) depending on the USB port to which it is connected. The number of the virtual comport increases each time a new USB port is tested, regardless of the physical port.
Does this still indicate a loose USB header, or does the FTDI chip on the C3 behave differently than the other prop boards?
Thanks for your attention on this.
Andre'
It was an OS issue. Both of my development rigs are (were) old sub-giga-hertz desktops on a sequestered network. To increase speed, etc I taken off all the windows XP "features" in SP2 that are not needed when one is not exposed to the internet. I vaguely remember it had been tricky getting the last install to run quick enough to use and still work.
I re-installed windows (it has been nine months since last re-install so it was long overdue anyway). SP2 had the same issue, this time for ALL my prop boards, so I allowed the full automatic updates to SP3. Now, in less than 30 hours, the USB virtual com ports are working properly with only a 50% decrease in usability. I think the actual issue was with MDAC or .NET but I did not bother beating the dead horse further. Perhaps it time to end the charade of "being green" by re-using old PCs.
Andre'