bug report: missing chip connection crashes my computer
Heather Dewey-Hagborg
Posts: 7
I have noticed that if there is no serial port/USB connection to the chip and I try to run either the Identify Hardware command or the download to EEPROM command (by mistake) in the propeller software it freezes the program and then my computer if I try to force quit.
FYI I am running windows XP on a 2GHz pentium with 1.5GB of RAM.
-heather
FYI I am running windows XP on a 2GHz pentium with 1.5GB of RAM.
-heather
Comments
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Dave Ratcliff· N6YEE
Post Edited (ratronic) : 6/6/2007 1:00:51 AM GMT
-heather
other thoughts: 1.5GB ram? whle most mobo's will tolerate mismatched ram size and XP doesn't really have a problem w/it either, it's not really the best idea to have a stick of 1GB mixed w/a stick of 512MB, could lead to instabilities, trust me...
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Definetly a E3 (Electronics Engineer Extrodinare!)
"I laugh in the face of imposible,... not because i know it all, ... but because I don't know well enough!"
RinksCustoms, 1.5 could very easily be made up of 2 512's and 2 256's balanced on the channels
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Definetly a E3 (Electronics Engineer Extrodinare!)
"I laugh in the face of imposible,... not because i know it all, ... but because I don't know well enough!"
have you tried rebooting?
maybe reinstall the prop tool?
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
I have had that problem when forgot to close Hyperterminal before going to IDE. I guess I am that sort of guy that just restarts without complaining. Been at it too many years - got used to quirks.
Anyhow. I killed Blutooth and now I have no problems at all. Ok then, some, but not with COM5 and COM6.
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
As some others have already suggested, a much more flexible way would be to allow people to chose the ports they wish to have scanned by the Prop Tool if the automatic scan causes their system to lock up. I really don't think that trying to cater for all the 1000's of device permutations out there is going to work. A blacklist doesn't fix the underlying problem in a fool-proof manner and I can promise you will have the same problem again in a month from when you release the first list when a new device comes out. The blacklist is fine, but please allow for a manual override as well, at least that will cater for the time between blacklist updates so people can use their computer without ripping all sorts of devices out when they want to use their Prop.
Gr,
Mightor
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| What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left.
| "Wait...if that was a compliment, why is my fist of death tingling?"
| - Alice from Dilbert
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
I do that fairly often, the prop tool just says "No propeller chip found........" That's a small pop-up window that may be hidden behind the main window and stopping you from shutting down the prop tool.
I have a 512 meg stick and a one gig stick in this box (2 ghz celeron) and it's stable as a rock.
I really don't like this automatic searching feature of the IDE. Imagine all IDEs would do that, then it were impossible to use more than one chip in parallel (if you program an AVR the Propeller is resetted, if you program the Propeller the AVR is resetted...).
The same happens if you try to work with more than one Propeller and the IDE!
The automatic searching can be usefull for absolute beginners, but after a short time also they know the number of the used COM port. So my suggestions:
- Automatic searching only if you press F7 (identify hardware), and then store the found COM number.
- F10, F11 uses the stored COM number.
- Shift-F10, Shift-F11 ask first for the COM number to use (and store it).
A black-list not solves the problem with more than 1 Propeller, and you have to edit this list every time you install new hardware that makes problems. A White-List would be better, but it must be possible to choose which list-entry is used first for searching.
Cheers
Andy
I'm glad to hear that something is being worked on. I would agree with Ariba that I'd prefer a white list of Comm ports that the IDE is allowed to scan. That way the "default" white list could include say every port from 1-20 so the newbie's won't really know any differ. If the port is on the whitelist and enumerated as available then the IDE does it's autoscan. Advanced users could then use it to select specific ports and even the order that ports are scanned in.
On the other hand, if you're going to use a configuration file it seems pretty trivial to allow it to be either a blacklist or a whitelist. I don't see why it has to be one way or the other. The blacklist is the most consistent with current functionality (so I understand its appeal), but the whitelist fixes the problem 100%.
Thanks,
Chad
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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer
Parallax, Inc.
I did misunderstand your concept of the blacklist. I'm sorry about that. I was under the impression that you meant you would blacklist the actual device IDs (either by USB or PCI ID) which would seem a little convoluted.
The black list is nice, but it would mean the user would have to revisit it when they add a new device like an mp3 player or a pda or something like that. Plus, as mentioned by other peeps, some software packages install virtual com ports for redirects and what have you without you knowing it. A combo of both a whitelist AND blacklist would make *everyone* happy (well, *almost* everyone). You don't need to get rid of the auto scan function, just make it something you can disable and override. For people with a couple of devices that are known to cause insta-death for the computer when the Prop tool tickles them, there is the blacklist. For others who have multiple props, for example, and only want to program a particular one, there is the whitelist system.
Gr,
Mightor
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| What the world needs is more geniuses with humility, there are so few of us left.
| "Wait...if that was a compliment, why is my fist of death tingling?"
| - Alice from Dilbert
I would much prefer a whitelist, with an optional discovery process to scan for new devices. Devices that are found could be selected (or not) for inclusion in the whitelist. Now that the FT232R has become ubiquitous, each with its own serial number — hence, each demanding its own com port — a finite whitelist seems much more manageable than an ever-expanding blacklist.
But beyond that, it would be nice just to specify, for a given job, which single port to use. I don't necessarily want all the devices on my whitelist to be reset every time I upload code. A simple cluster of tiny radio buttons in the taskbar, representing the whitelist, could handle this with grace and ease.
-Phil