Propeller Tool - Write Failure on COM4

ruab · 2008-05-28 04:29

I have been working with a propeller prop board for about a week now with excellent success. I have been working on and downloading various objects from propeller tool with no problems, and everything has been running quite well. Tonight, I added some code to one of my objects, and attempted to download it to the propeller, but was greeted with the following error - "Write Failure on COM4". There is no additional error message, and I do not see an error log anywhere. Upon removing my new code, I was again able to download my objects, and everything ran fine. My program is not terribly large (propeller tool shows 1059 longs of program, 299 longs of variable and 6830 longs of stack/free space), so I cant imagine it is the size of the code.

I tested a variety of different situations including:
Rebooting the propeller (Reset switch and power)
Rebooting the PC
Switching to a different USB port (I had been running off a USB hub, now directly to the machine)
Removing all external propeller connections (I had an LCD, XBee and some One Wire devices attached)
Changing the input voltage to the prop board (had been 7.5V, switched to 6 and 9)

None of these changes had any effect on behavior.

So, I started playing with the code. One I get to a certain number of lines of codes, I get this error. If I add something as simple as the below code to any object, I start getting the write failure. Removing the code them allows to objects to be downloaded again.

repeat 10
  t1 := t1

Has anyone seen this before? I am not done with my program, and hope I have not run into some size or LOC limit. Is there any way to get additional information on what the write failure is?

Thanks,
Jason

Paul Baker · 2008-06-04 16:52

Jason, what is your specific setup? COM4 makes me think you are using a hardware serial port instead of a USB bridge. If you can email me (via the open letter icon under my name) example code where it breaks and where it doesn't break we will have an easier time diagnosing the problem (and your code will be kept confidential). The author of the Tool has a com port parameter tool, but hasn't touched it in a couple years. Once he has made sure the routines in it are up to date I will post it here and have you take a screen shot of it.

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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer

Parallax, Inc.

ruab · 2008-06-04 18:14

Paul,

I will send you an email with the code attached when I am at home tonight.

I am using a USB bridge with the FTDI VCP driver... it is the latest driver from their website (I had previously installed it to connect to an arduino for a different project). I have also tried on a second machine also using the FTDI VCP driver from their website.. I am getting the same error on both machines. The first machine is Vista x64, second machine is XP SP2. I have tried changing USB ports, since it was initially plugged in through a USB hub, but that did not have any effect.

Thanks,
Jason

Paul Baker · 2008-06-04 18:41

Ok if you can follow these directions:

····· 1)······ Run the CheckCOMConfiguration.exe program.
2)······ Click on the Check Ports button (it will fill in the grid with information).
3)······ Click on the Copy To Clipboard button.
4)······ Open a program like Notepad and paste the clipboard contents into it.
5)······ Email Parallax the file that was created in Notepad.

with the attached software, also I will be sending a special version of the Propeller tool via email·which gives a more verbose answer when the error occurs, this second program is a diagnostic version of the tool and not to be distributed.

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Paul Baker
Propeller Applications Engineer

Parallax, Inc.

Post Edited (Paul Baker (Parallax)) : 6/4/2008 6:50:53 PM GMT

Jeff Martin · 2008-06-09 21:29

Hi,

This problem has been fixed in Propeller Tool v1.2; to be released today.

http://www.parallax.com/tabid/442/Default.aspx

It turned out to be a problem caused/exposed by a change in the FTDI VCP drivers (v2.4.6) where the driver behaves differently for large data transfers than it did in the previous version (v2.2.4).··Propeller Tool v1.2 now works with either version of the driver.

Many, many thanks to ruab (Jason) for taking the time to work directly with me and try many variations of code to pinpoint the problem.

Take care,

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--Jeff Martin

· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.

ruab · 2008-06-09 22:55

Thanks again for the updated version, Jeff. It is great to see a company, and a development group that jumps into and resolves issues as quickly and efficiently as you did.

--Jason

Rayman · 2008-06-09 23:20

Looks like getting the "latest drivers" was a mistake!· Perhaps it's better to get the drivers from the Parallax web site...

Jeff Martin · 2008-06-10 15:22

True in this case, but typically it's best to get the latest drivers... I don't want to scare people away from what usually works just fine. [noparse]:)[/noparse]

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--Jeff Martin

· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.

Timmoore · 2008-06-10 16:02

Is there going to be an update to propellent with the same com port fixes? I installed propeller tool 1.2 and now propellent gives com write errors.

Jeff Martin · 2008-06-10 20:15

Timmoore said...
Is there going to be an update to propellent with the same com port fixes? I installed propeller tool 1.2 and now propellent gives com write errors.

Yes, in fact, it was released at the same time.· It can be found right under the Propeller Tool link on the following page:

http://www.parallax.com/tabid/442/Default.aspx

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--Jeff Martin

· Sr. Software Engineer
· Parallax, Inc.

Propeller Tool - Write Failure on COM4

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