quartus_pgm: Programming option E is illegal

[Altera_Forum]

Hello to everyone and sorry for newbie question 

(considering that I don't know too much about Altera FPGA) but I don't find the answer to that error either on Altera documentation or in this forum.  I am trying to dump the flash from a Cyclone III board, precisely Cyclone III EP3C120F48417N and as flash Intel 256P30B, through jtag with quartus_pgm version 13.0sp1 but I always receive the following error: "Error (213002): Programming option E is illegal. Refer to --help for legal programming option combinations." As programmer, I am using an USB-Blaster that works correctly with a Cyclone V.  Search devices in the chain.  Info: Command: quartus_pgm -a Info (213045): Using programming cable "USB-Blaster " 1) USB-Blaster 020F70DD EP3C120/EP4CE115    Try to examine the flash.  Info: Running Quartus II 64-Bit Programmer Info: Command: quartus_pgm --operation=E;smtest.pof;EP3C120 --mode=jtag --no_banner Info (213045): Using programming cable "USB-Blaster " Error (213002): Programming option E is illegal. Refer to --help for legal programming option combinations. Error: Quartus II 64-Bit Programmer was unsuccessful. 1 error, 0 warnings   Any suggestions to avoid that error?  Thank you so much!

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, 

 1. Refer page 79 :https://www.altera.com/content/dam/altera-www/global/en_us/pdfs/literature/manual/tclscriptrefmnl.pdf Check the examples session for syntax.  Also, refer to the previous thread which may help you. https://alteraforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45314 https://alteraforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13696  Maybe Flash is encrypted because of which we are getting this error. Try the examine option from the programmer itself instead of Nios shell.  Best Regards, Anand Raj Shankar (This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)

[JonWay_C_Intel]

OK, im helping out anyone who is facing the same problem who was sure they had the correct CLI command.

If you are getting the error as below. 
Error (213008): Programming option string "“ei" is illegal. Refer to --help for legal programming option formats.

Example: quartus_pgm -c 2 -m jtag -o "ei;device_info.txt;AGFC023R25A" --dev_info

TYPE every character (DO NOT COPY PASTE from document) into the terminal. It seems the terminal interpret the special character differently for the type-in vs copy/paste.

[Fakhrul]

Hi,

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in addressing your Forum queries. Due to an unexpected back-end issue in our system, your Forum cases, along with others, did not get through as intended. As a result, we have a backlog of cases that we are currently working through one by one.

Please be assured that we are doing everything we can to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. However, this process will take some time, and we kindly ask for your patience and understanding during this period. The cases will be attended by AE shortly.

We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we are committed to providing you with the best support possible.

Thank you for your understanding.