Solution: USB Blaster Driver for Windows 11 ARM

[mcmaster_ece]

Reddit user Space192 and I found a driver solution for the USB Blaster on Windows 11 ARM. It has been tested on Windows 11 ARM Parallels for M1/M2 Macs and also on a Raspberry Pi 4. The solution is to use the FTDI ARM64 .SYS file with the Quartus USB Blaster x64 .DLL files.

To install the attached driver without disabling signature enforcement and enabling test mode, first add the security certificate to Trusted Root Certification Authorities as well as Trusted Publishers.

Enjoy!

[Farabi]

Hello,

Thanks for the information sharing ! I will try to put this into our KDB(knowledge database) so everyone can get this information.

regards,

Farabi

[Ceniza]

Thanks for sharing! This is exactly what I was looking for today. However, the driver cannot be installed.

I added the certificate, and I did check that it was installed in the right places. I get the error message "A certificate chain processed, but terminated in a root certificate which is not trusted by the trust provider."

[mcmaster_ece]

Try adding the certificate to the Local Machine certificate store locations. I had a problem using the Current User certificate store locations.

[Ceniza]

That's where I installed the certificate and checked for it. I ended up disabling signature enforcement. I still need to actually test it, but it does show up properly when connecting the USB Blaster.

With signature enforcement disabled I even managed to install it with the latest version of the DLLs. It's just too bad the RNDIS driver for the DE10-nano isn't available for ARM, but it does work through the ethernet port.

Thanks again for making this information available!

[Ceniza]

I tried to install the original drivers on a Windows 11 Intel 64 bits, and I did get the same error message. It looks like the problem lies somewhere else. I did have to disable signature enforcement on that machine too in order to install the drivers.

It was a freshly installed Windows 11, latest version.

[Ceniza]

I also have an update for those with an USB Blaster II (such as the one integrated into the de10-nano).

The Intel 64 bits drivers can be installed in an ARM 64 bits version of Windows, but you will have to modify the INF file and disable signature enforcement.

1. Make a copy of the folder with the drivers to some location you can freely modify (the drivers reside in "C:\intelFPGA_lite\22.1std\quartus\drivers\usb-blaster-ii" for my installation)
2. Open the folder you just copied, then open usbblasterii.inf with Notepad (if you don't see extensions, it's the one with type "Setup Information")
3. Replace the line "CatalogFile=usbblasterii.cat" with ";CatalogFile=usbblasterii.cat" (it's just adding a semicolon at the beginning of that line to disable it)
4. Replace all occurrences of the text "amd64" with "arm64" (this also includes replacing "NTamd64" with "NTarm64")
5. Save the file
6. Be sure Windows is started up with signature enforcement disabled
   1. Go to Settings > System > Recovery
   2. Click on "Restart now" by Advanced startup
   3. Confirm Restart now
   4. Select "Troubleshoot"
   5. Select "Advanced options"
   6. Select "Startup Settings"
   7. Select "Restart"
   8. Press "7" for "Disable driver signature enforcement"
7. Open Device manager
8. Right click on the unknown device
9. Select "Update driver"
10. Choose "Browse my computer for drivers"
11. Click "Browse..." and select the folder with the modified version of usbblasterii.inf
12. Click Next
13. Choose "Install this driver software anyway"

Quartus Programmer should now be able to connect to the device.

[15551]

Thank you, I was able to install the driver, but the Quartus does not see the USB Blaster. How to solve this problem?

[Ceniza]

You need to select it in Hardware Setup…

If it still doesn’t show up, then double check in Device Manager that the USB Blaster is detected and not missing a driver.

I can only confirm that it worked with a de10-nano by following the steps in the guide to test their first FPGA example.

[twister1398]

Thank you for this solution. I can confirm that I was able to use the USB Blaster II after installing the driver as you described.

[15551]

I checked that the USB blaster is displayed in the device manager, the drivers are installed, and the event log indicates that the device is working. But there is no USB blaster in the Quartus hardware setup. Could the reason be that I bought the blaster on Aliexpress?

[mcmaster_ece]

This seems like a software incompatibility. Which version of Quartus are you using? I've only tested this with 22.1, but 19.1 through 23.3 appear to share the same x64 DLL files.

Versions 17.0 and 18.0 share a different set of x64 DLL files, which I have confirmed to also work with the FTDI ARM64 SYS file. A self-signed driver for these versions is attached to this message.

Quartus 13.1 has yet another version of x64 DLL files.

Quartus 14.0 through 16.0 appear to have been removed from the download center.

[15551]

I'm using 21.1. I checked the work with the DE-1 Soc board which works with usb blaster ii. Quartus detects usb blaster ii, everything works fine. Apparently the usb blaster clone from Aliexpress does not work correctly. Thanks for help.

[mcmaster_ece · Accepted solution]

The USB Blaster driver attached to my original post should work for Quartus 19.1 through 23.3 on Windows 11 ARM.

I've attached proven drivers for Quartus 17 through 18, Quartus 13, and Quartus 9. To install a driver without disabling signature enforcement, first add the security certificate to (Local Machine) Trusted Root Certification Authorities as well as (Local Machine) Trusted Publishers.

If you have a version of Quartus not listed, the ARM driver version with DLL file sizes matching those found in \quartus\drivers\usb-blaster\x64\ should work. If there is no match, replacing the DLL files of any ARM driver version and disabling driver signature enforcement should work.

[dvirc]

After trying every solution suggested in the replies and disabling the signature enforcement, I've decided to go one by one and install all the drivers manually by right-clicking the usbblstr.inf file and manually install and authorize it by overriding system protection. After doing that the device manager started identify the device and I'm now able to use it with the 23.1 programmer. 
Thank you everyone!

[joxheaf21]

What certificate am I supposed to add? I tried with the included usbblstr.cer but  windows still complains when I install the driver:

from the c:\windows\inf\setupapi.dev.log

Error 0x800b0109: A certificate chain processed, but terminated in a root certificate which is not trusted by the trust provider

[twister1398]

I could not get the certificate to work. Instead, I booted Windows with disabled certificate checking. Follow the instructions provided by community.intel.com/t5/Programmable-Devices/Solution-USB-Blaster-Driver-for-Windows-11-ARM/m-p/1542318#M93417