USB Blaster for DE1 board

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, I am new to Altera DE1 board. When I connected DE1 board, "found new hardware" window is not popping up in windows 8.1 computer. What should I do to install USB blaster...???? 

TIA.

[Altera_Forum]

Hi Zeel, 

 Before you begin the installation, verify that the USB-Blaster II driver is located in your directory: \<Quartus Prime system directory>\drivers\usb-blaster-ii.   1. Connect the download cable to your computer’s USB port. When plugged in for the first time, a message appears stating Device driver software was not successfully installed.  2. From the Windows Device Manager, locate Other devices and right-click the top USB-BlasterII 3. On the right-click menu, click Update Driver Software. The Update Driver Software - USB BlasterII dialog appears.  4. Click Browse my computer for driver software to continue.  5. Click Browse… and browse to the location of the driver on your system: \<Quartus Prime system directory>\drivers\usb-blaster-ii. Click OK.  6. Click Next to install the driver.  7. Click Install when asked if you want to install.   Best regards, KhaiQ (This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)

[Altera_Forum]

Hi Thank you for your response. But in Device manager, it shows only "USB Blaster" and nothing like "USB-BlasterII".

[Altera_Forum]

--- Quote Start ---  Hi Thank you for your response. But in Device manager, it shows only "USB Blaster" and nothing like "USB-BlasterII".  --- Quote End ---    In the device manager window, the correct entry under universal serial bus controllers is: altera usb-blaster  The usb blaster ii is the name of the stand alone programming dongle. The rest of the instructions are correct, except for the device manager entry.

[Altera_Forum]

It's not clear which "DE1" board you are talking about. There's an old DE1 (Cyclone II) with embedded USB Blaster and DE1-SoC with USB Blaster II.

[Altera_Forum]

The simplest way to install the USB blaster drivers is actually not through Device Manager. 

 I realised only recently that Quartus does come with an installer package for the drivers, which for some reason doesn't run during the installation process.  Simply run one of the following:  From Powershell:  $env:QUARTUS_ROOTDIR\drivers\DPInst.exe  From CMD: %QUARTUS_ROOTDIR%\drivers\DPInst.exe  From windows explorer, navigate to the directory below and double click on "DPInst.exe" C:\altera\<version number>\quartus\drivers\  That will install the USB Blaster and USB Blaster II drivers such that they will be automatically be used by Windows when you plug in the hardware. You don't have to have the hardware plugged in to install them, so useful for deploying software too.

[Altera_Forum]

Windows 8 imposes strict limitations on driver signing. Because of this, unsigned drivers require extra steps for installation. 

 Win key+C>Settings>More PC settings>General>Advanced Startup>Restart Now>Troubleshoot>Advanced option>Startup Options>Windows Startup Settings>restart. After restarting your computer a second time, choose Disable driver signature enforcement from the list by typing the number 7 on your keyboard.  After restarting, you will be able to install the Blaster drivers normally; however, Windows will display a warning message. When the warning appears, click Install this driver software anyway.  The next time you restart your computer, driver signature enforcement will be in effect again. You will have to repeat this process for any new boards. If you have multiple boards to use with the same computer, we recommend installing the drivers for each one before you shut down or restart your computer.    Best Regards, Tzi Khang, Lim (This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)