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Windows 10 driver support for USB Blaster ?

Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
103,786 Views

In reviewing the drivers download page it appears there are NO drivers for Windows 10 for the USB based Blaster programmer cables. 

 

Is this really true ?
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36 Replies
twboy
Beginner
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TDDD
Beginner
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
24,433 Views

Hi All, 

So I am doing development on two different PCs, using the same target and USB Blaster 2. One PC is win 7 the other win 10. The win 7 PC worked fine. Today I am using the Win 10 PC and have run into problems. 

 

When I first tried programming, Quartus didn't find the USB blaster. I checked device manager and the driver hadn't installed, so I did a driver update from device manager and pointed to the IntelFPGA_lite directory and the driver correctly installed and *appeared* to operate correctly. However, in-spite of going through the motions and "looking" like it is working, it is not programming my target board. My target board is using the MAX10M50SCE144. 

 

When I program, the CONF_DONE output goes tri-state for a short while, about a second, then lights again. I am using a new design that successfully compiles and an older design from the Win 7 PC that loads and runs OK under win 7 with the same USB blaster 2. 

 

Any thoughts? 

 

 

Thanks, 

Scott
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

Here's an update to yesterday's post. It isn't the USB blaster or the PC driver that is the problem. Yesterday I made a hardware change that has affected the MAX 10's auxiliary programming pins. Immediately after programming completes, configuration is reactivated by signal activity on nCONFIG.

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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

Hi all- 

 

Having similar issues. I followed the excellent instructions from the March 1st post and (as far as I can tell) disabled driver signature enforcement. However, when updating the driver windows comes back and reports that the best drivers are already installed. Also, my initial symptoms were slightly different. When the cable was attached to the DE10-standard board, windows automatically installed a driver for USB Serial Port (COM4) instead of showing it as an "unknown device". Can anyone provide additional help? 

 

Thanks
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

Hi, 

 

Right click on "unknown device"->UPdate Driver Software->Browser to the Quartus installation directory ("C:\intelFPGA\17.0\quartus\drivers\usb-blaster")->click next. 

If it does not solve the problem  

try previous post by garypace. 

Or  

Reinstall the Quartus tool. 

 

Let me know if this has helped resolve the issue you are facing or if you need any further assistance. 

 

Best Regards, 

Anand Raj Shankar 

(This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

 

--- Quote Start ---  

Hi, 

 

Right click on "unknown device"->UPdate Driver Software->Browser to the Quartus installation directory ("C:\intelFPGA\17.0\quartus\drivers\usb-blaster")->click next. 

If it does not solve the problem  

try previous post by garypace. 

Or  

Reinstall the Quartus tool. 

 

Let me know if this has helped resolve the issue you are facing or if you need any further assistance. 

 

Best Regards, 

Anand Raj Shankar 

(This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation) 

--- Quote End ---  

 

 

Hi Anand- 

 

Thanks for replying. The connection does not show up as "unkown device". Instead it shows up as a fully configured "USB Serial Port (COM4)". Could this be a part of the problem? Windows does not change the driver after: 

 

UPdate Driver Software->Browser to the Quartus installation directory ("C:\intelFPGA\17.0\quartus\drivers\usb-blaster")->click next. 

 

Thanks, 

-J
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

Hi, 

 

Have you connected the Blaster to right header/port(jtag) on your board? 

Which Dev Kit are you using? 

 

Best Regards, 

Anand Raj Shankar 

(This message was posted on behalf of Intel Corporation)
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

Hi Anand- 

 

The confusion is on my part. I thought it was possible to download to the DE10-standard (terasic) via the USB connector... of course this explains why windows shows it as a usb com port... because it is. I may end up purchasing the USB-Blaster cable. I'll have to see how far I can get w/o it setting up configurations via the HPS. 

 

Thanks so much for your prompt replies. It is nice to know I will not be left hanging even for minor issues like this one. 

 

-J
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Altera_Forum
Honored Contributor II
22,926 Views

Anand- 

 

Ok, I think I've finally got it. The Jtag cable can be used for configuration. Everything is running. 

 

-J
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zhang297
Employee
5,036 Views

In case anybody else is still struggling with this, the page below has a link to the update driver.

https://www.intel.com/content/altera-www/global/en_us/index/support/support-resources/knowledge-base/tools/2021/why-does-the-intel--fpga-download-cable-ii-driver-installation-f.html

The driver in the latest 20.1.1 download is sadly still broken. I just tried today...

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twboy
Beginner
4,737 Views
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sickle
Beginner
4,699 Views

Unsigned drivers in 2021, from Intel? Poor form.

I managed to get them installed on 20H2 (19042) 64 bit by:

- downloading TScho16's linked drivers
- windows complains that a file is missing
- so copy in the files from the quartus 20.1\drivers\usb blaster\ folder
- *skip* conflicts
- point windows at the merged folder

Your mileage may vary.

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jensk
Beginner
4,478 Views

Can anyone tell how to get USB Blaster drivers working with Terasic DE10-Nano on Windows 10? This board has a USB product ID of 6810, which seem to be listed in the .INF file of the newer, unsigned drivers. The old, signed drivers can install, but does not list product ID 6810 in the .INF file, so Windows will not use it for the DE10-Nano.
I'm at a loss, and I cannot believe this is Intel's standard.

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jensk
Beginner
4,471 Views

Finally got it working - in new Windows 10 versions you have to reboot into troubleshooting mode to disable check of driver signing. This way I could install the drivers from Quartus Prime Light 21.1 drivers, which recognize the DE10-Nano. Like so:
https://support.viewsonic.com/en/support/solutions/articles/33000252416-how-to-install-unsigned-drivers-in-windows-10
Wonder if we will ever get this working with Windows 11?

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Sudhamshu_B_N
Novice
3,799 Views
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