MX4 Will Not Upgrade Firmware

[MarkWalsh]

I just bought a new MX4 board ( chipKIT™Pro MX4 460512L) and I am trying to program the board using MPLAB and it compiles the program, displays the firmware version as 0.00.0* and then says it is downloading a new firmware version for the debugger.  It then resets the USB connection and then fails to update the firmware or load the program.  I have another board that has 3.14.1 version of the firmware that loads programs and debugs just fine, but this new board will not do that.  I have attempted the downloaded programs from the Digilent site and even the bootloader, all with the exact same problem. I have a project due soon so I am very frustrated that I cannot program this board.  Please help.

[JColvin]

Hi MarkWalsh,

Unfortunately, I do not personally know the answer to what you are experiencing, but I have asked some of our applications engineers about this; they'll get back to you here on the forum.

Thanks,
JColvin

[TommyK]

Hi MarkWalsh,

I have never seen this happen before, so I'm sorry you're having such a tough time getting your MX4 to work. Could you verify your jumper settings? I'm not sure why the board is disconnecting. Do you have any other devices connected at the same time? Have you tried this on another computer? Have you tried programming it using the MPLAB IPE?

Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this...

[MarkWalsh]

The jumper settings are: Power - DBG, JP8, J16, J3, J4 - Jumped, all other not jumped

No external connections other than USB to debug port

I have used both IPE and IDE both with the exact same problem

The programming screen says:

Connecting to MPLAB Licensed Debugger...

Currently loaded firmware on Licensed Debugger
Firmware Suite Version.....00.00.00 *
Firmware type..............unknown

<prod>CerebotMX4ck by <man>Digilent

Then says downloading new firmware, followed by the USB resetting.  Next attempt does the same thing.  I have hooked up external power as well as debug, same result.  It does not matter what the program I am loading is (bootloader or other compiled programs).

 

I have tried this on another computer with the same results.  Also no other USB devices connected (as well as no modules connected to the board).

[TommyK]

Hi Mark,

It sounds like the firmware for the programmer has been flashed, which is very unusual. If the bootloader is still on there you'll still be able to program it using MPIDE. Unfortunately we can only fix this in house. I'll message you so we can begin to process an RMA request.

 

Tommy