CMOD A7 Cable Problem, 5 Action Ideas - Please Comment

[gentlemanJack]

 I have been trying to start my Cmod A7 today.  Ran into this cable driver problem.  Lots of discussions about it on the Diligent forums over maybe 3 or 4 years.  My Vivado is 2017.4, Windows 10 64-bit.  I went thru the "Getting Started with Vivado" tutorial, got the needed files, no problems with anything, generated a bitstream and …. when I tried to auto-connect with the Hardware Manager (by hitting "Open Target") It shows localhost(0) is Connected, but it also says:  'No hardware target is open' and "Program Device" in the Flow Navigator is still grayed-out.

And yes, I tried 4 different microUSB cables, including a 1 foot long.  My CmodA7 out of the box has the "DONE" light on, and the pushbuttons change the LED[2:0} indicating that the CmodA7 has a program already in it.

I read that some people install Adept 2.  I ran install_digilent.exe which I found under C:\XilinxFull\Vivado\2017.4\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64\digilent and it says I am up-to-date in a window that says "Digilent Adept Runtime Setup".

I also read about windrvr6.inf and xusbdrv.inf being a problem for Vivado Versions 2017.4 and 2018.2.  I see them under dlc10_win7 (which contains 18 files) but not under dlc10_vin10 (which only has 3 files)

I did run install_drivers_wrapper.bat as described in the forum: https://www.xilinx.com/support/answers/59128.html, running the cmd window as admin, moving the prompt to C:\Xilinx\Vivado\2017.4\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64
install_drivers_wrapper.bat C:\Xilinx\Vivado\2017.4\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64 c:\Xilinx\Vivado\2017.4\install.log c:\Xilinx\Vivado\2017.4\

... this is the log file results ......
NFO: InstallPath="C:\XilinxFull\Vivado\2017.4\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64\"
windrvr6 is not installed.
INFO: Installing Windows 10 pcusb driver...
Microsoft PnP Utility

Processing inf :            xpcwinusb.inf
Driver package added successfully.
Published name :            oem67.inf

Total attempted:              1
Number successfully imported: 1

INFO: INF file C:\Xilinx\Vivado\2017.4\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64\dlc10_win10\xpcwinusb.inf was successfully installed for driver.
INFO: Running digilent installer...

<<<<< Digilent Adept Runtime Setup >>>>>
Installer version: 1.4.6 release: 2015/12/08
Digilent Software Path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Digilent

Your system is up-to-date with the components of this installer.
INFO: Running SmartLynq installer...
INFO: SmartLynq installed successfully

.... So... going forward, should I:
(1) install latest Vivado (maintenance fee?)
(2) see why dlc10_win10 only has 3 files
(3) get a download of Adept 2 and use it to download the .bit file from Vivado
(4) put a large capacitor on the USB 5V Rail as described in https://forum.digilentinc.com/topic/4769-vivado-hardware-manager-disconnects-cmod-a7-target-in-win7/, Jan 10.
(5) call today a bad investiment and find another FPGA board
 

[xc6lx45]

Hi,

purely as an idea: If you have the 35A-variant, you could try to run this (link below, use the latest link from the last posts).  You may need to install FTDI's standard driver, if not present.

It uploads a bitstream and exercises USB with regular traffic e.g. set ADC rate close to 1 MSPS and it'll use about 25 MBit/s. The application will immediately close with an error if USB fails.

There may be a virus warning e.g. with bitdefender which is to the best of my knowledge false.

 

[vicentiu]

Answered here