MikroProg firmware update fail

[ISL_Dave]

I am constantly having problems with my two MikroProg units having to be unplugged and re-plugged in every time I program a PIC24FJ128GB206 but they seem to work fine with my PIC18F67J50.

I am always getting messages telling me to upgrade the firmware (was 2.11) and have just had another go at doing this but it crashed at around 10% although the progress bar continued to 100%.

Now the MikroProg is not working as it now indicates that "Connected development tool is not supported in mikroProg Suite for PIC".

How can I go about uploading the firmware again when MikroProg Suite does not recognize it?

My spare one is currently on loan to another company who wishes to update the firmware in some boards they bought from me and I am a little stuck without a working programmer.

[uros.cvetinovic]

Hi Dave,

Please check this:
http://helpdesk.mikroe.com/index.php?/K ... e-is-empty

This .exe file will recall older version of the firmware when you run it.

I can suggest you to try your programmer with PIC24FJ128GB206 immediately after this .exe file recalls older version of the firmware, without updating it to the newest one.

Please tell me the result.

Best regards,

Uros

[ISL_Dave]

Thanks, it is now being detected by Mikroprog Suite and back to fully working reliably with the PIC18F67J50 but still only very intermittently working again with the PIC24FJ128GB206.

i.e. the first programming of the 24FJ128GB206 worked but the second froze at 0% and gave me a "Device's response is timeout! Invalid window handle" and then "Failed to prepare Executive code! Sanity check failed.", at which point MikroProg Suite is then unstable and I have to close it when it then gives me a "Program have open handles to Device! Terminate anyway?" message before waiting a while and asking if I want to send a bug report as an error has occurred in the application. I think someone at MikroE are probably getting fed up of me sending these bug reports as I could easily send you 50+ most days.

The only way it will work is by using it once, closing MikroProg Suite down, removing and then re-connecting the MikroProg unit and then re-starting MikroProg Suite.

I guess the Mikroprog just does not support the 24FJ128GB206 or at least the three that I have here

[ISL_Dave]

UPDATE: My MikroProg is still very unhappy

I have just been trying to update some PCB's with my latest firmware for the PIC18F67J50 and it keeps saying "Programming Failed!" almost immediately. It also keeps saying "Device detected: Unknown!".

So it still does not work on either my PIC18 or PIC24 micro's.

I have clicked to update the firmware through MikroProg Suite and it seemed to update it (no errors this time) but it has not made a difference.

I have dug out my old PIC18FJ programmer to program these boards as I needed to get them sorted and this worked but I really need to get my MikroProg working again.

[uros.cvetinovic]

Hi,

Can you please tell me if you tried again the .exe file I recommended you last time?

I have reported this problem of programming PIC24FJ128GB206 to our software developers.
I will give you an update on this as soon as possible.

Can you just tell me if I understood you right, you are able to program it first time, but second time you get these errors.
And that is the main reason you need to unplug and plug it every time you want to program it?

Best regards,

Uros

[ISL_Dave]

Hi Uros,

Sorry this is so long, just trying to put everything down for you.

For a long time I have had no problems with the 18FJ Micro (I use 18F66J50 and 18F67J50) but very little success with the 24FJ128GB206. I have three 24FJ chips and each have the same symptoms.

When I programmed the 24FJ, it ALWAYS worked the first time but virtually always produced an error the next attempt.

I then found that every subsequent try after it had failed would never work until both the hardware was removed and the software was forced closed.

What happens is that the software looks to be running fine and waiting for me to use it but is in an unstable state. I could load Hex files, re-load hex files, open the code window and scroll through etc. but any attempt to communicate with the micro would fail. I also find that when it is in this state, it complains when I try and close it and tells me it has open handles.

If I close MikroProg Suite (unless it crashes on me and forces me to close/restart it), I still cannot program unless I have removed and re-connected the programmer.

So like I say, both have to be closed/removed after every program for my next attempt at programming to be successful as each are then in an unhappy state.

Often when it crashed, I then got messages telling me the firmware for the programmer was out of date which I generally ignored until the other day when I let it update when it told me to and this is where it crashed at around 10%.

After this crash, the MikroProg Suite no longer detected the MikroProg hardware and this is where you provided the link which made it so that it was detected again and seemed to make it work for the PIC18 not not for the PIC24. Unfortunately I had only checked it could read the PIC18 and not that it could program.

Unfortunately, the first time I needed it was today at work and to update a PIC18F67J50 and it either tells me there is no chip connected or comes up with a programming fail message almost straight away.
I tried two further PIC18F67J50 and then a PIC18F66J50 but none will program.

I then nipped next door and grabbed my trusty old PIC18FJ programmer which programmed the three PIC18 chips above no problem.

I then remembered that you said the link would put old firmware back in my MikroProg unit so I clicked throught MikroProg Suite to update the firmware and it happily did so but has not made any improvement.

So I now have a MikroProg unit that does not work since I broke the firmware and the file you provided the link for only makes it look like it is working, it does not actually work.

[uros.cvetinovic]

Hi,

Thank you for detailed description.

Can you please submit a ticket on this subject on our helpdesk?
http://helpdesk.mikroe.com/

We will find a way to solve this.

Best regards,

Uros

[ISL_Dave]

Hi Uros,

I am trying to run some more tests because I now have a suspicion that MikroProg Suite may be to blame.

Luckily I have found my spare 18FJProg so I am able to continue on one of my projects.

I have an old laptop that has a faulty graphics card and does not work for long after power up but although it took a few attempts to get it running for long enough, I managed to get an 18F67J50 programmed fine with the suspect MikroProg running on MikroProg Suite v2.30.

I then tried the same source code on my new laptop with the same MikroProg but running MikroProg suite v2.40 and it failed almost immediately.

I want to make sure if I raise a ticket that I have as much information as possible.

I am going to try and downgrade MikroProg on this new laptop and see if this resolves my issues as they all started when I upgraded the compiler, the programming suite and the firmware at the same time.

[ISL_Dave]

I have found that the programmer works when I downgrade MikroProg Suite to v2.25 and have been using it all day today with no problems on the 18F67J50.

I do know that v2.25 does NOT support my PIC24FJ128GB206 and am certain that I was previously using v2.30 for both the PIC18 and PIC24 but it would not work even with the PIC18 when I tried it.

Is there any particular reason why MikroProg Suite v2.40 would not work with a MikroProg but work fine with the old PIC18FJ programmer?

[uros.cvetinovic]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for this detailed explanation.

We will conduct tests and try to reproduce everything.
Our software engineers are also informed about this problem of yours.

Best regards,

Uros

[ISL_Dave]

Thanks Uros,

I don't know if it is relevant but I could not page up and down through the code window with MikroProg Suite v3.4 and I use this feature regularly.
When you click the scroll bar below or above the flashing focus box, it just moved up and down a line at a time rather than a page at a time. Also pressing page up or down only moved through the code one line at a time so you have to drag the focus box to the area of interest in your code instead as it took so long to scroll through.

Now I have gone back to 2.25 I am able to page through the code again.

Best Regards,
Dave

[ISL_Dave]

Is there any tests I can do on my programmer to check it out (voltage tests, waveforms etc.)?

The MikroProg seems to work with my older 18F67J50 devices from 2012 but not with the ones from 2016/2017.

I am having to use my old 18FJPROG programmer for new 18F67J50 devices and they are mounted on hardware that has been unchanged for nearly 6 years so it is either my new Micro's or the MikroProg.

The MikroProg programmed everything I threw at it until late November last year.

[dusan.poluga]

Hi,

I believe my colleague is having a ticket regarding your post.
Please continue the conversation with him on the ticket so he can continue guiding you to getting your issue resolved.

Regards,

[Adichip]

Good morning, the following has just happened to me, I received a message telling me to update the firmware and I just did this, but it crashed at around 10%, although the progress bar continued at 100%.

Now, MikroProg does not work, since now it indicates that "the connected development tool is not compatible with mikroProg Suite for PIC".

How can I reload the firmware when MikroProg Suite does not recognize it?

I'm worried because the links they offer in the forum do not allow me to download the repair tool. Could you give me a link that works?

Thank you very much in advance.

Best regards.

[petar.suknjaja]

Hi Adichip,
I've taken your ticket from the Helpdesk and I have been sent you the required files by mail.
Let me know if those have solved your problem.
Kind regards,
Petar